24 Mar WP And North West Primed For Decisive Women’s T20 And One-Day Cup Weekend
JOHANNESBURG – League-leaders Six Gun Grill Western Province and the relegation-threatened North West Dragons emphasise the importance of this weekend’s CSA Women’s Provincial One-Day and T20 Cup fixtures with the season’s hopes on the line for both teams ahead of the penultimate weekend.
Sitting atop of the Division One One-Day and T20 Cup tables, Western Province are set to host their closest title rival and second-placed (50-over) Hollywoodbets Dolphins across both formats at the Six Gun Grill Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
Meanwhile, the North West Dragons, who currently sit at the bottom of the table in both competitions despite beginning the season as the defending One-Day Cup champions, will take on their familiar foes in the DP World Lions at the University of Johannesburg Main Oval.
In what is set to be a decisive weekend in the title charge, WP head coach Claire Terblanche has full faith in her side staying the course towards sealing a double-winning season despite suffering a defeat in both competitions against the Lions last weekend.
Western Province went down to the Lions by seven wickets in the T20 Cup, which was preceded by a 94-run loss in the 50-over format the day before, a result that brought this weekend’s opponents back into the title race.
“It was a tough loss last weekend,” Terblanche commented.
“As a team, we don’t like to lose but you’ve got to have a winner and a loser and we are playing in a competition where unfortunately, we were on the receiving end in this one.
“Our bounce-back-ability is going to be tested this coming weekend and I feel that we have got quite a strong bounce-back-ability in this team and knowing that we have to take responsibility and accountability for when we need to improve, and just implement those things this weekend.
“This top of the table clash will be a good one between the Dolphins and Western Province at Newlands and I believe that Western Province has more to give and more to show, and I don’t think we are done just yet,” the coach added.
A One-Day Cup defeat, with a bonus point, against Western Province on Saturday will see the Dolphins take over top spot, with one round of fixtures to go. WP will also need to win their T20 Cup match if they are to keep second-placed Lions at bay, with only one point separating the top two sides.
On the opposite end of the table, the North West Dragons face a must-win end to the rest of the One-Day Cup campaign if they are to escape relegation, with the Potchefstroom-based side rooted to the bottom of Division One on six points, two wins behind this weekend’s adversary, the Lions.
On the back of their bye last weekend and ahead of their all-important One-Day Cup clash against the Lions, Dragons head coach Claude April stresses the significance of the final stretch of the campaign in light of their relegation battle.
“It’s do or die in the next coming two weeks for us as a province and as a side,” Coach April said.
“So much is at stake, not just for staying in the top flight of women’s cricket, but with it also, the future of some of our contracted players who are receiving an income through us being in the top six (Division One).
“We have all to play for. Every game, and the last two games, are do or die. It’s a final and there is no room for mistakes. We have to give it our all,” he concluded.
For any chance of survival, the Dragons will need to convincingly win their remaining two games while hoping for other results to go their way in final two rounds of the season.
In the other Division One fixture this weekend, newly-promoted Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers will be at home to their mid-table rivals, the Fidelity Titans in Oudtshoorn.
In Division Two, Pool A victors Free State will make the trip to East London to take on Eastern Cape Iinyathi across both T20 and One-Day formats in their final league match before their promotional play-off against the winners of Pool B, Northern Cape Heat, for a place in first division.
The Heat, who sealed their play-off place with a victory last weekend, will wrap up their league-phase action with a One-Day and T20 Cup contest against the Eastern Storm at Willowmoore Park in Benoni.
All matches will get underway at 10h00 (SAST) on Saturday and Sunday, with all the action streamed live on YouTube via @ProteasWomenCSA on social media.
Tournament Logs & Statistics –
CSA Women’s Provincial One-Day Cup
CSA Women’s T20 Cup
Fixtures –
CSA Women’s Provincial One-Day Cup – Saturday, 25 March 2023
Division One
10h00 SAST: Six Gun Grill Western Province vs Hollywoodbets Dolphins (Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town)
10h00 SAST: DP World Lions vs North West Dragons (UJ Main Oval, Johannesburg)
10h00 SAST: Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers vs Fidelity Titans (Six Gun Grill Recreation Ground, Oudtshoorn)
Division Two
10h00 SAST: Eastern Cape Iinyathi vs Free State (Buffalo Park, East London)
10h00 SAST: Eastern Storm vs Northern Cape Heat (Willowmoore Park, Benoni)
CSA Women’s Provincial T20 Cup – Sunday, 26 March 2023
Division One
10h00 SAST: Six Gun Grill Western Province vs Hollywoodbets Dolphins (Six Gun Grill Newlands, Cape Town)
10h00 SAST: DP World Lions vs North West Dragons (UJ Main Oval, Johannesburg)
10h00 SAST: Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers vs Fidelity Titans (Six Gun Grill Recreation Ground, Oudtshoorn)
Division Two
10h00 SAST: Eastern Cape Iinyathi vs Free State (Buffalo Park, East London)
10h00 SAST: Eastern Storm vs Northern Cape Heat (Willowmoore Park, Benoni)
ENDS
Issued by: Cricket South Africa – Corporate Communications
ABOUT CRICKET SOUTH AFRICA
Cricket South Africa (CSA), an affiliate of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) and a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC), is the national governing body for the sport of cricket in South Africa and administers all aspects of South African cricket, men, and women, both in the professional and amateur spheres.