The Momentum Multiply Titans have always set high standards, with SuperSport Park accustomed to adding to its glittering trophy collection each season.
Using that as a barometer, the 2024/25 season will be regarded as one of lost opportunities, with the Titans finishing as runners-up in the CSA T20 Challenge, CSA 1-Day Cup semi-finalists, and sharing the CSA 4-Day Series title with neighbours the Lions.
The shared first-class trophy, achieved on the final day of the summer, nonetheless showcased the Titans’ trademark determination, as they managed to salvage a draw despite being forced to follow on.
The success of a provincial union should not be adjudicated solely by the amount of silverware collected, but also by the players produced to serve the pipeline.
And this is where the Titans may have a raw diamond in their midst. While Lhuan-dre Pretorius had already won the Cricket South Africa Newcomer award last season after only a handful of performances, the teenager raised his game to an entirely different level.
Not since the emergence of Quinton de Kock has South African cricket been blessed with a player of Pretorius’ potential. The 19-year-old transferred his sensational Betway SA20 breakout season form — where he finished as the competition’s leading run-scorer — into the various formats for the Titans.
A couple of List A centuries were followed by three first-class centuries, including a match-saving 114 in the final against the Lions at the Wanderers.
The latter was an innings of the highest maturity, as Pretorius showed he was much more than a mere white-ball basher. He demonstrated the technique — and more importantly, the temperament — to spend five hours at the crease under immense pressure.
NEWS: "The Momentum Multiply Titans have added yet another piece of silverware to their illustrious cabinet, sharing the 4-Day Series Final trophy with the DP World Lions at Wanderers Stadium."
— Momentum Multiply Titans (@Titans_Cricket) April 15, 2025
Read more here🔗: https://t.co/K3BvXLm96V#WhereLegendsRise | #SkyBlues
It may not be long before Pretorius is lost to the Titans, as he graduates to the next level with the Proteas.
Before Pretorius’ meteoric rise, there was another generational talent at the Titans in Dewald Brevis. And were it not for Pretorius’ stunning season, the talk would certainly have focused on the player formerly known as “Baby AB”.
Brevis has certainly shrugged off that moniker this past season and developed into a classy cricketer in his own right.
Another to piggyback off superb SA20 form — where he helped MI Cape Town to their maiden title — Brevis was excellent in both white-ball and red-ball cricket, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer nationally in the 1-Day Cup and Four-Day Series.
Still only 21, Brevis totalled 398 runs at an average of 66.33, with a remarkable strike rate of 156.07 in the 1-Day Cup, while scoring 573 runs at 47.75 in the Four-Day Series.
Due to the stellar performances of the Titans’ youthful duo, Rivaldo Moonsamy’s consistency was often overlooked.
Moonsamy was prolific throughout the season, especially in the two white-ball formats, finishing second (281 runs at 35.12) and seventh (302 at 43.14) on the national lists in the T20 and 1-Day Cup respectively.
The Titans underwent a major change in their coaching structure midway through the season when head coach Mandla Mashimbyi was appointed Proteas Women’s coach back in November.
Instead of rushing into a full-time appointment, Titans management named Richard das Neves as interim coach until the end of the season. Das Neves was certainly well-versed in Titans culture and the team environment, having previously served as assistant coach in 2023/24 and High Performance Coach since 2021/22.
To the surprise of many — including a Titans press release that stated Das Neves to be “the most probable successor to Mashimbyi” — the head coach position will be filled by Rivash Gobind next season.
Gobind is a former Proteas Men’s team video analyst and KwaZulu-Natal Dolphins first-class cricketer, with experience in various roles for T20 franchise teams. He will take the helm for a three-season tenure, with his credentials including a Level 4 coaching certificate and a Master of Business Administration (MBA).
The Titans are expected to announce “a new senior position” for Das Neves shortly.
Meanwhile, the Fidelity Titans Women’s team recovered from a slow start in the Hollywoodbets Pro Series — managing just one win in both formats in the first half of the season — before rallying with three One-Day and five T20 victories to secure a fourth-place finish in both competitions.
Off-spinner Paulinah Mashishi, who was the Titans’ Player of the Year last season, was once again a leading performer for the Women’s team, ending 2024/25 with a total of 22 wickets in the Hollywoodbets Pro 50 and Pro 20.
The season also saw Proteas Women’s captain Laura Wolvaardt make her much-anticipated Titans debut. The event was significant, with Wolvaardt receiving her cap from Team Manager Karen Smithies before the match, marking the beginning of her "Sky Blue era".
There were certainly promising signs for both the Titans Men’s and Women’s teams to look ahead to the 2025/26 season with great optimism.
A Capitals failure in the SA20
It was an utterly dismal Betway SA20 Season 3 campaign for the Pretoria Capitals. A coaching change, with former England batter Jonathan Trott taking over from Graham Ford, did not have the desired effect, as the Capitals missed out on the playoffs for the second successive season.
Injuries — particularly to the fast bowlers — had a major impact on the Capitals. Anrich Nortje was ruled out again, having also missed the entirety of Season 2, while former captain Wayne Parnell was unable to take the field.
Parnell was initially replaced by Rilee Rossouw, but this change failed to yield results, with Kyle Verreynne eventually taking over the captaincy armband towards the end of the season. There was, however, one glimmer of hope for the Capitals, as rookie signing Keagan Lion-Cachet delivered a couple of gallant performances in an otherwise difficult campaign for the Sky Blues.