The DP World Lions Women’s team had multiple disruptions in the first half of their season, with countless call-ups to national teams and the stop-start nature of the schedule, but coach Shaun Pretorius is now looking forward to a more settled squad finishing strong in the back end of their campaign, starting with this weekend’s Pro50 and Pro20 matches in the Hollywoodbets Pro Series against the Free State Knights.
The Pro Series has five more rounds to play, so it is at the halfway mark, but those rounds will be completed on March 23, so there is plenty of action to look forward to in the coming weeks for #ThePrideOfJozi.
They will be hosting the Knights at the DP World Wanderers Stadium and will be taking confidence not only from the strong team they have assembled but also the result of their last outing.
The DP World Lions became the first team to beat the high-flying Dolphins in any format this season when they triumphed by 31 runs in their Pro20 fixture in Durban, lifting them to third on the log. They are eight points behind the Dolphins and 12 behind Western Province, but they have a game in hand on both teams.
WORK TO DO
Our Pride are also third in the Pro50 standings, but they have more work to do in the one-day format because they are 14 points behind the first-placed Dolphins and probably have to win all five of their remaining matches to have a chance of claiming the title.
“It’s a huge compliment to the players that they executed the game-plan so well against the Dolphins that we were the first team to win against them,” Pretorius says. “We can do a lot more still in terms of our 50-over performances, but we’re happy to be back at the Bullring and taking some momentum from that T20 win.
“The squad has been training for the last one-and-a-half months and we’ve had many matches both internally and against other franchises in terms of game-time during the break. So we are looking strong, it’s a more settled team and we’ve done a lot of preparation. Now we just need to stay focused and win the small phases of play that are so important.”
TAKE NOTHING FOR GRANTED
If coach Pretorius is going to have any firm words with his charges, it is going to be to remind them of the importance of taking nothing for granted, especially since the Knights are winless in the Pro50 this season and seven points behind them in the T20 log.
“I don’t look at the log in preparing for the opposition, I take every game as if we are playing the champions or our No 1 rivals. You have to always show up with your game face on and make sure we execute everything within our control,” he says.
Helping to bring the intensity will be the presence of Proteas stars Tazmin Brits, Sinalo Jafta and Ayabonga Khaka, but fellow international Tumi Sekhukhune unfortunately has a small shoulder problem and is not available to play this weekend. Allrounder Jenna Evans is also out injured.
With free entrance to both of this weekend’s games, the Pride encourages you to come cheer on our Ladies – because your support, your pride, your passion and warmth really does make a significant difference and walking this journey with our fans is a privilege.
DP World Wanderers Stadium fixtures v Knights:
Pro50: 15 February, Saturday, 10am
Pro20: 16 February, Sunday, 10am