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Proteas Prepare for International Summer as SACA MVP Expands 

The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) anticipates an exciting international summer for both the Proteas Men and Women. Kicking off…

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SACA Celebrates Tony Irish on Receiving the Prestigious Tim May Medal of Honour

The South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) is proud to celebrate its founder and former CEO, Tony Irish, who received the…

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Kyle Simmonds Crowned Overall Division 1 SACA MVP

The 2025/26 domestic cricket season concludes with Western Province all-rounder Kyle Simmonds named Division 1 Overall SACA MVP. Simmonds earned…

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COOK, HENDRICKS SECURE FIRST WIN FOR LIONS

Centuries by Stephen Cook and Reeza Hendricks outdid tons by Andrew Puttick and Zubayr Hamza as the bizhub Highveld Lions ended the season on a high by ousting the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras by nine wickets in their final match in Potchefstroom on Sunday.

All four completed their hundreds on the final day, with the two visiting batsmen helping their side, who resumed overnight on 106 for one, to post 364 for three declared.

That left the home side a target of 257 in a little over 40 overs at Senwes Park and they took the game to the Cape side with an entertaining late-match chase that helped take them to a first triumph of the season.

It was first the turn of Puttick and Hamza – the former hitting 116 (241 balls, 11 fours) and the latter 121 (182 balls, 18 fours, 2 sixes) – as they scored their 27th and ninth career centuries respectively. The pair added a record 213 second wicket partnership for the Cobras against the Lions that enabled the visitors to declare on 364 for three.

It meant the Capetonians needed to bowl out their opponents to have a chance of winning the title. But things turned completely against them as they found Cook and Hendricks in no mood to scratch around.

The pair added a franchise record of 226 in 37.1 overs for the opening wicket.

Captain Cook was the main aggressor with 116 (106 balls, 14 fours), while Hendricks top-scored with an unbeaten 119 (124 balls, 18 fours) as the Lions reached their target in exactly 40 overs.

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HAMZA BATS COBRAS TO VICTORY

A fine ninth career century by Zubayr Hamza helped the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras stake their claim for the Sunfoil Series title with an eight-wicket win over the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in Pietermaritzburg on Sunday.

The young right-hander made an unbeaten 109 (182 balls, 19 fours) as the visitors chased down their 227-run victory target with relative ease at the City Oval.

Hamza shared in a 149-run unbroken third-wicket stand with Stiaan van Zyl, who followed his first innings 63 with 66 not out (99 balls, 9 fours, 1 six) in the second innings.

The Cobras always appeared in control during the chase despite losing Pieter Malan (18) when the score was on 27 and Andrew Puttick (20) when they had progressed to 78.

From then onwards, it was the Hamza-Van Zyl show as the target was reached in 65.1 overs, which was just after lunch on day four.

The Dolphins had started the day batting on 260 for eight and they managed to reach 291 thanks to Robbie Frylinck, who was left stranded on 50 (68 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes).

Debutant Junaid Dawood was the pick of the bowlers with three for 74.

The round eight result threw the title race wide open with the Cobras now up to 115.78 points, with the Dolphins moving to 99.4. Only two rounds now remain in the season.

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COBRAS END LOSING SEQUENCE WITH WARRIORS DRAW

Jason Smith and Aviwe Mgijima joined the PPC Newlands run fest on the final day of the Sunfoil Series clash between the BuildNat Cape Cobras and the Warriors as the match in Cape Town ended in a high-scoring draw on Sunday.

Smith hit 63 (99 balls, 8 fours, 1 six) and Mgijima made 54 (104 balls, 5 fours) – the pair both playing in the fourth franchise matches of their careers – as the hosts amassed 567/7 in reply to the visitors’ 525/7 declared.

Both totals were the highest against each other, in a match where bat dominated ball and only 14 wickets fell over the course of the four days.

There were three centurions – Colin Ackermann (146), Andrew Puttick (124) and Omphile Ramela (170) – to go along with six half-centurions.

Amongst the bowler, Basheer Walters was the most successful with 2/79, while Simon Harmer took 2/176 from a marathon 69 overs of spin.

The result at least provided some respite for the Cobras, who had lost both previous matches of the season to date. The Capetonians, who had resumed the final day on 374/3, took 2.82 points from the game.

The Warriors secured 4.98 points after one loss and one win from their first two matches.

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HENDRICKS AND COOK LEAD LIONS VICORTY

Centuries from Dominic Hendricks and opener Stephen Cook underpinned an innings-and-78-run victory for Lions over Cape Cobras in Potchefstroom.

Having chosen to bat, Lions lost Rassie van der Dussen early, but Stephen Cook and Hendricks combined well in a 261-run partnership to propel their side. Cook and Hendricks fell for 150 and 160 respectively, but there was no respite for Cobras. Yassar Cook, wicketkeeper-batsman Nicky van den Bergh, and Dwaine Pretorious all stroked fifties as Lions stacked up 580, before declaring the innings. As it turned out, they did not have to bat again.

The Cobras, who had managed only 258 in their first dig, fared worse, after being asked to follow on. Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin finished with a match haul of six wickets to clean up the lower order. Fast bowler Hardus Viljoen, who made light work of the top order, claimed figures of 4 for 42 to dismiss Cobras for 244.

Omphile Ramela Stiaan van Zyl, Wayne Parnell all had starts, but failed to push on. Parnell had a start in the first innings as well, which he converted to 62 before being pinned lbw by pacer Pumelela Matshikwe. Andrew Puttick scored 73 at the top of the order, but the middle order fell away. Lions ultimately walked away with 19.1 points to narrow the gap at the top of the table. Cobras, on the other hand, remained rooted to the bottom half of the table with just a solitary win in six matches.

 

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CAPE COBRAS TAKE THE WIN AT THE DIAMOND OVAL

Reeza Hendricks completed his return to form with an unbeaten 98, but it wasn’t enough to get the VKB Knights off the mark in the RAM SLAM T20 as the Cape Cobras triumphed by four wickets at the Diamond Oval.

After going through a lean spell in the Momentum One-Day Cup, when he managed just 101 runs in five innings, Hendricks showed signs of improvement with his 42 against the Dolphins last week and backed that up with a superb 66-ball knock that gave the Knights a total of 174 for five.That looked to be enough at several points in the Cobras reply, but the defending champions found the firepower in their batting line-up to keep up with a demanding asking rate and pick up their second win in the competition.

The Knights will feel they should have put the game to bed after Hendricks put on a 92-run stand with Rudi Second in under 11 overs, but that platform was dismantled by George Linde, who recorded figures of 4 for 21.Hendricks brought up his fifty off 39 balls in the 11th over of the innings, but the Knights were pegged back soon after when Justin Ontong took a stunning catch on the long-on boundary to dismiss Second (35).Linde backed that wicket up with two more in his next over as he lured Theunis de Bruyn out of his crease before extracting turn from the dry Kimberley surface, and then had Diego Rosier caught behind two balls later.Linde returned later to grab his fourth scalp, but Hendricks recovered from the barren spell brought on by his teammates’ struggles to take 30 off the final two overs and finish just short of three figures.

The Cobras’ task became harder when they had a poor powerplay, which yielded just 34 runs for the loss of two wickets and ramped the required rate up to 10 per over. However, Andrew Puttick (37) and Ontong (31) just about kept in touch with that in a partnership of 60, and after Ontong had fallen, Rory Kleinveldt was promoted to No. 5 and duly smashed four sixes in his 14-ball 36. Momentum shifted back to the Knights when Kleinveldt and Puttick holed out in quick succession, only to swing again when Sybrand Engelbrecht scored 33 off 15 balls. Engelbrecht fell with 12 runs still needed off nine deliveries, but Lesiba Ngoepe (16 not out) finished the game in style, hitting two sixes to carry the Cobras home with an over to spare.

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