Ken Borland

The Imperial Lions and the Dolphins were forced to share the Momentum One-Day Cup trophy on Friday as their final in Potchefstroom was washed out with half-centuries by Lions middle-order batsmen Dominic Hendricks and Nicky van den Bergh being the most notable performances.

Early morning rain had delayed the start of play and reduced the match to 45 overs a side, and after being sent in to bat, captain Hendricks produced another fine innings as he scored 65 of 74 balls, while Van den Bergh scored a fighting 56 off 75 deliveries. They shared a fourth-wicket stand of 116 off 139 balls which was the foundation of the Lions total of 225 for seven.

The Lions would have wanted a few more but pace bowler Eathan Bosch produced a fine spell of bowling at the death to finish with four for 41 in his nine overs.

Off-spinner and captain Prenelan Subrayen put pressure on the Lions up front and bowled opener Wesley Marshall (22) with a beautiful turning delivery as he finished with one for 26.

Opening bowler Sisanda Magala then did the business for the Lions up front with the new ball as he took two wickets in the second over, Grant Roelofsen (1) and Marques Ackerman (0) failing to handle his heavy balls.

Michael Erlank (20*) and Ruan de Swardt (13*) were busy rebuilding the innings, taking the Dolphins to 37 for two in the 11^th over when the bad weather returned.

The Dolphins, who were awarded the title last season because they were top of the log when the Covid pandemic struck, also shared the trophy in 2017/18 with the Warriors.

For the Lions, it is their first Momentum One-Day Cup crown since 2015/16.