Johannesburg, 26 September 2026
Rassie van der Dussen and Reeza Hendricks have played T20 cricket around the world, bringing their skill, experience and nous every time they set foot on a pitch. The two stalwarts of #ThePrideOfJozi will be in action for the DP World Lions men’s team as the six-time champions start their Pro20 Cup campaign against the Dolphins at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead on Sunday.
Alongside them will be fellow Proteas and mighty cricketers in Zubayr Hamza, Connor Esterhuizen, Wiaan Mulder, Codi Yusuf, Lutho Sipamla and Nqaba Peter.
Allan Donald is absolutely delighted by the personnel available to the DP World Lions;
“We have a lot of good leaders back and I’m excited for the start of this competition, it’s going to be lekker. Rassie is a real gem, he adds such value and is a real sounding board for the younger guys. Reeza, Wiaan, Mitchell and Zubayr are a really strong leadership group, while Connor himself is a great asset and is building into a very solid cricketer. With Rassie and Wiaan back in the batting line-up, we have a real platform now, our top eight is heavily loaded and it’s going to be about early momentum; that’s the brutality of the T20 game. Our mindset has to be that we are going to hit the ground running.”
Van der Dussen has played 256 T20 matches, scoring 7301 runs, averaging 36.50 with a strike-rate of 131, including five centuries. Hendricks has featured in 315 matches, amassing 9018 runs at an average of 34.81 and a strike-rate of 128, also with five hundreds.
In terms of approach, our DP World Lions know what works, having won the domestic T20 title back-to-back in 2023/24 and 2024/25. Last season was an aberration as they failed to make the playoffs, due to multiple call-ups to various national teams, the DP World Lions Mens team made use of 16 players, six of which were rookies.
One can picture Donald, with an arm around the shoulder of a young player, saying “This is the Lions’ way, son”, but that process will be easier this season, having gone through the trials of last year. The newer faces in the squad all played last season, save for JJ Basson, who has had a busy couple of weeks taking 11 wickets on debut in the four day campaign and then writing three matric exams last week.
“The way we play never changes, it’s the Lions way,” Donald confirmed. “We have to start from scratch though. We want to be fast-paced, and going from two slow four-day games to playing at 100 miles per hour means we have to think on our feet, make decisions and execute under pressure. T20 cricket is brutal and it’s about how we put things into action. Every single team has the DP World Lions in their crosshairs and we have to earn the right again to get into contention. T20 cricket can bring the best out of sides because it frees you up.”
While our DP World Lions’ second 1st-Class Series match, against the Free State Knights in Bloemfontein, was washed out without a ball being bowled, the time was still well-spent.
“It was hugely frustrating to see all that rainfall and the leaks under the covers, we had 92mm in three days, but the weather rules, there’s nothing you can do about it. But I can’t fault the effort of the team, they made their time count in the indoor centre, hitting white balls until the arms of the guys doing the throwing were hanging. But that’s the environment we have built over the years, the work ethic of the players was really pleasing,” Donald said.
That is indeed the DP World Lions’ way – The Gold Standard Way of playing with passion, precision, professionalism and purpose; powering the Pride to the Podium come rain or shine.
Squad: Mitchell van Buuren, Reeza Hendricks, Zubayr Hamza, Rassie van der Dussen, Connor Esterhuizen, Wiaan Mulder, Wandile Makwetu, Delano Potgieter, Codi Yusuf, Lutho Sipamla, Nqaba Peter, JJ Basson, Richard Seletswane, Wilco de Bruin.