Tag: Morne van Wyk

Text Info Strip

Back

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…

Read More

Liam Alder Named Overall SACA MVP for Domestic Division 2

Following the completion of all domestic fixtures, Liam Alder of the Garden Route Badgers finished at the top of the…

Read More

TWELVE YEARS OF RESEARCH-BASED PLAYER SERVICE

Over the past 12 years, the South African Cricketers’ Association (SACA) has cemented its dedication to evidence-based practice through a…

Read More

ZONDO & VAN WYK GUIDE HEAT CHASE

Fifties from Morne van Wyk and Khaya Zondo helped Durban Heat to a consolatory six-wicket win over Cape Town Blitz at a sunny Newlands on Sunday afternoon.

Durban Heat are already out of the running for a playoff position at the business end of the Mzansi Super League, and their opposition today were already assured of an automatic ticket to a home final next Sunday thanks to Jozi Stars’ loss earlier in the day, but a 79-run stand between van Wyk and Zondo allowed Heat to leave Cape Town with a win and their pride intact.

Chasing a challenging 161 for 6, Heat lost opener Sarel Erwee in the first over and an off-colour Hashim Amla just after the Powerplay, but van Wyk and Zondo soon brought their chase back on track. Van Wyk lead the way early on, bringing up a 42-ball fifty in the 14th over, but Zondo was also quickly into his stride.

Zondo whipped Malusi Siboto over cow corner for his first six in the 13th over and then flat-batted a full toss from medium pacer Ferisco Adams over extra cover to take the asking rate under 10. Van Wyk’s dismissal, pulling Dale Steyn into the hands of Sibonelo Makhanya at deep square leg to fall for 56 in the 16th over, tipped the balance once more, but Zondo responded in style.

Adams was dispatched for back-to-back sixes at the start of the 16th over – the first of which brought up Zondo’s 35-ball fifty, and David Miller then biffed Nandre Burger over wide long on to take the equation down to just five from the final over. Zondo top-edged the first ball of that last over, bowled by Siboto, to third man for four to level the scores, and though he fell straight afterwards aiming to end the game with a flourish, Miller tapped the winning single wide of mid-off to guide Heat home.

The total Heat were chasing was largely due to another adventurous innings from Quinton de Kock, who maintained his hot streak with the bat with an unbeaten 86 from 55 deliveries to power the Blitz innings. De Kock was not off to his usual flier – a probing first spell from Rashid Khan inside the Powerplay made sure of that – but he picked up momentum through the innings.

De Kock lost his opening partner Janneman Malan in the first over of the innings, bowled by Khan for his first duck in an otherwise remarkably consistent performance through this tournament, and with Dawid Malan also quickly undone by Kyle Abbott, Blitz ended the Powerplay at a modest 28 for 2.

Halfway through the innings, de Kock’s strike rate was well under a run a ball, but he found his groove against Tladi Bokako, taking 17 off his third over, and a brace of fours off Keshav Maharaj brought up his 34-ball fifty in the 13th over.

From that point onwards, de Kock shifted through the gears despite a committed effort with the ball from Heat, attacking the short boundary against Rashid with some audacious hitting. Reverse sweeps from consecutive deliveries in the 19th over, bowled by Rashid, both brought sixes and alongside Mohammad Nawaz he rattled through a 51-run, fifth-wicket stand from just 25 deliveries. Thanks to van Wyk and Zondo’s contributions, however, Heat did at least leave Cape Town with a win.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

ABBOTT SPEARHEADS THE HEAT TO THEIR FIRST VICTORY

Kyle Abbott bowled the Durban Heat to their opening Mzansi Super League victory after the rain intervened at Kingsmead on Wednesday afternoon.

Abbott claimed 4/27 to restrict the Tshwane Spartans 139/9, with the visitors only batting 19 overs due to weather disruptions. The Heat’s batsmen managed to get up to 129/6 after 16.3 overs before the heavens opened once more, forcing the players off for the final time.

That was enough to take the points with the Heat ahead of the Duckworth Lewis par-score of 120, thereby handing the home team victory by 10 runs.

It certainly was a day for the bowlers with only Tshwane Spartans opening batsman Gihahn Cloete striking the ball with any form of fluency. Cloete soared to the top of the Mzansi Super League run-scoring charts with 55 off 43 balls (7×4).

Unfortunately for the Spartans, Cloete did not have a partner to sustain the momentum. Only Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikander Raza managed 20 off 20 balls before Abbott cleaned up the Tshwane middle-order.

Even AB de Villiers failed for the first time in this tournament with the former Standard Bank Proteas captain being trapped LBW by Keshav Maharaj while attempting a reverse-sweep.

The Heat run-chase never quite raced out of the blocks with solid contributions from Hashim Amla (24), Morne van Wyk (22), Heinrich Klaasen (21) keeping the home team up with the required run-rate before a rapid 50-run partnership between Khaya Zondo (25 off 11 balls) and Albie Morkel (26 off 12 balls) for the fifth-wicket raised the tempo of the innings.

Lutho Sipamla tried valiantly for the Spartans with 3/22, but it was not enough to deny the Heat their first victory of the competition.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

MZANSI SUPER LEAGUE ANNOUNCES FINALISED T20 SQUADS

The inaugural Mzansi Super League (MSL) T20 Player Draft was held today at Montecasino in Johannesburg today.

Each team had already been allocated a Marquee Standard Bank Protea player. Today the teams made their picks from the six International Marquee Players and then filled the remaining 14 places in each squad from the foreign and South African players who had applied to enter the draft.

In the mini-round to select the International Marquee Players, the Durban heat had first call and went for Rashid Khan of Afghanistan, the No. 1 ranked bowler in the current ICC T20 rankings. They were followed by the Jozi Stars who went for Chris Gayle of the Windies. Paarl Rocks followed with another Windies player, Dwayne Bravo. Cape Town Blitz then took Dawid Malan of England followed by Tshwane Spartans with England white ball captain Eoin Morgan and Nelson Mandela Bay Giants with England opening batsman Jason Roy.

In round one proper, the Giants led off with Chris Morris, followed by the Spartans with Lungi Ngidi, the Blitz with Andile Phehlukwayo, the Rocks with Tabraiz Shamsi, the Stars with Kolpak star Dane Vilas and the Heat with David Miller.

Lutho Sipamla became the first rookie to be chosen in Round Eight by the Spartans and they followed with another rookie in Tony de Zorzi in Round Nine. Other rookies signed were Sinethemba Qeshile for the Stars, Dyllan Matthews for the Giants, Okuhle Cele for the Heat, Eathan Bosch for the Rocks, and Kyle Verreynne for the Blitz.

The resulting teams are a unique blend of both local youth and international experience which is sure to make for some very exciting cricket.

The Draft order was predetermined by a weighted Player Matrix system. The players who are eligible for the main Draft are those who entered into a binding agreement to enter the Draft.

FINAL SQUADS

(in order of Protea Marquee Player, International Marquee Player, and then the 14 draft rounds, making a total of 16 players per squad)

CAPE TOWN BLITZ: Quinton de Kock, Dawid Malan (England), Andile Phehlukwayo, Dale Steyn, Samuel Badree (Windies), Asif Ali (Pakistan), Farhaan Behardien, Anrich Nortje, Janneman Malan, Malusi Siboto, George Linde, Ferisco Adams, Jason Smith, Sibonelo Makhanya, Kyle Verreynne (rookie), Dane Piedt.

DURBAN HEAT: Hashim Amla, Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, Kyle Abbott (kolpak), Keshav Maharaj, Khaya Zondo, Albie Morkel, Marchant de Lange (kolpak), Vernon Philander, Brandon Mavuta (Zimbabwe), Temba Bavuma, Morne van Wyk, Okuhle Cele (rookie), Sarel Erwee, Tladi Bokako.

JOZI STARS: Kagiso Rabada, Chris Gayle (Windies), Dane Vilas, Rassie van der Dussen, Daniel Christian (Australia), Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, Dwaine Pretorius, Eddie Leie, Pite van Biljon, Duanne Olivier, Ryan Rickelton, Sinethemba Qeshile (rookie), Simon Harmer, Calvin Savage, Alfred Mothoa.

NELSON MANDELA BAY GIANTS: Imran Tahir, Jason Roy (England), Chris Morris, Jon-Jon Smuts, Junior Dala, Christiaan Jonker, Aaron Phangiso, Ben Duckett (England), Sisanda Magala, Ryan McLaren, Heino Kuhn, Marco Marais, Dyllan Matthews (rookie), Lizaad Williams, Rudi Second, Carmi le Roux.

PAARL ROCKS: Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo (Windies), Tabraiz Shamsi, Dane Paterson, Aiden Markram, Mangaliso Mosehle, Bjorn Fortuin, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, Grant Thomson, Paul Stirling (Ireland), Tshepo Moreki, Henry Davids, Cameron Delport , Eathan Bosch (rookie), Patrick Kruger, Kerwin Mungroo.

TSHWANE SPARTANS: AB de Villiers, Eoin Morgan (England), Lungi Ngidi, Robbie Frylinck, Jeewan Mendis (Sri Lanka), Theunis de Bruyn, Rory Kleinveldt, Sean Williams (Zimbabwe), Gihahn Cloete, Lutho Sipamla (rookie), Tony de Zorzi (rookie), Dean Elgar, Andrew Birch, Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Shaun von Berg, Eldred Hawken.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

FRYLINCK BLASTS DOLPHINS TO THRILLING WIN

Robbie Frylinck struck two sixes from the final two deliveries to help the Hollywoodbets Dolphins to close the gap on the top two in the Momentum One-Day Cup with a thrilling three-wicket final-ball win over the World Sports Betting Cape Cobras in Paarl on Wednesday.

The Standard Bank Proteas all-rounder, who earlier took three wickets, held his nerve facing up to the inexperienced Ferisco Adams as the visitors made heavy weather towards the end of a 290-run chase at Eurolux Boland Park.

They should have cruised to victory after a supreme 161-run opening stand between Sarel Erwee and Morne van Wyk.

Veteran Van Wyk recorded the 24th century of his career after a constructive 107 (137 balls, 10 fours, 1 six), while fellow opener Erwee clubbed 80 (69 balls, 9 fours, 2 sixes).

The pair had left their side in a powerful position and they were on 240 for three at the end of 43 overs – with 50 needed from seven overs.

However, Adams (2/69) then removed Sibonelo Makhanya (19) and Calvin Savage (3), with George Linde (2/48) starting the slide by removing Van Wyk and Andile Phehlukwayo (20) taken out by Mthiwekhaya Nabe (1/46), leaving the Dolphins in a state of panic.

They still needed 13 from the final six balls and Frylinck kept his cool with 14 off six deliveries to take the Dolphins to within a point of the Cobras and Multiply Titans at the summit.

Earlier, it was JP Duminy who led from the front as the home side amassed 289 for six.

The captain plundered 86 (66 balls, 6 fours, 2 sixes), with Pieter Malan hitting 62 (88 balls, 5 fours).

Frylinck was the pick of the Dolphins bowlers, taking three for 44, and ended as their star man at the end after his big-hitting took them over the line.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

KNIGHTS EDGE PAST DOLPHINS IN TENSE THRILLER

The VKB Knights will host the Momentum One-Day Qualifier on Sunday after they beat the Hollywoodbets Dolphins in a low-scoring thriller at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday night.

In a see-saw affair, the visitors made heavy work of a modest 205 target and had to rely on an unbeaten last wicket stand of 27 to get them over the line with four balls to spare. Sammy Mofokeng (17) and Marchant de Lange (7) were the heroes in a remarkable game that could so easily have gone either way.

Dillon du Preez and Imran Tahir claimed 4/31 apiece for their respective sides, but it boiled down to nerves at the end as the Knights held theirs in what was essentially a quarter-final meeting.

The Central franchise will now host the Warriors in Bloemfontein in the next round, with the Multiply Titans awaiting the winner in the March 31 final.

But they had to work hard to get there, despite a disciplined performance with the ball after they had lost the toss and were asked to bowl first.

The home side were in trouble from the outset after losing in-form openers Morne van Wyk (11) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (8) inside the first six overs. The visiting bowlers continued to chip away through the likes of Shadley van Schalkwyk (2/34) and Mofokeng (2/45).

Despite the efforts of top-scorer Sarel Erwee (44), the Dolphins were in a defensive mode for most of their innings, but did manage to pass 200 thanks to Andile Phehlukwayo (39), Robbie Frylinck (36) and Prenelan Subrayen (25).

The Knights then looked to be cruising to victory thanks to an opening stand of 61 between Rudi Second (39) and Tumelo Bodibe (20). But a collapse of five wickets for 12 runs saw the visitors plunge from 61/0 to 73/5 – David Miller amongst the wickets to fall when he was dismissed by Tahir for a first ball duck.

But a 56-run sixth wicket stand between captain Pite van Biljon (44) and Aubrey Swanepoel (42) looked to have steadied the ship, and they looked in more control after the latter was part of a 42-run seventh wicket stand.

More drama followed with three more quick wickets leaving the Knights on 180/9, but Mofokeng and De Lange squeezed their side home.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

MOSEHLE BLASTS TITANS TO RAM SLAM VICTORY

 Mangaliso Mosehle played his finest innings to date in one of the biggest matches of his career to help The Unlimited Titans lift the RAM SLAM T20 trophy in front of a full house home crowd at SuperSport Park. 

 

After the Sunfoil Dolphins had posted what looked to be a challenging 159 for five, Mosehle walked in at No. 3 and smashed seven sixes to score 87 from 39 balls. Although Mosehle and Henry Davids (35), with whom he put on 123 in 67 balls for the second wicket, fell to successive deliveries from Kyle Abbott, by that stage the game was won. With just 12 runs needed from 33 balls, Farhaan Behardien and Albie Morkel merely needed to keep their heads, which they did to record a seven-wicket win with 19 balls to spare. 

 

It was the first time since the 2011/12 season that the Titans had won the domestic Twenty20 competition, and it gave Rob Walter his third trophy since taking over as coach of the franchise at the start of the 2013/14 season. Given their dominance in the league phase, when they won eight games on the trot and finished 13 points clear at the top of the table, nobody could claim they were not deserved winners. One of the keys to their success has been the number of bases that they cover, and that was the case once again.

 

Albie Morkel was able to call on no fewer than eight bowling options, all of whom did a job as the Dolphins were strangled in the middle period of their innings. With runs hard to come by, Morne van Wyk (29), Jonathan Vandiar (26) and Kevin Pietersen all holed out as they tried to get the scoreboard going. A late blast from Dwayne Bravo and David Miller gave the visitors something to bowl at as they took 65 off the last six overs, with Bravo making 53 from 30 balls and Miller scoring 33. But that proved inadequate once Mosehle got going. While he has a List A century to his name as well as an unbeaten 93 in the shortest format, neither have come in such a pressure situation. As he went hard at the Dolphins, their bowlers had no answer, with Imran Tahir taking the worst punishment when Mosehle took 24 off his second over. That took the required rate below a run a ball, and the Titans eased home from there. Davids was named RAM Deliverer of the Day and Mosehle RAM Slammer of the day.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

DOLPHINS SET THE STAGE FOR A THRILLING RAM SLAM FINAL

TheCape Cobras contrived to blow the advantage given to them by Richard Levi’s superb innings, as the Sunfoil Dolphins clung on for a thrilling five-run victory at Sahara Stadium Kingsmead that put them into the RAM SLAM T20 Challenge Final. Andile Phehlukwayo was once again the bowling hero at the death for the Dolphins, being given the 18th and 20th overs to take 2/7 and also build the pressure that led to the run out of Justin Ontong.

With Levi blitzing 85 from just 43 balls, the Cobras went into the last five overs of their chase needing just a run a ball with seven wickets in hand to win the play-off.

Although Levi had departed by that stage, with plenty of batting to come the Cobras looked certain victors, but they went on to lose five wickets for the addition of just 19 runs to grab defeat from the jaws of victory. The Dolphins will now travel to SuperSport Park to take on The Unlimited Titans in Saturday’s final, with their belief undoubtedly buoyed. After winning the toss and electing to bat first, they saw Cameron Delport put up his first significant score of the campaign as he scored 55 from 37 balls in an opening partnership with Morne van Wyk (57) that was worth 99.

That set the tone, and allowed David Miller and Kevin Pietersen to do what they do best once the openers had departed. The pair hit two sixes apiece, with Pietersen making 27 from 10 balls and Miller finishing unbeaten on 33 from 24 balls, as the Dolphins posted 178 for three. No team has scored more than 179 in the competition this season, and so it was clear that the Cobras faced a stiff challenge, particularly with a lack of firepower in their middle-order. Levi produced the big innings when they needed it most, bludgeoning seven sixes in a brutal innings that saw him reach 50 in just 20 deliveries.

The Cobras romped to 77 without loss in the power play, with Wayne Parnell (27) playing the supporting role, and, even after Levi misjudged the length and pace of a Delport delivery to depart in the 14th over, the game should have been in the bag. Yet the Cobras hit just two boundaries from that point on – both of them by Lesiba Ngoepe (32) – and the pressure built up progressively as a result.

It was then that Phehlukwayo became the hero for the Dolphins – and not for the first time in this season’s competition either – bowling two of the last three overs, during which he conceded just seven runs off the bat and claimed two wickets, while Justin Ontong was also run out in his final over. The all-rounder is still four months shy of his 20th birthday on March 3 next year, but will now have the opportunity to showcase his growing skills and impressive nerve in South Africa’s most high-profile domestic game on Saturday.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

PRETORIUS STRIKES IN LIONS VICTORY

Dwaine Pretorius struck four crucial blows to give the bizhub Highveld Lions the sweet taste of revenge as they beat the Sunfoil Dolphins in a RAM SLAM T20 nail-biter at Bidvest Wanderers on Sunday.

Pretorius’ 4 for 22 gave him a personal best in the format, but most importantly included the wickets of David Miller, Dwayne Bravo and Ryan McLaren as the Lions clung on to win by six runs.

The victory was all the more satisfying for the fact that the Lions had lost to the Dolphins by one run in the second round of the competition – a defeat that clearly set the young side back as they went on to lose their next two games.

This victory moved them up to fourth on the table with 12 points from six games, and gave them fresh hope of catching the top three – they are now four points behind the third-placed Cobras, who the Lions will host at the same venue in a week’s time.

By contrast the Dolphins have now failed to win in four games, and although they remain in second place, they lead the Cobras by just two points, having played a game more.

While Pretorius’ bowling swung the game in the second innings, Alviro Petersen’s unbeaten 60 from 41 balls kept the Lions in the game during the first innings as they posted 145 for six.

With Devon Conway (28) the only other real contributor, the hosts were unable to form any meaningful partnerships, as much because of their mistakes as the Dolphins’ good bowling – both Conway and Andre Malan were guilty of pulling long-hops straight to fielders.

With Morne van Wyk (20) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld putting on 45 for the first wicket while the ball was still hard, and Van Jaarsveld going on to score 42 from 28 balls, the Lions’ total looked short.

Aaron Phangiso pegged the Dolphins back by dismissing Van Jaarsveld and Khaya Zondo, but David Miller got himself in and put the visitors on track when he took 17 off an Eddie Leie over.

However, Hardus Viljoen pulled things back for the Lions with a quiet over that saw him finish with figures of 1 for 15 from four overs, and in the next over Pretorius cleaned up both Miller and Bravo to leave 23 runs required from the final two overs.

McLaren’s two fours off Lonwabo Tsotsobe in the penultimate over left 13 required off the last, which was whittled down to seven off the last two balls before Pretorius bowled McLaren to seal the game – much to the delight of the home side.

Share:

Text Info Strip

Back

TITANS FACE TESTING WEEK IN BATTLE AT THE TOP

With four straight wins under their belt The Unlimited Titans may be the form team in the RAM SLAM T20, but they know that they face their toughest challenges in the competition this week, starting with Wednesday’s visit to the Sunfoil Dolphins. Losing to the Dolphins in their opening game, the Titans have gone on an impressive winning streak to sit level with their opponent at the top of the standings.

But this week sees them visit the Dolphins and then travel to Cape Town to take on the third-placed Cape Cobras on Friday, making it a crucial few days in the race for top spot and an automatic place in the final.

The Titans have retained the same squad that conquered the Warriors over the weekend, with coach, Rob Walter, enjoying the depth that he has found in his ranks.

“We’ve changed our team pretty much every game for varying reasons – from family loss to injury to game plans – so what’s nice is that the guys who have come in and got an opportunity to play have stood up and done something for us,” said Walter.

“So we’re happy with everyone’s form, and we want to be able to field a team that is specific to our opposition or the conditions, and know that whoever we bring in is in form and is ready to play. We obviously have good momentum, but I see Wednesday and Friday as being our biggest challenges.”

After winning their first four games, the Dolphins were finally felled on Sunday when Wayne Parnell engineered a five-wicket win for the Cobras.

“It’s just the nature of the game,” reflected Morne van Wyk. “It’s such a short format that you have to be on the ball all of the time, and it’s hard to claw yourself back if you aren’t.”

The Dolphins do, however, need to figure out their best combinations now that Kevin Pietersen has departed, Prenelan Subrayen has been banned from bowling and Kyle Abbott has flown to India to play for the Proteas.

After scoring 77 off just 46 balls for KZN Inland in the CSA Provincial T20 Challenge this weekend, Vaughn van Jaarsveld has returned to the Dolphins squad along with Sibonelo Makhanya.

While SuperSport Park’s quicker surface did not require a spinning ally for Keshav Maharaj on Sunday, replacing Subrayen, who took 4 for 22 the last time these teams met, may be a priority for Sahara Stadium Kingsmead’s conditions on Wednesday.

“It will be tough to replace him because he’s a star performer who’s done really well for us, but you need your squad to perform in a competition and it’s an opportunity for someone else to contribute and showcase their skills,” said Van Wyk.

Share: