Ken Borland

After Sisanda Magala had taken five wickets to demolish the Knights for just 106 all out, the expectation was that the Imperial Lions would go for the bonus point win but their own top-order wobble meant in the end they settled for a comfortable seven-wicket triumph with 11 balls to spare.

The hugely talented Gerald Coetzee (4-1-19-2), playing his first game of the competition, had rocked the Lions with two wickets in his first two overs, leaving them on six for two.

Captain Temba Bavuma then came to the crease to join Reeza Hendricks and he said after the game their approach was to make sure they won the game on a tricky pitch, rather than reach their lowly target inside 16 overs.

That they did with a third-wicket stand of 93, which was ended when Hendricks was run out for a fighting 47.

Bavuma batted on and finished with a composed 53 not out off 47 balls.

The Knights had earlier won the toss and elected to bat first, but their batsmen were all short-lived tenants at the crease in the face of an outstanding bowling display by the Lions.

Magala led the way with superb figures of five for 20, bowling at the stumps and showing plenty of skill as four of his victims were lbw or bowled.

Left-armer Beuran Hendricks (4-0-21-2) was again excellent as he removed both openers, while left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso (4-0-14-2) gave the Lions a firm grip on the game as he removed Pite van Biljon (15) and Grant Mokoena (8) in the 10^th over to reduce the Knights to 40 for five.

Farhaan Behardien (28) and Ferisco Adams (23) were the only batsmen to cause the Lions even the slightest hassle.

The Lions are now top of the log on run-rate and play the other unbeaten side, the Dolphins, in a crunch encounter on Wednesday afternoon.

The independent directors on Cricket South Africa’s board have not always furthered the best interests of the game in this country, but hopefully this time it will be different as nominations for those positions close on Friday.

The Interim Board currently in place is trying its utmost to ensure that the governance scandals that have rocked Cricket South Africa in recent years never happen again and those efforts centre around the independent directors. The Memorandum of Incorporation they are developing for CSA has two non-negotiable aspects that will empower those independent directors, according to one of the Interim Board members.

Firstly, the new board that will come into place in mid-April will comprise a majority of independent directors and, secondly, the chairman of the board must be an independent director as well. There will now be a clear split between the board and the Members Council, which comprises the provincial presidents.

The Members Council will elect a president who may sit on the board, but they will not be the chairman.

While the Interim Board are looking for “people of integrity and substance who are also cricket people”, the quality of the new independent directors will only be as good as the nominations received. Which is why the current board are anxiously awaiting Friday and hoping their advert on CSA’s website [https://cricket.co.za/item/336/Careers] draws some standout applicants.

What is also crucial is the quality of the nominations committee that will sift through the candidates and this has apparently been another area in which the Interim Board are ensuring they get the right people.

While acting CEO Pholetsi Moseki is doing a good job, the new board will also have to find a permanent CEO who can drive CSA’s renaissance as well as having standing at International Cricket Council level. The independent directors will drive that process.

The incredible fee of around R32 million Rajasthan Royals paid last week for Chris Morris shows just how highly the 33-year-old all-rounder is rated in the Indian Premier League, but it is a level of admiration he has battled to gain in South Africa and Morris said on Thursday that he has had no contact from Proteas management over a role in the national side.

In a World Cup year – the ICC World T20 will be held in India in October/November – that is strange. Not just because he is the most expensive player ever sold at auction in cricket’s premier T20 tournament but also because of his extensive knowledge of conditions in India and the fact that South Africa have battled to fill the matchwinning all-rounder berth in their team.

And Morris has been in outstanding form with the ball for the Titans in the ongoing T20 Challenge, conceding just 67 runs in 14.2 overs, his economy rate of 4.67 being second only to that of Keshav Maharaj. And he has taken five wickets, having figures that compare very favourably with those of Kagiso Rabada.

“I have no answer as to why I’m maybe not rated as highly back at home, it’s a difficult question, but I have had a few good tournaments in the IPL and consistency is a big thing over there. My focus at the moment is 100% on the Titans and then the IPL is coming up, but I would have a conversation with the Proteas if it happens. The thing is no-one has come to speak to me.

“We had many conversations in the past and just after the World Cup [50-overs in England in 2019] I sat down with Ottis Gibson [the then coach] and the decision was made that I should play in the leagues around the world. We agreed I was going to move on and that was a while ago. But the Proteas all-rounder spot has obviously been spoken about for a long time,” Morris said on Thursday.

Morris described the IPL bidding war that resulted in him securing the record fee as a “lottery” and “a very big surprise”. It’s a viewpoint supported by him being passed over for The Hundred in the United Kingdom this week.

“What happened in the IPL auction was a very big surprise. I’m not being funny but I was just happy to get a gig and being back in the IPL is special. The auction is out of our control as players, it’s an absolute lottery and as cricketers we don’t go into it thinking we’re going to get this amount. It’s an emotional rollercoaster. It does add a bit of pressure, but you always need to perform in the IPL.

“All sports is about big money now and cricket is actually a bit behind. These are professional sportsmen who are the best at what they do. But I don’t think anyone thought cricket would get to this level so soon and we are eternally grateful for that. My older team-mates from the start of my career are all working corporate now because cricket could not set you up for life like it does now,” Morris said.

The Imperial Lions were outstanding in the field as they hammered the Titans by 18 runs on the DLS method to win the Gauteng derby and move ever closer to the playoffs in the T20 Challenge at Kingsmead.

The win saw the Lions leapfrog the Titans into second place on the log, with a game in hand.

The rain which interrupted the decent Lions innings in the 17^th over on 124 for four saw the Titans target adjusted to 131 in 15 overs.

But the misfiring Titans top-order were blown away by the superb Lions attack, invariably picking the wrong shot at key times.

The mixture of spin and seam saw the Titans slump to 55 for six in the ninth over and it was only the efforts of the tail – Simon Harmer (17), Junior Dala (21) and Lizaad Williams (11*) – that denied the Lions the crucial bonus point as the Titans closed on 112 for eight.

Left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks was the pick of the bowlers with an outstanding two for seven in the three overs he was allowed, while spinner Bjorn Fortuin was again brilliant with two for 21.

Kagiso Rabada was typically tough for the batsmen to get away as he took one for 18.

The Titans, by way of contrast, were a bit messy in the field and Lions opener Reeza Hendricks stroked them all over the park in a wonderful 39 off 28 balls.

It gave the Lions a great start and a composed Rassie van der Dussen looked set to give them a big finish, having cruised to a promising 37 not out off 24 balls, when the rain came down.

Harmer (3-0-19-1), Chris Morris (3-0-10-0) and Lungi Ngidi (3-0-19-1) were good with the ball for the Titans, hard to get away, but the rest of the bowlers were expensive.