Johannesburg, 10 September 2026
The number of teams to have won the treble – first-class, 50-over and T20 trophies in the same season – in South African Div 1 domestic cricket is exactly zero but that statistic is exactly what drives our DP World Lions men’s team to set that goal as they begin the 2026/27 season on Thursday.
Our DP World Lions have been prolific in claiming a hat-trick of four-day titles as well as back-to-back One-Day Cups in 2021/22 and 22/23, and successive T20 crowns in 2023/24 and 24/25. They won double titles in 2023/24 and 2024/25. Last season the team had to settle for just the red-ball triumph, although they did top the log standings and make the 50-over final which is an achievement in itself.
The current campaign kicks off with two rounds of four-day cricket, with #ThePrideOfJozi hosting Boland at the DP World Wanderers Stadium from Thursday, which means stalwart batsman Dominic Hendricks will be the first skipper to lead the world-class team based at one of the greatest venues in the game.
And Hendricks set the bar high when he spoke at the power-packed season launch recently.
“We talk about winning everything. No team has ever won the treble because it is so difficult, but that’s the challenge we want to embrace, while also always trying to create national players. That’s the winning mentality we’ve had for the last decade.
“We’re happy that we’re playing 10 first-class games now this season, that’s the best four-day format and it means you have to be more consistent to finish on top. Otherwise, with the reduced number of games, you can end up with some crazy permutations. So we’ll have to be more consistent, you have to produce 40 days of good cricket to win.
“It’s going to be mentally testing, so guys will need time off to be fresh. There’s going to have to be bowling workload management and they can’t play all the games because then you’re asking for an injury. We play five matches in a row in November/December, so that’s going to be really pressurised,” Hendricks said.
While the DP World Lions batting looks set to be boosted by the presence of Temba Bavuma and Ryan Rickelton against Boland, Hendricks admitted that the three-time defending champions will be fielding a new-look attack.
“It’s going to be good to have Temba and Ryan with us, they will bolster us massively. But we’re probably going to field a very different attack to normal, there’s definitely going to be a couple of four-day debuts in the first couple of rounds.
“In fact, for the first two games we’ll probably field two very different teams. There’s been a lot of SA A side cricket this pre-season, which has made it a bit more hectic, and then we’ll lose those Proteas after this week, but there will be more bowlers around, guys like Codi Yusuf and Nqaba Peter will be back.
“But there’s a great opportunity now for young fast bowlers, someone like Rafiq Patel, who is one of our most-improved players as we go into a jam-packed summer. Gerald Coetzee definitely won’t play in the first game because he’s away with the SA A side, but it will be lovely to have him maybe in November. His speed is a real x-factor,” Hendricks said.
Our DP World Lions will be hoping the tremendous international experience of coaches Russell Domingo, Allan Donald and Hashim Amla continues to translate into #ThePrideOfJozi bringing Test match intensity to the field.
“I can’t speak for the other teams, but we don’t talk about four-day cricket, we talk about Test match cricket and bringing that intent. But there are some good teams out there and you’ve got to earn confidence. Fortunately we have our building blocks there already.
“But we will need everything in our resources this season, because there are going to be lots of testing challenges but I’ve been impressed by our bowlers coming through,” Allan Donald concluded.