Given that there were six members of #ThePrideOfJozi in the MI Cape Town squad, wise fans of the DP World Lions would’ve bet that the Newlands-based team would be the SA20 champions. That’s because the DP World Lions have proven themselves to be the kings of T20 locally, winning the CSA T20 Challenge for the last two seasons.
The Pride are now gearing up to show the same white-ball mastery when the One-Day Cup gets underway with the Central Gautengers taking on defending champions Western Province in the opening game on Saturday afternoon in Cape Town.
Rassie van der Dussen, Ryan Rickelton, Kagiso Rabada, Reeza Hendricks, Delano Potgieter and Connor Esterhuizen all played key roles as MI Cape Town advanced to the SA20 final with the greatest number of log points in the tournament’s history. They then won the title with a commanding 76-run win over two-time defending champions Sunrisers Eastern Cape in the final at the DP World Wanderers Stadium last weekend.
Van der Dussen (393 runs at 49.12, SR 129.70) and Rickelton (336 at 48.00, SR 178.72) stood aloof as the best opening partnership in the competition, finishing with the second and fourth most runs respectively.
With Hendricks also having a solid season in the top-order (212 at 35.33, SR 128.48) the platform was more often than not there for the rest of the MI Cape Town batting line-up to pull away and post unbeatable scores.
Rabada was the star of the final with ball in hand as he took 4/25 to bundle Sunrisers out for just 105. But he also had a big say throughout the tournament, finishing with 12 wickets at an average of just 15.33 and conceding only 6.53 runs-per-over.
All-rounder Potgieter showed his value with influential contributions with both bat (172 runs) and ball (six wickets), including record-breaking figures of 5/10 in the opening match against Sunrisers Eastern Cape at St George’s Park.
Esterhuizen only played five matches for the champions but the 23-year-old averaged 34.50 with the bat at a strike-rate of 133.98 and earned praise from coach Robin Peterson for doing “fantastically well”, having been a rookie last season. Esterhuizen top-scored in the final with 39 off 26 balls, an invaluable innings after coming in when two wickets had fallen in six deliveries.
Several other DP World Lions stars were acquired by the other franchises: Wiaan Mulder, Lutho Sipamla, Evan Jones, Bjorn Fortuin, Kwena Maphaka, Nqaba Peter, Mitchell van Buuren and Codi Yusuf.
Sipamla was superb for the Joburg Super Kings, taking 12 wickets in nine matches, while spinner Fortuin was very impressive for Paarl Royals, conceding just 6.47 runs-per-over, the second-most economical bowler who took more than 10 wickets.
Even with Temba Bavuma, Mulder, Rickelton, Van der Dussen, Rabada and Maphaka away with the Proteas in Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, the Lions have more than enough quality to target reclaiming the One-Day Cup title they won for three successive seasons from 2020/21 to 2022/23.
The Pride looks forward to welcoming all fans from far and wide to the DP World Wanderers Stadium to support the DP World Lions: Come on down, ROAR with pride, and enjoy the time of your life!
One Day Cup: DP World Wanderers Stadium fixtures
23 February – DP World Lions v North West Dragons (10am)
1 March – DP World Lions v Knights (1pm)
5 March – DP World Lions v Boland Cricket (1pm)
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