Jozi Cup 2025: Winters biggest club cricket competition concludes in style

The fourth edition of the country’s biggest T20 winter club cricket competition, The Jozi Cup, drew to a close on Sunday evening. In excess of 130 teams competed throughout the seven-week tournament and whether you were in Under 11’s, in the Over 40’s or featured somewhere in between; there was something for everyone – on field and off, from first ball to final over.

Perhaps the greatest privilege of participating in this tournament, is the opportunity to perform on the world stage of the iconic DP World Wanderers Stadium. With the Finals running from the 14-22 June; players, coaches and managers enjoyed the full use of the world class facilities including change rooms, fields, nets and the Media Centre.

Exposing your players to the absolute best results in exponential growth and certainly gives you the edge, so says Jozi Cup Tournament Director Reuben Mandlazi.

“This tournament is honestly like no other. Clubs rally their troops and bring their A-Game throughout, knowing full well that the scouts are out hunting and the Telkom Talent Acceleration Programme isin full swing. The passion, determination and commitment, result in a fantastic few weeks for all who fall within the Lions Cricket Pride.”

The fourth edition of the Jozi Cup included a new section for the U13 girls. The league boasted five teams and played eight round robin matches for each team. The game time for each girl was substantial and the tournament has played it’s part in creating opportunities for the girls' pipeline to grow, so says Lions Women Cricket leader Shaun Pretorius.

“We are immensely proud of our product and hope to grow more and more as the years go by. Witnessing the talent already present at the U13 girls level is so rewarding. The teams were selected by way of the individual statistics. We also included coaches – that’s important to note because they are the driving force behind each players success. Both ‘All Star’ games played on Sunday 22 June surpassed our expectations where more than 440 runs were scored in both innings – what a great showcase for women’s cricket – could you ask for anything more?”

Lions Cricket CEO Jono Leaf-Wright says that this tournament is by the community, for the community.

“Every year, the clubs and the communities step up and deliver outstanding cricket and unwavering commitment. It’s our honour to host the Jozi Cup and on behalf of our Pride, I thank all those who made this tournament our most successful yet.”

Lessons were learnt too, elaborates Mandlazi: “As our CEO says: 'We don’t lose at Lions Cricket, we either win or we learn' – which can be applied again this time around. We learnt that we need to plough more effort and energy into our match officials, so that they are adequately equipped to dealing with the complexities of the playing conditions. The standard of play was superb but we may look into a grading system going forward. Upon reflection however and certainly with all the positive feedback we have received, we are extremely proud of a well-run and enjoyable tournament and thank all those who made it possible!”

Lions Cricket would like to extend a genuine thank you to the partners including DP World, Telkom, McDonald’s, Shattered Glass, Diadora, Shrey, Great Africa Group, Hirsch’s, NAS Sports, Ola Blaster, Sedgars, Mnandi Signs, Joburg Tourism, Sun International, Mahindra, 947, Enza Construction, ACDC Express, Masana Energy Solutions, Fidelity Services Group, ADT, Sunfoil, Alliance, Richfield, Promac Paints, Macrocomm, Lift Airlines, Konica Minolta Gauteng, MRB Secure, SANI and so many more, all of which have backed this competition once more, helping to grow the communities in which Lions Cricket serves.

For more information, please direct your queries to jozicup@cricket.co.za.

Jozi Cup 2025 Winners

Division: Blind Cricket

Winner: JSBC; MVP of the tournament: Buhle Bhidla (Busk Bucks); Batter: Buhle Bhidla (Busk Bucks); Bowler: Sabelo Zaza (JSBC)

Division: Veterans

Winner: Wanderers; MVP of the tournament: Andre Johnson (Wanderers); Batter: Andre Johnson (Wanderers); Bowler: Mohammed Teladia (Jeppe Masters)

Division: Women's Open

Winner: Diadora XI; MVP of the tournament: Fay Cowling (Jeppe); Batter: Fay Cowling (Jeppe); Bowler: Fay Cowling (Jeppe)

Division: Men's Open

Winner: NAS Marks Park Royals; MVP of the tournament: Chris Pistorius (Wanderers); Batter: Chris Pistorius (Wanderers); Bowler: Daniel Poulton (Wanderers)

Division: U11

Winner: Randfontein; MVP of the tournament: Brandt van Heerden (Concord Crane Old Lions Red); Batter: Pieter Kallis (Randburg Blue); Bowler: Jimmy Reynold Jr (Randfontein)

Division: U13 Boys

Winner: Western Warriors Titans; MVP of the tournament: Kyle Swart (Randburg Blue); Batter: Kyle Swart (Randburg Blue); Bowler: Zandre Botha (Western Warriors Titans)

Division: U13 Girls

Winner: Radiant Rebels; MVP of the tournament: Ashley Sibanda (Radiant Rebels); Batter: Ashley Sibanda (Radiant Rebels); Bowler: Leanay Jansen (Fearless Falcons)

Division: Senior Men's Open

Winner: Diadora XI; MVP of the tournament: HJ Warrington (Die Ratels); Batter: HJ Warrington (Die Ratels); Bowler: Akash Chatterjee (GM Old Edwardians)

Division: U18

Winner: Renegades Cricket Club Blue; MVP of the tournament: Anrich Liebenberg (Renegades Blue); Batter: Logan Weetnam (Renegades Blue); Bowler: Connor Kuijers (GM Old Edwardians)

Division: U14

Winner: Concord Cranes Old Lions; MVP of the tournament: John van der Walt (Wanderers); Batter: John van der Walt (Wanderers); Bowler: Sahil Sewpersadh (Concord Cranes Old Lions)

Division: U16

Winner: Randburg Cricket Club Hurricanes; MVP of the tournament: Lincoln Casais (Jeppe); Batter: Juan Lombard (Western Warriors); Bowler: Muhammed Bux (Western Warriors)