Johannesburg – 7 March 2025:
We just need to look after what we do to the best of our ability and I am sure we will show our character again this weekend,” our DP World Lions ladies coach Shaun Pretorius said ahead of the crunch Pro50 Series match against the Dolphins at the DP World Wanderers on Saturday.
The humdinger at the DP World Wanderers Stadium sees the top two teams on the log, both on 29 points, clashing in a match that, given it is the penultimate round of the competition, will have a massive bearing on the destination of the title.
Our DP World Lions can take confidence from their impressive performances last weekend against the Garden Route Badgers in Oudtshoorn, but Pretorius is emphasising the importance of staying in the moment, not looking back to recent victories or forward to when the title will be decided on March 22.
“We realise how important Saturday’s match is in terms of the title race, but we are not looking at the end result. Our focus is just on who we play this weekend. But we are fortunate to be in this position where the ball is in our court. It’s all up to us,” Pretorius said.
“We need to make sure we continue what we have been doing, control our phases of the game. The team has not been so happy for a while, and it takes a whole team to get into this position. My assistant coaches have worked really hard, they are real assets along with our analyst and our wicketkeeping consultant, even our medical team.”
While #ThePrideOfJozi did err a little while chasing down their target of 232 with eight wickets down and just 10 balls remaining against the Badgers, they did show enormous character under pressure.
They were 47 for three inside the first 15 overs, before Sinalo Jafta (45 off 38) joined Nonkhululeko Thabethe (77) and put our DP World Lions back in command. Sunette Viljoen-Louw kept the momentum going with 24, but they then collapsed from 172 for four to 204 for eight.
But bowlers Raisibe Ntozakhe and Ayabonga Khaka showed marvellous composure as they then took #ThePrideOfJozi to victory.
“I said to my assistant coaches, Trisha Chetty and Sandile Masengemi, in the change of innings in Outdtshoorn that we were going to need to show character with the bat. Players like Nonkhululeko, Sinalo and Sunette really stepped up. Not everyone is going to have the same performance every time and it was very good to see others put up their hands.
“Nonkhululeko did really well nearly batting through, but we should have been more clinical. But we showed great character with the bowlers coming through in the end. It showed that we can bat deep. The experience in our squad was evident in how we approached the game, and coming from our Proteas, it was very good to see how level-headed they were.
“Sinalo has been allowed to have freedom and play what she sees in front of her. Sandile has worked hard with her on capitalising on loose deliveries and that’s exactly what she did, she backed herself if anything was pitched up,” Pretorius says.
A key battle on Saturday is going to be between Dolphins spinners Nondumiso Shangase and Jade de Figueiredo, who have both taken 13 wickets in the 50-over competition this season, the second-most, and our DP World Lions slow-bowling stars Kgomotso Rapoo and Ntozakhe.
Rapoo, who is the joint leading wicket-taker with 14, and Ntozakhe, who has taken nine wickets and conceded just 3.81 runs-per-over, have shown the ability, like aphids on a rose bush, to suck the life out of an innings.
“Without doubt it’s going to be a tough match, but our ladies have definitely shown they have the character to win and they are very hungry to get silverware in our trophy cabinet,” Pretorius said.
The Dolphins are also a top-class T20 side, who are still in contention for the title, sitting in second place, three points behind leaders Western Province. But #ThePrideOfJozi are a feared T20 outfit themselves, and even though they can no longer claim the title, they will be looking to repeat their 31-run victory over the Dolphins in Durban in December and see if they can finish runners-up to the Capetonians.