Johannesburg, 17 October 2026
Sunday at the DP World Wanderers set to be the best seller of T20 cricket again.
When it comes to T20 cricket, few venues do a better job than the DP World Wanderers Stadium, especially if it’s a Sunday afternoon game starting at 2pm.
That’s what our DP World Lions men’s team are looking forward to this weekend as they look to continue their climb up the Pro20 Cup log with their third successive win when they take on the Northern Cape Heat from 2pm. They are handily positioned in second place at the moment, and a bonus point win will guarantee our place in the Super 8s with a game to spare.
Our DP World Lions won their previous match, midweek in Johannesburg, against the Eastern Cape Iinyathi, but it was a grind as they lost an important toss.
The DP World Lions posted 138 for eight in their 20 overs, having been sent in to bat. They were disrupted when stalwart opener Reeza Hendricks (2*) had to retire hurt in the third over after a freak incident. Having been struck on the forearm by a fierce straight hit by Neil Timmers two balls previously, the veteran then had to leave the field straight after Timmers (10) was dismissed via an incredible caught-and-bowled.
It means Rassie van der Dussen and Richard Seletswane came together after 2.4 overs with both starting on zero. They did extremely well to add 82 for the second wicket, Seletswane eventually falling in the 13th over for 24.
Van der Dussen then departed on the first ball of the 15th over, for a determined 44 off 32 balls, and our DP World Lions were teetering on 91 for five with Hendricks unable to bat because his forearm had been fractured. But Bjorn Fortuin (18*) and Nqaba Peter (18) did a fantastic job to get #ThePrideOfJozi to 138.
It was still going to be tough to defend that total due to the heavy dew in the evening at the DP World Wanderers Stadium at this time of year.
The Border side took advantage of how hard it was for the bowlers to control the ball as they reached 100 for one midway through the 15th over, but our DP World Lions staged a thrilling comeback.
It was Nqaba Peter who turned the momentum with the wickets of both the set batsmen. Christiaan du Toit (38) was bowled by a quicker ball that skidded on to him and Jason Niemand (44) was then beaten in the flight and wonderfully bowled in the leg-spinner’s next over.
In between, Siya Plaatjie had Michael Copeland caught behind and bowled a brilliant over that cost just three runs as he kept a tight off-side line and varied his pace.
A bowling attack that has become renowned for setting the Gold Standard then closed out the match as the Iinyathi could only score 34 runs in the last six overs, falling short by five runs.
Left-arm spinner Fortuin had earlier taken the new ball and bowled outside the powerplay, performing brilliantly to concede just 19 runs in his four overs, and fellow spinner Peter claimed two for 22 in his allotment. Pacers Codi Yusuf (4-0-26-2) and Plaatjie (4-0-21-1) were also excellent.
Van der Dussen confirmed that our DP World Lions had to dig deep to see off the enthusiastic Division II side.
“It wasn’t a 140 wicket, we should have got 160. The dew was then a massive factor for our bowlers, it was like being in India.
“For the guys from Border, it was a massive occasion for them, some of them had never played under floodlights before or at the DP World Wanderers Stadium. So you will get good performances from those Division II teams and I think it’s great that they’re in the competition.
“Compared to other T20 leagues, you’re up against players who you have no idea who they are. You take it for granted in other leagues that you’ve played against everyone so many times that you know what they do. Now you have to watch the players in the warm-ups to get an idea, it’s quite refreshing and it goes back to being a purer challenge between bat and ball,” Van der Dussen said.
Coach Russell Domingo admitted his team had looked a little vulnerable and the selection of one less batsman had backfired due to the freak injury to Hendricks.
Obviously Hendricks will need to be replaced for Sunday’s match against Northern Cape and there is still a question mark over the fitness of another batting kingpin in Zubayr Hamza, who is still recovering from a fractured finger.
But our DP World Lions have shown the strength of character to overcome all sorts of obstacles, like they did midweek against the Iinyathi. They could also be boosted by the return of one of their best players in clutch situations, all-rounder Delano Potgieter.