THE NORTHERN Cape Heat could not quite get their 2026 YesPlay Pro20 Cup campaign firing, with early setbacks, a washout, inconsistent batting and a string of close calls preventing them from building any real momentum in the competition.

Their final Pool B match against the North West Dragons in Potchefstroom on Sunday offered a glimpse of what might have been, but the weather intervened before the Heat could turn an encouraging performance into a victory.

After being sent in to bat, the Kimberley side stumbled to 51/3 after eight overs. Steve Stolk made 25 off 20 balls and Nonelela Yikha contributed 19, but neither could carry on to a substantial score.

Simpson struck 51 not out off 35 balls, including four fours and three sixes, while Neil finished on 74 not out from 41 deliveries, hitting six fours and five sixes. Their late assault gave the Heat a total to defend after more than 50 runs came from the closing overs.

The Dragons' reply began badly. Hernus Marais removed Wihan Lubbe and Lesiba Ngoepe in successive deliveries, before Ruan van Rooyen dismissed Diego Rosier to leave the hosts reeling at 22/3 after 3.1 overs.

For the Heat, it was a frustrating conclusion to a campaign in which individual performances too often failed to translate into consistent team results.

During this campaign, Nonelela Yikha was among the side's standout batters, scoring 79 against the Garden Route Badgers and helping the Heat recover from a disastrous start. 

Steve Stolk also showed his attacking potential, blasting 89 off 45 balls in the team's only victory, a rain-affected win over the Wenbro Impalas. 

Neil and Simpson then provided Sunday’s encouraging partnership against the Dragons, while Marais and van Rooyen made an immediate impact with the ball also on Sunday.

A washout against Eastern Cape Iinyathi earlier in the competition further disrupted their campaign.

They finished seventh in Pool B, with one win, four defeats and one no-result from six matches, missing out on the Super 8 stage.

The task now is to turn these flashes of individual quality into a more reliable team performance as the cricket season kicks on. Stronger starts with the bat, greater support for players who get set and more disciplined execution under pressure will be crucial when the Heat turn to their next assignment.

The Pro20 campaign may not have delivered the results they wanted, but the final innings against the Dragons showed that the Heat can still finish strongly. 

The challenge is to make that level of performance the standard rather than the exception.