Ken Borland

The Knights batsmen are being hampered by the weather in Johannesburg as they dominated the Highveld Lions on the second day of their domestic four-day series match at the Wanderers on Friday.

Having seen the entire first day lost due to a wet pitch, play only started at 12.20pm on Friday with the Knights being sent in to bat.

They cruised to 193 for two before bad light stopped play at 4.50pm with 20.2 overs still scheduled to be bowled on the second day.

The Lions attack are being punished for wayward bowling as the Knights put together solid partnerships of 58, 88 and 47 runs unbeaten, to grab control of the clash between the teams that are second and third on the log.

Opener Reeza Hendricks made 62 before he drove a Hardus Viljoen half-volley straight to extra cover and Rilee Rossouw rammed home the Knights’ advantage in the late afternoon with 67 not out off 130 balls.

Medium-pacer Brett Pelser made the other breakthrough for the Lions on a disappointing day for them, ending an opening stand of 58 between Hendricks and Gihahn Cloete by having the latter caught behind for 33.

Rudi Second is with Rossouw at the crease on 28 not out and the pair have added 47 runs for the third wicket in 77 minutes.

The Dolphins are in control of their match against the Warriors in East London after bowling the home side out for 240.

The Dolphins made 339 in their first innings for a lead of 99 runs, which they stretched to 133 by stumps as they reached 34 for one in their second innings.

Unorthodox left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, brought in for his first match of the campaign, was the chief destroyer for the Dolphins, claiming five for 68 in 21 overs, while young Daryn Dupavillon took three for 43.

The Warriors innings started solidly with Michael Price (28) and the in-form David White (35) adding 54 for the first wicket.

But White was then bowled by the orthodox left-arm spin of Keshav Maharaj and the Warriors only had one other partnership of significance as captain Ashwell Prince (36) and Colin Ingram (54*) added 65 for the fourth wicket.

But Shamsi made the breakthrough and then he and Dupavillon ran through the lower-order, leaving Ingram as the last man standing.

The Titans were kept afloat in their first innings of their match against the Cape Cobras at Boland Park in Paarl by Graeme van Buuren, the diminutive 23-year-old scoring 83 not out to lead them to 183 for four at stumps.

Replying to the Cobras’ first innings of 429, the Titans were in early trouble as they slipped to 21 for two, but Van Buuren united with skipper Henry Davids (41) and then Qaasim Adams (32) to dig the visitors out of trouble.

The Titans bowlers had been in all sorts of states of disarray on the first day, as shown by the 43 extras they conceded as the Cobras reached 345 for five, but they fought back well on Friday to claim the last five wickets for 84 runs.

Junior Dala rebounded well from a horrible first day as he took two wickets, and leg-spinner Shaun von Berg ran through the tail to take four for 102 in 30 overs.

The highly-rated Vincent Moore took three for 67, knocking over three of the top four batsmen.

Dane Vilas (77) and Justin Kemp (42) took their overnight stand to 53 on Friday morning, but the Cobras would have wanted more runs from the lower-order.

Rory Kleinveldt asked plenty of questions with the ball for the Cobras and Heino Kuhn, bowled for a duck by the fifth ball of the innings, and Davids, trapped lbw, did not have the answers.

The Cobras have picked up 6.08 bonus points so far, stretching their lead on the log to nearly 10 points over the Knights.

The Cobras are on 81.10 points, the Knights on 71.22 and the third-placed Dolphins are on 66.86 points.

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/domestic/weather-hampers-dominant-knights-1.1658235

Centuries by Cody Chetty and Morne van Wyk carried the Dolphins to 339 all out on the first day of their four-day domestic series match against the Warriors at Buffalo Park in East London on Thursday.

The Dolphins won the toss and elected to bat first, but were off to a shaky start as Andrew Birch took two early wickets that reduced them to 102 for four shortly after lunch.

But Chetty and captain Van Wyk then combined to add 144 for the fifth wicket, before Chetty fell to the off-spin of Simon Harmer, the best of the Warriors bowlers, for a fine 120 that showcased the 22-year-old’s talent.

LEAVE IT TO ME, SKIPPER: Cody Chetty showed fine judgement in his 120

Van Wyk went on to bat through the rest of the innings, finishing with 104 not out as Harmer and seamer Rusty Theron worked through the Dolphins lower-order, bowling them out on the stroke of stumps.

Harmer was the most successful of the Warriors bowlers with four for 85 in 24.3 overs, while the pacemen – Birch, Basheer Walters and Theron – each finished with two wickets.

At Boland Park in Paarl, the Cape Cobras gained the upper hand late in the day against the Titans, as Yaseen Vallie and Dane Vilas added 145 for the fifth wicket to take the home side to 345 for five at stumps.

Vallie and Vilas were the producers of the best batting of the day as they blunted a Titans comeback with the ball which had seen the Cobras slip to 189 for four after winning the toss and electing to bat.

The left-arm swing bowling of young Vincent Moore had sparked the comeback as he claimed the wickets of Andrew Puttick (9), Justin Ontong (21) and Stiaan van Zyl (71).

But he lacked support in the final session, with Junior Dala, on loan from the Highveld Lions, the obvious weak link in the attack as he conceded 103 runs in 17 wicket-less and maiden-less overs.

The Cobras had shrugged off the early loss of Puttick, caught behind off Moore, with a second-wicket stand of 114 between Omphile Ramela (59) and Van Zyl.

The left-hander needed 142 balls for his 71 and struck seven fours, taking him past 600 runs in the 2013/14 campaign, at an average of 65.60.

The 23-year-old Vallie took the fight to the Titans in a composed innings which showed impressive shot-selection.

His 80 and the return to form of wicketkeeper/batsman Vilas, who ended the day on 62 not out, ensured the Cobras finished the first day in control.

The first day of the match between the Highveld Lions and the Knights at the Wanderers was abandoned due to the pitch being too wet for play after the recent torrential rain in Gauteng.

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/domestic/van-wyk-chetty-tons-prop-up-dolphins-1.1657579#.Uxl7rD-Sy9A

National call-ups and injuries have caused Unlimited Titans coach Rob Walter to “take a look into the future” in choosing a new-look team for their Sunfoil Series match against the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras starting at Boland Park in Paarl today.

Farhaan Behardien and Albie Morkel have joined AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel in the national squad for the T20s against Australia starting on Sunday, while a broken finger has caused the withdrawal of all-rounder David Wiese, so effective with the new ball in recent weeks, joining Ethy Mbhalati and Rowan Richards on the sidelines with injuries.

JP de Villiers gets a chance for the Titans after taking 17 wickets in his last 2 first-class matches for Northerns

Walter has called up pacemen JP de Villiers and Marchant de Lange and batsman Graeme van Buuren, while seamer Junior Dala has been signed on loan from the Highveld Lions.

With youngsters like Francois le Clus, Vincent Moore and Mangaliso Mosehle already in the team, Walter said this weekend’s match would provide an insight into the next tier of talent available to the Titans.

“There are seven players unavailable so with all those guys missing, it’s been difficult to make too many changes. But it’s a great opportunity to look at the future of Titans cricket,” Walter told The Pretoria News yesterday.

The challenge of taking on the defending champions – and current log-leaders – at their tricky Paarl venue is a daunting one and the obvious area in which the Titans are going to have to show massive improvement in order to be competitive is in the batting.

“We’ve got to start getting to the situation where the top six are contributing primarily in terms of runs. We’ve bowled particularly well in the last few games, but the batting line-up really needs to step up and show that they are worthy of their reputations,” Walter said.

Adapting to the quirky conditions of Boland Park will also be crucial. Unlike Gauteng, the Western Cape is baking hot and Walter is expecting that to force the groundsman to leave some grass on the pitch.

“It won’t be that quick, but there may be a bit of lateral movement early on and then it will become more up-and-down,” Walter said.

The Cobras are without Robin Peterson, who has a shoulder injury, and new Proteas call-up Beuran Hendricks, but captain Justin Ontong and his kin have depth and, most importantly, they know how to win.

According to Walter, that confident mentality is what his team need to develop.

“The Cobras play four-day cricket especially well and they’re a side that knows how to win. That’s what we need to get and we need to able to get into a scrap for four days. It’s going to be a tough ask, especially in Paarl,” Walter said.

Surprisingly, the Titans are not necessarily going to play the ultimate Bulldog, Roelof van der Merwe in the starting XI. The all-rounder will only get the nod if they play two spinners.

Without Van der Merwe, an already under-pressure batting line-up could see the struggling Mangaliso Mosehle move up to six and leg-spinner Shaun von Berg bat at seven.

Captain Henry Davids is batting number three and says he needs to lead from the front.

“I need to lead from the front and take responsibility, and batting at number three will give me that opportunity,” Davids said.

“We have bowled very well the past two games, but if we want to pressurise the Cobras, we need to compile big totals. Ultimately, our focus during the rest of the four-day competition is to improve our batting.”

Squads

Cape Cobras: Andrew Puttick, Omphile Ramela, Stiaan van Zyl, Justin Ontong, Yaseen Vallie, Dane Vilas, Justin Kemp, Rory Kleinveldt, Dane Piedt, Dane Paterson, Travis Muller.

Titans: Heino Kuhn, Francois le Clus, Henry Davids, Qaasim Adams, Graeme van Buuren, Mangaliso Mosehle, Roelof van der Merwe, Shaun von Berg, JP de Villiers, Vincent Moore, Marchant de Lange, Junior Dala.

–

South African cricket enters a new era today, an uncertain time without the reassuring presence of Graeme Smith, made worse by the strong challenge to their number one Test ranking that is coming from Australia, who are playing with all the hunger and daring of the new kids on the block.

Smith cited the considerations of a young family and the wear and tear of 12 years of international cricket that forced ankle surgery last April for his decision to retire. The timing of his announcement – after the third day of the series-deciding third Test and with his team’s backs to the wall, has set off the conspiracy theorists.

But whatever the reasons for Smith’s retirement, the South African public owe him an enormous debt of gratitude. The Proteas faced an uncertain future when he took over in 2003, but Smith forged the unity, determination and appreciation for the different cultures present in the team that took them to the number one position in Test cricket. And he did all that while juggling the off-field demands of politicians, selfish administrators and a fickle public.

The statistics only tell some of the story of Smith’s immense contribution: A world record 109 Tests as captain, the most Test runs by a captain and the only batsman to score four fourth-innings centuries in wins.

His batting alone was formidable: 9265 runs at an average of 48.25 with 27 centuries; the highlights being the only South African to score four double-centuries and equalling Don Bradman’s record for the batsman with the most triple century partnerships.

But the growth of the team was mirrored by the development of Smith as a person. Handed the reins of a team in distress when he was just 22, he understandably used his natural confidence to try and stamp his mark.

The learning curve was steep, but Smith was a fast learner. The team were soon fully behind their captain, impressed by his courage in leading from the front, and the hints of arrogance that might have been present at the start of his tenure were soon replaced by a welcome thoughtfulness and honesty, especially in his dealings with the media.

The legacy and values that Smith has left in the form of world-class stars like AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Dale Steyn will hopefully guide the new era that the Proteas now enter.