Ken Borland

A brilliant all-round bowling display by the Knights forced the Highveld Lions batsmen to sell their wickets cheaply, but it wasn’t enough to secure victory for the Central franchise as bad light and rain left them to accept a draw in their four-day domestic series match at the Wanderers on Sunday.

The Lions had resumed their first innings on 54 for two on the final day, but the excellent, probing bowling of the Knights pacemen enabled them to tear through the home side’s batting line-up, dismissing them for a paltry 121 on the stroke of lunch.

Quinton Friend ran through the lower-order to finish with four for 35 in 13 overs, but it was cunning fast-medium bowler Malusi Siboto who made the most telling strikes by removing Devon Conway (10) and captain Stephen Cook (45) on his way to fine figures of two for 17 in 12 overs.

Off-spinner Werner Coetsee then struck twice in two overs to finish the Lions innings.

With the probing Knights bowling getting the most out of a Wanderers pitch that was producing some tricks, the Lions were under pressure to save the game as they came out to bat again after lunch in their follow-on innings, trailing by 208 runs with 72 overs left in the day.

Fast bowler Corne Dry then produced a vituperative opening spell in which he took two for two in six overs, having both Cook and Dominic Hendricks caught by the sharp Rilee Rossouw in the slips.

Temba Bavuma saw off the pacemen for the next hour, but Knights captain Coetsee dismissed him with his first ball in the second innings. The diminutive batsman had scored 25 when he pushed forward to a delivery that had some air, edging a low catch to slip which Rossouw claimed nonchalantly, making it look far easier than it was.

Neil McKenzie batted for 80 minutes with grim determination, scoring just three off 50 balls, while Conway joined him for half-an-hour, taking the Lions to 54 for three before the weather turned for the worse for the Knights.

Dark clouds first of all forced the players off for bad light at 2.50pm, followed by torrential rain which caused the match to be called off.

The Cape Cobras, led by off-spinner Dane Piedt, saw off an improved batting performance by the Titans as they won their four-day domestic series match by 211 runs on the fourth and final day at Boland Park in Paarl on Sunday.

The Titans, chasing an unlikely 444 for victory, resumed on 62 for two and the cancellation of the gritty 53-run third-wicket stand happened six overs into the day when Rory Kleinveldt trapped Graeme van Buuren lbw for 23.

Piedt followed up immediately with the wicket of Qaasim Adams for a duck, but the resistance of Heino Kuhn (69) continued until two overs after the drinks break when seamer Dane Paterson had him caught in the slips by Justin Kemp.

There was obviously more determination in the Titans middle-order than in the first innings, when they lost their last seven wickets for 23 runs, as Mangaliso Mosehle (26) batted for an hour-and-a-half and Shaun von Berg dug in for nearly two hours as he also scored 26.

Roelof van der Merwe was the best of the Titans batsmen on the final day, however, as he scored 51 in 128 minutes of resistance, but it was never going to be enough to avoid a heavy defeat for the visitors.

Piedt produced a top-class display of spin bowling in helpful conditions as he took six for 100 in 34.2 overs, while Kleinveldt chipped in with two for 55 to finish with a nine-wicket haul from the match.

Paterson and fellow seamer Travis Muller each took a wicket as well.

The Cobras’ victory deals a hammer blow to the rest of the teams in the four-day domestic series as it means the defending champions now lead by nearly 17 points with just three rounds remaining.

The Knights are in second place, while the Dolphins have moved into third, managing to overtake the Lions, nearly 11 points behind the Central franchise.

The loss, their fourth in seventh matches this season, has condemned the Titans to the bottom of the log, trailing the Warriors by two points.

The Dolphins were unable to administer the killer blow to the Warriors due to bad weather in their four-day domestic series match at Buffalo Park in East London on Sunday.

The Dolphins declared their second innings on their overnight total of 257 for eight, a lead of 356, meaning it was all about survival for the Warriors, who had 96 overs to bat out on the fourth day.

And with Robbie Frylinck taking three for 20 in eight overs with the new ball, the Dolphins looked about to run through the home side when lunch was taken with the Warriors on 70 for three.

But rain began falling during the interval and at 2pm what seemed a rather rushed decision to call off the game was made.

Opener Michael Price (37*) and Colin Ingram (12*) had batted most sensibly to take the Warriors from 30 for three to their lunchtime total.

The Dolphins shaded the bonus point battle by 8.78 points to 6.80, which has allowed them to seize third place on the four-day domestic series log from the Highveld Lions.

Rory Kleinveldt took seven for 34 to tear through the Titans batting line-up and leave the Cape Cobras in firm control of their domestic four-day series match at Boland Park in Paarl on Saturday.

The Titans had started the third day on 183 for four, in reply to the Cobras’ 429, but Kleinveldt ripped through on Saturday morning to dismiss them for 198.

The international seamer, in his first match after a calf niggle, took five wickets for four runs in 24 deliveries with the second new ball, swinging the ball beautifully.

The trouble for the Titans began in the second over of the day when top-scorer Graeme van Buuren ran himself out for 85. He and bowler Dane Piedt both thought a stroke he had played to the boundary would go for four, but fielder Stiaan van Zyl’s slick work saw the batsman run out, opening an end for Kleinveldt to work his magic.

Mangaliso Mosehle fell for four and Shaun von Berg was bowled shouldering arms for his third successive duck in the first over with the second new ball, and Kleinveldt also removed JP de Villiers and Vincent Moore without scoring.

Andrew Puttick, with a great knock of 102 not out, and the prolific Van Zyl, with a fluent 86, then piled on the runs as the Cobras declared their second innings on 212 for two in 56.4 overs, leaving the Titans with an unlikely target of 444 for victory.

The Titans reached 62 for two by stumps, with Heino Kuhn (31*) and Van Buuren (17*) the batsmen at the crease.

The Paarl pitch is favouring the spinners though and Piedt has already taken two for 28 in eight overs.

At the Wanderers, Rilee Rossouw roared to a century to keep the ear of the national selectors, scoring an excellent 107 as the Knights made 329 for six declared in their first innings.

The Lions reached 54 for two in reply before bad light, followed by a large thunderstorm ended play for the day.

The loss of another session – no play was possible on the first day or in the first session of the second day – has meant that a result is highly unlikely.

But the match has allowed 23-year-old Knights debutant Gerhardt Abrahams to announce his arrival in franchise cricket, as he belted a 34-ball 50 not out, while Rudi Second scored 51.

In East London, the Dolphins made 257 for eight in their second innings, meaning their lead over the Warriors has stretched to 356.

The Dolphins failure to declare yet could be questioned, but off-spinner Simon Harmer made life tough for the batsmen as he took five for 100 in 26 overs.

The Dolphins total was built around the second-wicket stand of 84 between Divan van Wyk (58) and Khaya Zondo (49) and the fifth-wicket stand of 70 between Sarel Erwee (64 not out) and Morne van Wyk (41).

Erwee, the left-handed debutant from the KZN Inland team, has struck 10 fours off 110 balls.

The Cobras have now extended their lead on the four-day domestic series log to 10.16 points over the Knights.

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