Gauteng derby takes centre stage in Hollywoodbets Pro Series

The Fidelity Titans will be looking to build on their winning start to the Hollywoodbets Pro Series when they welcome Gauteng rivals DP World Lions to SuperSport Park in Centurion for the second round of the 2026/27 campaign this weekend.

The two sides will go head-to-head in the Hollywoodbets Pro50 Series encounter on Saturday before returning to action in the Hollywoodbets Pro20 Series competition on Sunday.

The Titans head into the weekend full of confidence after securing commanding wins over the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in both formats last weekend, while the Lions will be eager to get their campaign underway following two rain-abandoned matches against the Warriors in Gqeberha.

Proteas Women captain and opener Laura Wolvaardt played a starring role in the Titans’ opening victories, recording an unbeaten 123 in the 50-over clash before following it up with a 40-ball 69 in the T20 encounter.

Looking ahead to the Jukskei derby, Wolvaardt expects a tough challenge against a Lions outfit featuring several of her international teammates.

“I think Lions are probably one of the strongest sides in the league. They’ve got a lot of really good players. It’ll be like facing a bit of an international bowling attack,” Wolvaardt commented.

“It obviously brings a lot of experience to the game. I think those players know each other really well as well.

“So that’s probably going to be the hard part is a lot of bowlers bowl to me in the nets a lot, so they know all of my weaknesses. It’ll be an awesome challenge playing against them,” she added.

The 27-year-old also reflected on her impressive return to domestic cricket, having helped the Titans secure back-to-back triumphs to open the season.

“It was an awesome start for us to the season. I don’t think we’ve started with back-to-back wins in recent times. It was awesome to be there with the team and to be able to contribute to that.

“I feel like I’ve been searching for a little bit of form the last couple of months. So it was really nice just to be back and just to be able to bat and score some runs and spend some time in the middle,” Wolvaardt said.

Meanwhile, the Lions will be hoping to finally take to the field after rain prevented any play in their opening fixtures at St George’s Park.

The Johannesburg-based side will also be looking to go one better this season after finishing as runners-up in both the Pro50 and Pro20 competitions during the previous campaign.

Proteas-capped spinner Raisibe Ntozakhe, who claimed 24 wickets across both format last season, believes the Lions are well prepared for the challenge against their local rivals.

“They are a really good side. They kicked off their season really well last week. We were watching their games. But, I think at the moment the focus is on us and our own principles and what we need to do in order to kick off our campaign.

“We just need to keep our heads down and just focus on the KPIs that we have set for ourselves and the goals that we have set for ourselves for the season,” Ntozakhe said.

Reflecting on last season’s two final appearances, Ntozakhe believes the experience will provide extra motivation for the Lions as they target silverware this season.

“We had a sniff of it and we know how it is to actually be up there. It’s not going to be an easy journey but I think if we take it one day at a time and, most importantly, take up the little things and the basics and the goals that we worked upon during the off-season and pre-season, I think we put a lot of work there and we know exactly what we want to achieve as a team.

“And, most importantly, I think the mental aspect of it is something that’s going to be very crucial for us,” she added.

Both encounters will take place at SuperSport Park in Centurion and begin at 10am.