Player Profile – Sipho Potsane (Jeppe)
Tshepang Dithole looked comfortable and settled. The seasoned Hollywoodbets Dolphins opener had worked his way to 104 from 184 deliveries. The pitch was good for batting and, to borrow a phrase, the left-hander was seeing the ball like a beach ball.
Sipho Potsane, who had conceded 16 runs in six overs, landed the first ball of his seventh over in line with the fifth stump. Dithole danced down the wicket and tried to bash the ball down the ground. He misread the speed of the delivery and sent the ball to Richard Seletswane, who took an easy catch at mid-off.
It was a crucial breakthrough for the DP World Lions. It was also the Jeppe schoolboy’s maiden first class wicket.
“The team allowed me to express myself, gave me the room to be who I am, whether it was on or off the field. The guys backed me all the way,” Potsane told SuperSport Schools Plus about his first-class debut, which he made in October.
He finished the innings with 3/72 in 20 overs. In the second innings, he was unlucky to go wicketless, but it was, undoubtedly, a successful debut by the teenager, who helped the Lions to a draw after being made a late inclusion in the Lions team.
Potsane was with Jeppe at the Oppenheimer Michaelmas Week, at Michaelhouse, when he got the call to join the Lions. So, while his teammates climbed on the bus and headed back to Johannesburg, he made his way to Durban.
“I highly look up to Keshav Maharaj. I love watching him bowl. He’s got good control, variations and is experienced as well. It was truly special to share the field with him on my first-class debut,” said Potsane.
“I loved watching him bowl and [I loved] the chat we had after the game, sharing his experiences with me.”
He earned his franchise debut because of the value he brings with the ball as one of the most accurate and consistent spin bowlers in Gauteng. According to data provided by the Lions, only 2.09 percent of the balls from the 383.3 overs he delivered between 2024 and 2025 were wides, and that, of course, takes into consideration the fact that he is a left-arm spinner and the tighter calls made on wides in the shorter forms of the game.
In those 383.3 overs, he conceded 1 517 runs, and only 3.16 percent of them were wides. In layman’s terms, he cost his teams a mere 48 runs in wides. Those numbers matter because most young left-arm spinners tend to drift down the leg side and give up runs in that manner.
“He attacks the stumps and varies his pace very well. He is also very smart and understands batters, so he counters a lot of their plans,” Ahmed Nawab, the Gauteng Lions u19 coach, said.
Even more impressive is Potsane’s bowling average. He’s picked up 81 wickets at 18.73. His strike rate of 28.39 balls per wicket speaks of a bowler with the ability to work out what each surface needs, while his economy of 3.96 – remembering the figures include shorter forms of the game, which usually feature pitches that favour the batsmen – speaks volumes about his skill.
Those statistics cover Potsane’s matches for Jeppe, Lions u19, the Central Gladiators Cubs, and provincial trials.
The spinner discovered and then fell in love with cricket by spending time with his father, Jack. The older Potsane is a big fan of Test cricket and is an immovable figure when the longer format is on the TV while he is at home.
“I was 10 when I tried it out and found my passion after one practice session. I didn’t find just a sport to play but my happy place,” Potsane shared.
The spinner will be aiming to express himself and add value while sharing his love for the sport when he travels to Bloemfontein with the Lions u19 team for the Khaya Majola Week, which runs from 16-21 December.
He was a member of the Lions team that won the Khaya Majola Week in 2023. Last year, the Lions finished as the runner-up to Western Province. This year, Sipho Potsane, as the most experienced member of the side, is focused on helping the Lions to return to the top once again.
