Ken Borland

The four franchises in Sunfoil Series action from today are all disappointingly depleted due to the withdrawal of the Proteas and the South Africa A squad, but the bizhub Highveld Lions are targeting this weekend as a crucial time in their quest for their first four-day title.

The Lions are second on the log, just 2.72 points behind the Titans, who are not in action this weekend, and victory over the Nashua Cape Cobras in Potchefstroom will put them in prime position as the competition nears the halfway mark.

Lions coach Geoff Toyana is missing seven frontline players, but most of the replacements are well-versed in franchise cricket and he is aiming high against the defending champions.

“It’s always tough missing players, but I’m happy with the depth we have and we still have quite an experienced top six. This is a big game for us, it will define our season this competition. We beat the Cobras at Newlands in our last game, so our confidence is high and I just hope our skills match that,” Toyana told The Citizen yesterday.

Gulam Bodi, Dale Deeb, Vusi Mazibuko, Pumelela Matshikwe, Sean Jamison and Devon Conway are the players called up by the Lions, while the Cobras also have a host of players excluded by national commitments or injury.

Cobras coach Paul Adams has, however, been able to call on players from his RamSlam T20 Challenge winning team like Sybrand Engelbrecht, Dane Paterson, Lizaad Williams and George Linde, while much is expected of two players from the Western Province side – batsman Keegan Petersen and all-rounder Shaheen Khan.

Adams said he is looking for more partnerships from his top-order batsmen as the Cobras aim for their first win in their third match this season.

The Dolphins have made a strong start to the competition with 27.08 points from two games and they travel to East London to take on the struggling Warriors.

The Warriors have probably been the least affected by national call-ups with just Simon Harmer and Wayne Parnell unavailable and the Eastern Cape side have called up Border off-spinner Gionne Koopman, while the pace bowling duties will be in the hands of Andrew Birch, Basheer Walters and Aya Gqamane.

The healthy covering of grass on the Buffalo Park pitch will test the Dolphins, who have lost three key batsmen in Morne van Wyk, David Miller and Khaya Zondo, while bowling spearhead Kyle Abbott is also unavailable.

The old proverb of not judging a pitch until both sides have bowled on it was applicable at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus Oval on Tuesday as the England Lions racked up 443 and then bowled the Gauteng Invitation XI out for just 179 on the second day of their tour match.

The tourists were 43 for three in their second innings at lunch, a lead of 307 going into the final day.

It was the hosts who actually set the tone for a much better day for the bowlers. The Gauteng attack had taken a pounding on the first day as they conceded 361 for four (two batsmen retired), but they showed some pride and rebounded well on Tuesday, claiming the last six English wickets for 82 runs.

Alex Lees, who had mixed reserve with aggression in going to 82 not out on the first day, added just three more to his score beforeWesley Landsdale gobbled up the catch at second slip as the batsman edged a drive off Keith Dudgeon.

Jonny Bairstow, the son of a former England wicketkeeper and considered for some time to be the successor to Matt Prior, became the third Lions batsman to retire, having scored a fine 62 off 95 balls and the tourists’ tail did not offer much else.

Seamers Dudgeon (20-6-51-2) and Nono Pongolo (22-7-70-3) were the best of the Gauteng bowlers with five wickets between them, while Zaid Saloojee claimed the last two wickets with his off-spin.

The Gauteng reply was rocked by the early loss of openers Yassar Cook (4) and Karabo Mogotsi (5) to the new-ball pair of Liam Plunkett and Jack Brooks.

Change bowlers Boyd Rankin and Mark Wood then kept the England A side right on top by removing Yaseen Valli (11) and Landsdale (15).

Bradley Dial (23) and captain Sizwe Masondo (27) briefly stabilised the innings with a stand of 45, but the batting honours went to Brian Barnard (39) and Pongolo (36), who added 65 for the seventh wicket.

The tail then collapsed to Wood, who finished with four for 29, while Plunkett was also impressive with two for 17 in nine overs.

Trailing by 264 runs, Gauteng were able to claim three English scalps in the 11.3 overs before the close with Matthew Arnold, Cormi le Roux and Lazarus Mokoena each taking a wicket.

First-innings centurions Sam Robson (1) and Adam Lyth (25) are both gone, but Jonathan Trott is still there on 10 not out and looking to stamp his return to international cricket with a major innings.

 http://citizen.co.za/302986/dont-judge-pitch-sides-bowled/

Jonathan Trott may have failed on his return to South African soil, but openers Sam Robson and Adam Lyth both scored centuries as the England Lions made an emphatic start to their tour against a Gauteng Invitation XI at the University of Johannesburg’s Soweto Campus Oval on Monday.

Trott may be the centre of attention as he tries to resurrect his international career after a self-imposed exile due to a stress-related condition that left him too mentally vulnerable to play cricket, but the South African-born batsman lasted just 20 minutes and 13 balls at the crease, leaving the spotlight to Robson and Lyth as they powered England A to 361 for four at stumps.

Lyth and Robson added 176 for the first wicket before Robson retired on 109, having stroked 12 fours and a six in a fluent 152-ball innings befitting England’s current Test incumbent opener.

Lyth retired 12 overs later on 106, having started watchfully and then sped up as he faced 171 balls and hit 16 fours and a six.

When an actual wicket did finally occur, it was Trott’s, the 49-Test veteran sparring outside the off stump and being caught behind for six off Keith Dudgeon, a 19-year-old seamer with just one first-class wicket.

James Vince also fell cheaply for seven, caught at cover off Nono Pongolo – a dismissal which advertised the slow nature of the pitch as the ball ‘stopped’ on the batsman – before Alex Lees played some sparkling cricket in going to 82 not out off 136 deliveries.

Jonny Bairstow was also showing signs of living up to his billing as he crunched 32 not out before stumps, capitalising on a second new ball that was woefully used by Gauteng.

Dudgeon (17-6-41-1) and Pongolo (17-4-59-1) both bowled tidily enough on a flat pitch, but fellow seamers Matthew Arnold (16-1-102-0) and Lazarus Mokoena (15-3-73-0) were both expensive.

Left-arm spinner Dale Deeb (22-4-66-0) will be disappointed his accurate bowling did not bring reward, but first-day pitches like the one at the scenic Soweto Campus Oval are not going to provide much turn.

This is a vital tour for the likes of Robson, Lyth and Lees, who are all aiming to be included in England’s touring party to the West Indies in April and, with former head coach Andy Flower watching from the sideline, they all would have kept themselves firmly in the selectors’ thoughts.

“It’s another good opportunity to play high-standard cricket for the Lions and obviously, on a personal level, it’s nice to get runs and put on a good show. I managed to get a partnership going with Adam and we’ve started the tour well before the ‘tests’. It’s going to be a good, hard tour leading up to the West Indies tour, which a number of us are hoping to get on to,” Robson said.

“They bowled pretty well with the new ball and then went quite negative, with a seven-two field and bowling wide, so I had to rein myself in, leave well, not give my wicket away and then cash in later when the bowlers were tired,” Lyth added.

 http://citizen.co.za/302178/england-lions-make-emphatic-start-tour-gauteng-invitation-xi/

The Unlimited Titans were hammered by an innings by the Dolphins in the latest round of Sunfoil Series matches, but the log at the bottom of this article is not incorrect, the northern/eastern Gauteng side are indeed top of the standings as the four-day competition enters the new year.

While the Titans succumbed by an innings and 54 runs to the Dolphins at Kingsmead, coach Rob Walter believes he has the material to mount a serious title challenge in the premier domestic competition.

“It was disappointing the way we played in Durban, but specifically the way we played the week before when we thrashed the Knights in Bloemfontein has put us in a good position with two wins in four games. This competition is more about the games you win than the games you lose and the bowlers were outstanding in Bloemfontein, while Farhaan Behardien has certainly been one of the standout batsmen in the competition,” Walter told The Citizen.

The inconsistency of the Titans is what is threatening their title ambitions, however, with the bowlers performing poorly in Durban as they bowled the wrong lengths, and the batting also looking vulnerable at times.

The Titans’ next match, against the Highveld Lions, who are second, just 1.72 points behind them with a game in hand, is shaping up as a crucial encounter. That game only starts on January 15 though, with the Titans having a break as the Lions take on the Cape Cobras and the Warriors host the Dolphins from January 8.

Walter warned that the Dolphins, who have 27.08 points from two matches compared to the Titans’ 46.18 from four, will also be a big factor in the competition.

“That attack of theirs is very good, Kyle Abbott and Ryan McLaren are two international bowlers and their quality shone through against us. Their greater ability to execute their skills, in terms of landing the ball in the right area over and over again, makes them very good bowlers,” Walter said.

The Titans bowlers were nowhere near as accurate, although speedster Marchant de Lange and left-arm swing bowler Rowan Richards are both enjoying good campaigns.

De Lange has taken nine wickets in his last two innings and Walter says he is a much-improved bowler.

“Marchant’s done a helluva lot of work. He’s had patches of success before, but I’ve seen steady growth this season in him as a strike bowler. His pace is a trumpcard and as he goes up through the levels, he’ll have to become more consistent and better at executing his plans because top batsmen on good pitches deal with pace. But his skills have improved,” Walter said.

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