Ken Borland

The Imperial Lions had a daunting target of 334 to chase down and several in-form Knights bowlers to contend with, but a remarkable opening stand of 256 between Josh Richards and Dominic Hendricks paved the way for an incredible come-from-behind victory by the home side in their 4-Day Domestic Series match at the Wanderers on Thursday.

In the end the Lions lost a few wickets to debutant paceman Andrew Rasemene (3-44), but their four-wicket victory was never in doubt after the brilliant batting of Richards and Hendricks.

The 21-year-old Richards notched his maiden franchise century and went on to score a memorable 136 off 181 balls, with 19 fours and a six, while the in-form Hendricks anchored the chase with a determined 119 off 217 deliveries.

At Centurion, the Warriors had a much smaller final-day target of 217 to contend with, and they squeezed home by three wickets thanks to captain Yaseen Vallie’s fluent 55, 39 from Rudi Second and a blazing 38 off just 19 balls by Lesiba Ngoepe, which brought a late Titans comeback to a sudden halt.

The Warriors were cruising as they reached 121 for two but seamer Dayyaan Galiem took three for 34 and left-arm spinner Neil Brand claimed four for 37 to cause some late anxiety for the visitors.

The Titans had begun the final day on 265 for seven and would have been disappointed to be bowled out for 289 inside seven overs.

Left-arm quick Marco Jansen (4-66) and fellow new-ball bowler Basheer Walters (3-59) did a great job on Thursday morning, building on the great work of left-arm spinner Ngoepe on the third afternoon, taking three wickets.

At Kingsmead, the Dolphins top three of Sarel Erwee, Senuran Muthusamy and Keegan Petersen all scored 56s in a fine entrée to the final day’s play and, with Ruan de Swardt scoring a quickfire 32 not out, the home side were able to declare at lunch on 217 for four, setting the Cape Cobras an unlikely 295 for victory.

The Cobras started their second innings solidly enough, but the arrival of spin, and especially Muthusamy’s left-arm orthodox, saw them hit troubled waters.

Muthusamy took four for 56, including the key wicket of Proteas opener Pieter Malan for 45, leaving the Cobras on 107 for four.

But Aviwe Mgijima, who had earlier claimed all four Dolphins second innings wickets, hung around for 32 overs in scoring 36, Calvin Savage also helping with 23 as the Cobras batted to safety, finishing on 155 for six.

Muthusamy, with two half-centuries and eight wickets in the match, was an obvious choice for man of the match.

In-form spin-bowling all-rounder George Linde could be welcomed into the Proteas T20 starting XI for the first time on Friday night as South Africa look to play a sixth bowler against a typically high-scoring England team in the first match of the series at Newlands.

South Africa’s last T20 outing was also in Cape Town back in February when they were thumped by 97 runs by Australia to lose the series 2-1. Australia managed to rack up a sizeable 193 for five batting first, and then skittled the Proteas for just 96, with spinners Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa sharing five of the wickets.

One of South Africa’s chief problems that day was that they only had five bowlers – spinner Tabraiz Shamsi was the pick of the attack, but three of the four seamers went for more than 10-runs-per-over. Linde, whose left-arm orthodox complements Shamsi’s wrist-spin, has been in great form this season with the bat, so he could comfortably slot in at number six in the order. On what is expected to be another slow Newlands pitch, a second spinner is probably going to be more useful than another paceman.

With Dwaine Pretorius ruled out of the matches against England due to a hamstring strain, Andile Phehlukwayo is likely to return to the side as the lead all-rounder.

Given the importance of making a good start to the season against the powerful English side and the eight months of inactivity for the Proteas team, coach Mark Boucher is likely to defy those calling for a new-look team and IPL stars like Kagiso Rabada, Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortje and Faf du Plessis will surely feature because they have form and match-fitness on their side.

Lungi Ngidi was outstanding in the T20s South Africa played at the end of last summer and should play on that basis, while Temba Bavuma was also excellent as De Kock’s opening partner and should get the nod, having missed the previous Newlands game because of injury. He would replace Pite van Biljon, while David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen are probably fighting it out for one place in the middle-order.

Probable Proteas XI – Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Faf du Plessis, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller/Heinrich Klaasen, George Linde, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

Aiden Markram scored his second century of the match to haul the Titans back into the game, but with a lead of 193 and just three wickets in hand, they will have little space for error if they are to beat the Warriors on the final day of their 4-Day Domestic Series match in Centurion.

The Warriors, who took a first-innings lead of 72 thanks to Sinethemba Qeshile’s feisty 97, were completely in charge until late in the day on Wednesday as they then reduced the Titans to 138 for five in their second innings.

But Markram, who scored 149 of the Titans’ first 272 runs in the first innings, remained at the crease and he strode to another majestic century on Wednesday, finishing with 121 off 193 balls, sending his chances of a Proteas Test recall soaring.

Rivaldo Moonsamy fought hard for his 43 as he and Markram added a crucial 95 for the sixth wicket as the Titans clawed their way back into the game.

Part-time left-arm spinner Lesiba Ngoepe claimed both their wickets to end the day with three for 25 and it was also an excellent day for tall left-arm paceman Marco Jansen, who caused the early damage with three for 48, as well as scoring 24 as the Warriors began the day with a key seventh-wicket stand of 40, along with Qeshile.

The match at the Wanderers is also deliciously in the balance thanks to an inspired unbeaten opening stand of 166 between Josh Richards (82*) and Dominic Hendricks (80*) that has left the Imperial Lions needing 168 more runs, with all 10 wickets in hand, to beat the Knights.

It was a great day for the Lions as they gave themselves a tough but gettable target of 334 by claiming the last nine Knights wickets for just 124 runs. That target is now within sight.

Resuming on 111 for one, the Knights were bowled out for 235 as all-rounders Delano Potgieter (4-41) and Wiaan Mulder (3-48) made inroads after Tladi Bokako (2-35) had set the ball rolling by removing Jonathan

Vandiar for 68.

Bad weather has taken a large chunk out of the game between the Dolphins and the Cape Cobras in Durban, with the home side gong into the final day with a lead of 132 and all 10 wickets in hand.

Dolphins openers Sarel Erwee and Senuran Muthusamy (21*) took them to 55 without loss after they had bowled out the Cobras for 312 for a first-innings lead of 77.

There were solid contributions down the Cobras batting order, but not the big score they required with Zubayr Hamza (46) and Tony de Zorzi (58) the leading scorers.

Paceman Lifa Ntanzi made some key strikes as he took three for 51, and left-arm spinner Muthusamy continued his fine all-round game with four for 58.

The Proteas formally announced on Wednesday that, after much internal discussion and engagement, they have decided not to take a knee to show their support for Black Lives Matter during their white-ball series against England that starts on Friday evening.

In what was described as an “Official Proteas Statement”, the team said their decision to now not take a knee, which is the opposite of what they did for the 3TCricket launch in July, was not influenced by management nor the coaches, but was entirely the will of the players as a whole.

“As a team, we have unanimously chosen not to take the knee at the upcoming matches, but to continue to work together in our personal, team and public spaces to dismantle racism. This decision was taken by the team collectively, after deep dialogue and attentive consideration. This is not a decision compelled on us by either our management or our coaches. Let us be clear, our team decision on not taking the knee does not indicate that we do not care about racism, racial equality, or justice. Now, more than ever, we are committed to this work,” the statement read.

The Proteas said that instead of an outward show of support for BLM, they will instead be wearing black armbands in support of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, during which the series will be played, saying GBV is the issue that matters at the moment.

“On 11 November, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that South Africa would embark on five days of national mourning for the victims of Gender-Based Violence (GBV) and Covid-19. We, the Proteas, have taken the decision to answer the call by wearing black armbands during our next games, which fall during the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. This is an act of solidarity in response to a particular issue that the country is focusing its attention on during the next two weeks,” the statement read.

The Proteas acknowledged that even though their focus needs to be on winning cricket matches, they are a part of society and the terrible issues that affect many South Africans. But they took a swipe at those sections of the media who have been pressurising the team to take a knee during the England series.

“Our first job is to play cricket for the country but we are also citizens of this country. The Proteas team is a community within the wider community of South Africa. The conversations that are happening in the country as a whole are conversations we must be engaging with as a team. The issues that are facing the country as a whole are issues that must matter to us as a team.

“Likewise, the actions and decisions we take as a team, have impact on the country as a whole. We do not take this responsibility lightly. We ask in turn that our wider community honours the process we have engaged in over the last six months … We respect the right of the media to hold the team accountable as citizens. We ask though that in doing so the media not threaten the journey we have embarked on, the trust we have built, and the work we are doing by sowing contention around our decision,” the statement said.