The Mpumalanga Rhinos have not had the ideal start to their 2024/25 season, suffering a tough loss at the hands of the Northern Cape Heat on Tuesday, September 24.

The Rhinos’ first game was scheduled to be against the Garden Route Badgers on Saturday, September 21, but the match was rained out and abandoned without a ball being bowled at Uplands College. This earned the Rhinos two points for the encounter as the sides shared the spoils to start the campaign.

But the Mpumalanga boys would have to wait until Tuesday to officially get their season under way in a clash with the Northern Cape Heat, again at Uplands.

The weather was much better this time around and the match started at 13:00, with the visitors having won the toss and choosing to bat first on a pitch that had been redone in the off-season and was a bit of a mystery to both sides.

The Heat were on fire from the get-go as opening batsmen Jonathan Vandiar and Ernest Kemm got their side off to a blazing start. The duo reached 92 before Vandiar was dismissed for 50, one ball after reaching the landmark. Kemm followed shortly thereafter, falling for 42.

Standing on 99-2 with two new batsmen at the crease, the Rhinos had the chance to turn the screws on the Heat. But the Heat’s middle order simply continued firing on all cylinders as the top order did, carrying their side to a total of 202-4 in the allotted 20 overs.

Christoffel Klijnhans contributed with 43* and Ruan Haasbroek with 32 runs of his own. Gareth Dukes, Shane Dadswell, Jon Hinrichsen and Themba Maupa all claimed a wicket each for the Rhinos, but Dukes was the most economical, conceding 36 runs in his four overs.

The Rhinos were in need of a similar start to the Heat if they had any chance of chasing down the sizeable total, but Yassar Cook fell early on followed by Nonelela Yikha just after the powerplay. In spite of the early wickets, Rhinos captain and opener Muhammed Mayet kept blazing a trail that none of his teammates could match.

He scored 76 off 41 balls before he was dismissed with his side on 140-3 after 14.2 overs. Former Rhinos captain Jurie Snyman was still at the crease, though, and had set a good platform for himself, leaving the Rhinos in a decent enough position to chase down the target.

However, some top bowling from the Heat in the final five overs quickly dispelled any hopes that the Rhinos had, as nobody could kick on and make use of the platform set by Mayet early on. Basheeru-Deen Walters and Zakhele Qwabe claimed two scalps apiece for the Heat, helping restrict the home side to 184-7 in their 20 overs.

This handed Northern Cape Heat an 18-run victory, which is a welcome change in fortunes after a one-run loss to Eastern Storm in their first game of the season.

Mpumalanga Rhinos will travel to Benoni this weekend for a clash with the Storm on September 29, in a bid to breathe some life into their 2024/25 season.