The DP World Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg was electric on Saturday, 20 June 2026, as the annual Lions Cricket Awards took centre stage. Celebrating excellence across all tiers of the sport – from grassroots club heroes to the elite DP World Lions professionals – two University of Johannesburg (UJ) Cricket Club’s female players, Diara Ramlakan and Sibongile Mkhize, walked away with five prestigious awards.

Ramlakan was named the Telkom Under-19 Player of the Season. She was also nominated for Batter of the Season in the women’s team. On the other hand, Mkhize won three awards; the Best Bowler in the T20 competition, Fans’ Best Player of the Season, and Most Improved Player of the Season.

“I’m very happy to win this award. It was a good season and I think I have made my mark in the game thus far. This is only the beginning – I believe that the best is still to come. Going forward, I’d like to see more UJ student-athletes getting nominated and winning more awards,” said Ramlakan.

Several university students secured various awards including the Lions Enza Premier A Time League, the Black Widow Premier A T20, and the Premier A Overall League. These included individual accolades for Best Player for the Black Widow Premier A T20 and Best Player for the Black Widow Premier B T20.

The Lions Cricket pipeline as a whole enjoyed a historic 2025/2026 season. All four Lions youth representative teams reached their respective provincial finals, while the U16 and U19 boys’ squads went a step further, conquering their national competitions.

Follow UJ Sport on Facebook, X and Instagram for daily updates.