Champions and challengers reset as Hollywoodbets Pro Series returns

Double defending champions YesPlay Western Province and last season’s finalists, the DP World Lions, are ready to go again as the Hollywoodbets Pro Series gets underway this weekend.

The latest season of South Africa’s women’s premier domestic competition will once again see the Hollywoodbets Pro50 action played on Saturdays, followed by the Hollywoodbets Pro20 tournament on Sundays.

In the opening round on 3-4 October, the Cobras will host the Garden Route Badgers at the YesPlay Newlands Cape Town Stadium while the Lions travel to the newly-promoted Warriors in Gqeberha.

In the third clash of the weekend, the Fidelity Titans will face the Hollywoodbets Dolphins at the TUT Oval in Tshwane.

For Cobras batter Faye Tunnicliffe, last season’s success means the champions will have an added target on their backs this time around.

“I think we know we’re going to have targets on our backs, so we just kind of want to maintain that level that we ended off on last season and hopefully we can take the winning momentum forward into the new season,” Tunnicliffe said.

The experienced batter, who claimed the 2025/26 Pro20 Player of the Season award after amassing 422 runs in eight innings, believes the team's strength lies in the environment they have created within the squad.

“I think it’s really just the camaraderie and the rapport within the team. We play for each other. We don’t have selfish players in the team, so we know that when we go out, we’re trying to perform for the badge.

“We have a lot of hard workers in the team as well, so we push each other, whether that’s fitness or skills or anything. We’re pretty competitive in the nets with each other as well, so we’re just looking to always get better and find that one percent.”

For the Lions, the new season brings an opportunity to go one step further after finishing runners-up in both competitions, despite finishing top in the Pro20 and Pro50 log standings.

“Expectation hasn’t changed. I think us getting to two finals, that’s still going to be an expectation. But obviously we want to, when we get to those situations, to do one better, obviously, to win those two finals,” the Lions coach, Sandile Masengemi, said.

The disappointment of the two defeats has also provided added motivation during the pre-season.

“To lose those two finals really made us a little bit hungry for this coming season. So obviously we were hurting so much,” he added.

The Lions have placed a particular focus on their mindset during the off-season as they look to build on last year’s performances, which saw them record 13 victories out of 22 encounters across both formats.

“I think the biggest thing for me that we worked on this pre-season is our mindset. I think we do have the skill, just a change of mindset, allowing the players to play with a little bit of freedom to express themselves, play positive cricket.”

While the two sides begin the season with different motivations, Tunnicliffe believes the overall standard of the Hollywoodbets Pro Series, entering its third season, will continue to grow as more players bring experience from national and Emerging environments back into their provincial teams following an active winter for the Proteas Women and SA Emerging.

“I think there’s also been a lot more exposure to national camps and stuff like that, so there are more senior players that are taking what they’ve learned at national level into the provincial spaces.

“We’ve been professional now for a couple of years, so this is where the wheel really starts to turn and we kick on.

“Hopefully we can consistently see those 300-plus scores in 50 overs and 160 to 180 scores in the T20s.”

With the rest of the competition looking to close the gap, Tunnicliffe says the Cobras are determined to keep setting the standard.

“I think we’ve always been a team that wants to keep pushing the standard of women’s cricket in the country, so I think we just want to keep doing that.

“I think people will be aware that we know that we’re defending champions, so they’re going to come hard at us but hopefully we can come back harder.”

Cobras head coach Claire Terblanche believes her side is ready to begin its Hollywoodbets Series campaign as the Girls in Blue prepare to defend both their Pro50 and Pro20 titles against Garden Route Badgers Women this weekend.

Having achieved the double last season, Terblanche says the team’s focus during the off-season has been on identifying areas for improvement rather than resting on their success.

"Winning both the Pro50 and Pro20 titles was something that we have been aiming for over the past three seasons,” said Terblanche.

“It was a goal that we worked towards over a number of years and, in preparing for the title defence and the new season, we've focused on identifying where we need to improve while also building on the areas that are working well. That’s been our focus this season."

Despite last season’s success, Terblanche says there has been no complacency within the squad, with the players continuing to push themselves.

"One of the best things about this team is that there’s never any complacency. To be honest, they're always hungry,” she said.

“They always want to achieve more than they did in previous seasons. They manage themselves well, and as a management team we don't really have to manage their expectations because they're always motivated to improve.”

The coach knows the journey towards retaining both trophies begins with qualifying for the finals.

"Obviously, we'd like to retain both the Pro50 and the Pro20 titles but the first objective is to reach the finals. That's the first step towards keeping our trophies here at home."

Terblanche also wants to see the team’s pre-season work translate into performances on the field.

"Throughout the campaign, I’m expecting the team to play well, execute what we've been working on during the off-season, and continue improving in the areas we’ve identified as key focus points,” she added.

Hollywoodbets Pro Series - Week 1 (3-4 October)

Hollywoodbets Pro50 - Saturday at 10am

YesPlay Western Province Cobras v Garden Route Badgers (YesPlay Newlands Cape Town)

Warriors v DP World Lions (Dafabet St George’s Park, Gqeberha)

Fidelity Titans v Hollywoodbets Dolphins (TUT Oval, Tshwane)

Hollywoodbets Pro20 - Sunday at 10am

YesPlay Western Province Cobras v Garden Route Badgers (YesPlay Newlands Cape Town)

Warriors v DP World Lions (Dafabet St George’s Park, Gqeberha)

Fidelity Titans v Hollywoodbets Dolphins (TUT Oval, Tshwane)