IT WILL BE CLEAR in the two finals to be played in Durban this weekend where the trophies of the two local women’s cricket tournaments known as the Hollywoodbets Pro Series will end up.
The final match of the T20 tournament, Hollywoodbets Pro20, which will be between DP World Lions and World Sports Betting Western Province, will be held at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on Friday at 6 pm.
These teams will meet again on the same field in the final of the 50 over games, Hollywoodbets Pro50, which will start at 10 am on Sunday.
The Lions and Western Province are the leading women’s cricket teams in the country in the 2025/26 season.
In the Pro20, Lions topped the log with 39 points in 10 games, followed by Province with 35 in equal games.
The same happened in the Pro50 where the Lions finished on top with 30 points in 10 games, while the Province finished second with 26 points.
Last season, Province became Pro20 champions, Lions took the Pro50 title.
The captain of the Lions T20 team, Kgomotso Rapoo, said that this time they intend to take both trophies.
“Western Province is a high-level team, we are looking forward to both finals. We have to change the way we think because it will be the first time we play in the finals, previously you got the title by climbing the log,” said Rapoo.
“It will help us to have more experienced players in the team but the most important thing is to do things in the right way. We have worked hard to get here, it would be bad if we finish at the top of both competitions and go home with our hands hanging.”
The Province captain, Leah Jones, believes that what will happen in the first game on Friday will have an effect on Sunday, even though they are different competitions.
“The Lions are our biggest rivals, a few years ago we didn’t have the titles. The most important thing is that we are better than them in every way when we are on the field. In the group stage, we couldn’t hold the lead in all the games, so we are looking to end the season with two high-quality games,” said Jones.
“The team that will win the first game will go into the second with confidence, but also the one that will be defeated will come back very determined to avoid losing twice. Anything can happen in these games.”
Since it will be the first time that the finals will be played in this tournament, Friday’s Pro20 will make another history since it will be the first women’s domestic tournament to be played in the afternoon after the lights have been lit on the field.
Devin Heffer who is the Brand and Communications Manager at the company that sponsored these tournaments, Hollywoodbets, said that this is a sign that women’s cricket continues to grow.
“It is amazing to see how women’s cricket has grown in this country. As we wrap up the second season of the Hollywoodbets Pro20 and Pro50, we are proud to be a part of developing this game,” said Heffer.
“When we chose to sponsor these tournaments, we aimed to see women’s cricket in this country improve every year until it reaches the same level as in other countries. We feel that this is happening very quickly.”
Hollywoodbets Pro Series is the first premium women’s cricket league in the country.