Ongoing

  1. ElectionsHot
  2. US mid-termsHeating up
  3. AICooling
NewsbriefSouth Africa, briefly.
JoburgJHB29°69%
CTCT21°90%
PretoriaPTA33°75%
DurbanDBN30°20°

Rain forces no-result as Dragons and Heat share points

Published

The YesPlay Pro20 Pool B match at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom ended without a result on Sunday 25 October. Northern Cape Heat had scored 180-3 in 20 overs, and each side took two points.

Jordan Neil scored an unbeaten 71 from 41 balls for Heat. Blake Simpson added an unbeaten 51 from 31 balls. The two shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 129 runs.

In the chase, the Dragons were 22-3 after 3.1 overs when the match stopped. Hernus Marais dismissed Wihan Lubbe and Lesiba Ngoepe, and Ruan van Rooyen dismissed Diego Rosier.

The Dragons finished fifth in Pool B and Heat finished seventh.

Key facts

Who
Jordan Neil (Northern Cape Heat batter, top-scored with unbeaten 71); Blake Simpson (Northern Cape Heat batter, unbeaten 51); Hernus Marais (Dragons bowler who dismissed Wihan Lubbe and Lesiba Ngoepe); Ruan van Rooyen (Dragons bowler who dismissed Diego Rosier)
What
The Dragons vs Northern Cape Heat YesPlay Pro20 match was disrupted by weather and called off as a no-result, so both teams took two points. Heat had posted 180-3 in 20 overs, with Jordan Neil (71 not out) and Blake Simpson (51 not out) sharing an unbeaten 129-run fourth-wicket stand. The Dragons finished fifth and Heat seventh in Pool B.
When
25 October 2026
Where
Potchefstroom
Status
Final result

Related stories

Elections Hot

What you need to know

Voting in the 2026 Local Government Elections is under way at 23,696 stations, and the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) reported a smooth start on 4 November. Stations opened at 7am and close at 9pm, and by 10am preliminary figures showed 3,523,691 voters had cast ballots.

There were problems: unused ballot papers were stolen from Mnyameni Secondary School near Durban, police opened a case, and the IEC relieved the station staff of duty. Some voters in Tshwane said they were turned away for wearing party shirts, but the IEC denied this and said only mayoral candidates' entourages were barred.

ANC chairperson Gwede Mantashe told members not to query the results or discredit the IEC, while the IEC said false online claims show routine procedures as fraud.

  1. BOSA's Solomons flags one-ballot problem at Cape Town voting stations
  2. Mashatile urges new councillors to put voters first
  3. IEC dismisses MK Party worry about dead people on voters' roll

See every update

US mid-terms Heating up

What you need to know

Democrats won back both the US House and Senate in the midterm elections held on 3 November, according to media projections. Exit polls showed voters were angry about high prices and the direction of the country, and rebuked President Donald Trump.

Before the vote, US forces struck targets on Qeshm Island in Iran, while Republicans struggled to defend the war against Iran on the campaign trail. Iranian officials said US voters rejected the war, and Tehran stayed on high alert for possible new US strikes.

Markets reacted, with the dollar hitting a one-month low and the rand firming to around R16.55, as analysts pointed to fears of gridlock in Washington.

  1. Iran welcomes Democratic wins in US midterm elections
  2. Democrats win US Congress in midterm vote, projections show
  3. Ramaphosa wants US trade deal after AGOA suspension

See every update

AI Cooling

What you need to know

Nvidia has told its cloud computing clients to sell at least 51% of their services to non-Chinese companies, according to five people with knowledge of the matter. Anthropic said it has committed to spend close to $900bn on AI infrastructure, and that its computing costs are rising faster than its revenues.

Elsewhere, reports from unnamed sources say OpenAI's latest funding round is falling short of expectations, and a judge let the NAACP pollution case against xAI proceed. In South Africa, the VAST AI investment scheme went offline on 30 October after withdrawals marked approved did not arrive, according to a news investigation.

  1. Accenture faces accusations over AI report with false citations
  2. CrowdStrike to buy two AI security startups
  3. Google lets schools turn off AI tools but limits Search

See every update