Johannesburg – 17 February 2026:
In a repeat of the last two seasons, our DP World Lions men’s team will once again host the 4-Day Series final in Johannesburg from Wednesday.
Hosting the final is the reward for finishing top of the log after the seven rounds of round-robin play, so to top the standings for three seasons in a row is quite an achievement by our DP World Lions.
In 2023/24, #ThePrideOfJozi pulled off a remarkable comeback win over Western Province in the red-ball final at the iconic DP World Wanderers Stadium, while last season they were dominant against the Titans but were forced to share the title due to bad weather.
This time it is the Warriors from the Eastern Province who will travel up to Johannesburg to take on Russell Domingo’s charges, who stormed to the top of the log in emphatic fashion with a commanding innings win over the KZN Inland Tuskers last week.
The Warriors, unable to defend a fourth-innings target of 365, slipped to defeat against the Dolphins in Durban, allowing the DP World Lions to snatch home advantage in the final.
“To reach the final three years in a row and for all those finals to be at home is pretty cool. It shows we’ve been playing good four-day cricket,” coach Domingo said.
“Home ground advantage is important and there’s no doubt I would rather play the Warriors at the DP World Wanderers than at St George’s Park, and I’m sure they would rather play us in Gqeberha.
“All our batsmen had time in the middle and played with good intent against the Tuskers, and our bowlers were fantastic, it was a very disciplined display by them. So it was the ideal sort of performance going into a final and we are in good shape,” Domingo said.
As regards the injury that restricted new-ball bowler Lutho Sipamla to just 29 balls in the Tuskers second innings, Domingo said he is hopeful the international paceman will be able to pass a fitness test before the game.
The excellence of Sipamla and Codi Yusuf with the new ball against KZN Inland was vital in setting the tone for the massacre that followed as they were bundled out for just 63 before lunch on the first day.
But Proteas all-rounder Wiaan Mulder is the obvious main threat to the Warriors after his incredible display last week: He took seven for six and five for 39 and also scored 115 with the bat. Taking 12 wickets in a match and scoring a century is unprecedented for any Lions/Gauteng/Transvaal player and extremely scarce in South African cricket generally.
Domingo said the wise assistance of bowling coach Allan Donald had helped Mulder, but he said the skill and control of the bowler should not be underestimated.
“Wiaan had really good shape with the ball, he’s been working with Al on one or two technical things. When Wiaan is feeling confident then big things happen and he is clearly very confident at the moment. He also had really good control.
“We mustn’t forget that Wiaan opens the bowling for South Africa in Test cricket so he’s no mug with the ball. To have a player of that calibre playing for us is wonderful,” Domingo said.
Being clinical in the big moments and staying calm when things have gone south have been the hallmarks of our DP World Lions red-ball side, and they will need those characteristics again against the Warriors.
“You’ve got to take your chances in a final. Catching at the DP World Wanderers Stadium is of paramount importance and we’ve caught really well this season, particularly in the cordon, we’ve been really good in the slips.
“The team that takes their opportunities will probably come out on top. It’s going to be a tight contest, a game of small margins. The Warriors are a smart team, Matthew Boast has been fantastic for them and has been the leading wicket-taker in the competition this season.
“In Matthew Breetzke, Jordan Hermann, Senuran Muthusamy, who will face and bowl lots of balls, and Patrick Kruger, the Warriors have some high-quality cricketers. The Warriors have had a fantastic season, they were two wickets away from hosting the four-day final and they won the T20 competition earlier in the season,” Domingo said.