Warriors ready to embrace expanded T20 challenge

The Dafabet Warriors are eager to embrace the expanded Pro20 competition, with captain Matthew de Villiers believing the revamped format will provide an opportunity to test themselves against the best and showcase the depth of talent in the domestic game.

De Villiers knows the Warriors have shown they can compete at the highest level after a memorable 2025/26 campaign, but the new format offers another challenge with Division One and Division Two sides now brought together.

The Warriors claimed the T20 Challenge title last season, beating Boland in a Super Over in the final, with de Villiers finishing as the competition’s leading run-scorer with 394 runs. He was subsequently named the Division One T20 Challenge Player of the Season.

For the Warriors T20 captain, the new competition can provide a similar opportunity to the one he sought when coming through the game.

“Taking back to when I came out of high school, I was playing club cricket and performing at that level, sort of similar. I always wanted to try and play against the best players if possible,” de Villiers said.

“So, combining Division Two is almost, I think, similar to that. It’s giving opportunity to play at the level that we do at Division One, because I do believe that there is a difference in the levels.

“So it creates opportunity for players in the lower divisions to show their skills. So I think it’s quite a good initiative.”

The Warriors will go into the new campaign with a large core of last season’s squad, giving them continuity as they look to build on their T20 triumph.

They’re just cricket hungry and, you know, in our communities are very good, young, talented players.
— Matthew de Villiers on community impact of expanded competition

De Villiers believes the expanded format can also strengthen the connection between the game and Eastern Cape communities, while exposing local talent to higher-level cricket.

“I know our communities are cricket hungry, especially in the Eastern Cape that’s so big,” he said.

“People always speak about getting the Lions down there, getting the Dolphins down, whoever.

“They’re just cricket hungry and, you know, in our communities are very good, young, talented players.

“That in itself just tells you that we’ve got what it takes to compete.”

Retaining much of the squad that delivered last season’s success should also help the Warriors carry their momentum into the new campaign.

“In our squad at the moment as well, luckily we’ve kept a big core of our squad from last year, and yeah, the guys are just ready to come,” de Villiers said.

The expanded Pro20 will give the Warriors another chance to test themselves against a broader field, while allowing Division Two players to measure their abilities against established Division One opposition.

For a side that has already proved its T20 credentials, the challenge now is to do it again against an even wider field.