25 March 2025, Johannesburg
The girth of the DP World Wanderers Stadium is about 434 metres, but the smiles on the faces of #ThePrideOfJozi’s ladies team seemed even wider as they celebrated their triumph in the Pro50 Series at the weekend.
The DP World Lions thumped their neighbours the Titans by 101 runs in the last round of fixtures to claim the title in emphatic fashion, topping the log by six points as they won eight of their 10 one-day matches this season.
“From where we started this year, I didn’t think we would get here,” captain Kgomotso Rapoo said while pointing to the exuberant celebrations going on around her on the field. “Last season we finished second, so we knew we have to step up. We just tried to keep going and keep improving with every game.
“The first half of the season wasn’t great, and so we knew in the second half we really needed to focus and work really hard. Since then we’ve seen the team’s mindset and how we leave the past in the past,” Rapoo said after our DP World Lions bounced back from a couple of losses to win four matches in a row this year.
The victory over the Titans was set up by the top-order batting after #ThePrideOfJozi were sent in to bat. Tazmin Brits hammered the ball all over the famous Bullring as she scored a brilliant matchwinning 118 off 127 balls, while Karabo Meso, the heir apparent to Sinalo Jafta’s berth behind the wickets in the Proteas team, stroked a dazzling 76. The pair put on 128 for the second wicket, a record at the DP World Wanderers Stadium, laying the foundation for their commanding total of 267 for six, their best ever in the Jukskei Derby.
The in-form Jafta was unfortunately not able to participate in the joyous occasion due to illness.
Proteas star Chloe Tryon contributed a quickfire 28 and young Fay Cowling again provided a burst of scoring at the end with 23 off 18 deliveries.
Despite a heroic half-century from another Proteas star in Sune Luus, the Titans were dismissed for just 166. The admirable Tryon did the most damage with the ball, taking three for 30 with her crafty left-arm spin, while seamer Cowling and spinner Raisibe Ntozakhe both took a pair of wickets. Proteas pace bowlers Ayabonga Khaka and Shabnim Ismail were both brilliant with the new ball.
Coach Shaun Pretorius has been an unsung hero in the triumph, keeping the ladies focused on excelling in the basics and the game in front of them.
“A lot of hard work has gone in behind the scenes making sure the ladies execute the game plan, making sure they understand the best way to go about things. I am so proud of them and the key to our success was that we won more phases per game than anyone else,” Pretorius said.
“And then we started to back up those winning phases and capitalise on them. When the pressure was on, this squad came through. They were able to take key wickets at vital times and today was a phenomenal batting performance, the Proteas really came through for us.”
Rapoo and Ntozakhe picked up wickets all season like a pair of herons standing in shallow water and snatching up little fish. Leg-spinner Rapoo took 18 and was the leading wicket-taker in the competition, averaging just 18.77 and conceding only 4.31 runs-per-over. Off-spinner Ntozakhe was second with 16 at a phenomenal average of just 12.81 and superb economy of 3.47 runs-per-over.
Pretorius paid special tribute to them.
“It was brilliant from Kgomotso and Slice, they were the top wicket-takers in the whole tournament and the way they changed so many games for us was wonderful. Shabnim and Aya and Chloe, with her adaptability, really showed their value today as well.”