Ken Borland

As usual, it was the home team who adjusted best to tricky conditions at the Wanderers as the Central Gauteng Lions ended the first day of their CSA Four-Day Domestic Series match against the North-West Dragons in a commanding position.

Having bowled North-West out for just 159, they had reached 127 for two at stumps.

On a pitch that offered late movement, the Lions won a good toss and sent North-West in to bat under overcast skies.

Former Lions franchise player Wesley Marshall put them under early pressure though, blazing his way to 52 off just 36 balls, including three fours and two sixes off Lutho Sipamla’s third over.

But the Lions pacemen adapted to the onslaught and quickly found the right length to bowl.

Duanne Olivier probed intelligently and marked his return to domestic cricket with four for 50, while Sipamla rebounded to take three for 68. Sisanda Magala also kept the batsmen thinking with two for 24.

Nicky van den Bergh, a real stalwart of the former Lions franchise, was the only other North-West batsman to prosper, scoring 41.

The North-West bowlers were too inconsistent to apply the same amount of pressure and the Lions top-order played with composure and good judgement.

Josh Richards was going through the gears before he was trapped lbw by Lwandiswa Zuma for 56, sharing an opening stand of 73 with skipper Dominic Hendricks (26).

Ryan Rickelton (33*) will be the batsman to lead the charge on Saturday morning.

At Centurion, the Eastern Province Warriors are in charge against the Northerns Titans, with a first-innings lead of 62 already with six wickets in hand.

Sent in to bat first, Northerns were bundled out for a paltry 134, new-ball bowlers Glenton Stuurman (13-4-34-5) and Marco Jansen (11.2-2-31-3) taking command.

Jordan Hermann, playing his first senior game for the Titans, was their top-scorer with a brave 50 not out.

Eastern Province were in early trouble as Corbin Bosch reduced them to 25 for three, but opener Ed Moore batted through to stumps with a defiant 85 not out, while Diego Rosier scored an aggressive 85 off just 104 balls as the Warriors took control at 196 for four.

Cape Town’s weather was still moulting from winter to summer on Friday morning, the start of play being delayed in the match between KZN Dolphins and Western Province.

Eventually 72 overs were able to be bowled, with KZN reaching 186 for four. Bryce Parsons (45), Keegan Petersen (56) and Jason Smith (44*) all looked at ease after the visitors were sent in to bat.

No play at all was possible in the match between the Free State Knights and the Boland Rocks in Bloemfontein.

The Central Gauteng Lions will be bringing a top-class bowling attack to their opening CSA 4-Day Series match versus the North-West Dragons on Friday and have promised a typically lively Wanderers pitch to add to what is bound to be a spicy affair against their former franchise team-mates.

History suggests Duanne Olivier, who has taken 13 wickets at an average of 14 in his two Tests at the Wanderers, will be a handful as he leads an attack that will also include Lutho Sipamla, Sisanda Magala and Malusi Siboto, providing a daunting test of technique and nerve for the North-West batsmen.

“I expect a very intense match against North-West,” Lions coach Wandile Gwavu told The Citizen on Thursday, “because there are some deep relationships between players who spent years and years in the same side, so there will be some emotion.

“But the most important thing is for us to concentrate on our skills, because that’s what will be tested. We’re not going to hide it, we’re not going to make it easy for the opposition at the Wanderers.

“We’ve only lost one four-day game here in the last two seasons, so it goes without saying that we have played some really good cricket here. Other teams can’t just come here and expect to get a result,” Gwavu said.

Lions captain Dominic Hendricks echoed his coach in saying batting is going to be hard work.

“I imagine it’s going to be tough for batsmen, with the overhead conditions and a pretty seam-friendly pitch. So if you get in, you have to make sure you cash in.

“It’s going to be a bit weird playing against some of our former team-mates. They’re obviously guys who are disappointed not to be playing for us, so they’ll have a couple of points to prove. I think a new rivalry might be building, much like the one we have with the Titans,” Hendricks said.

Speaking of the Titans, it is their batting that will also be the focus when they host the Eastern Province Warriors at Centurion.

Although they made the final last season, they are without the three batsmen who had the highest average last season – Aiden Markram, injured Dean Elgar and Heinrich Klaasen.

Nevertheless, they can bat deep with all-rounders Dayyaan Galiem, Simon Harmer and Chris Morris all named in the Northerns squad on Thursday.

The other Division I matches tomorrow see Western Province hosting KZN Coastal and Boland Rocks visiting the Free State Knights.

There was heartbreak for the Central Gauteng Lions as they beat South-Western Districts in their last match of the CSA Provincial T20 Cup in Kimberley on Sunday, but not by a big enough margin to qualify for the quarterfinals.

The exit will be particularly galling for coach Wandile Gwavu, who led his team to the franchise T20 title earlier this year.

The Lions edged home by four wickets with just one ball to spare against SWD, and when Western Province beat Northern Cape by six wickets with 10 balls left later in the day, it meant three teams had finished with two wins each.

But WP’s nett run-rate (+0.17) was enough to lift them above the Lions (+0.04), who paid the price for a poor batting performance by the top-order on Sunday.

Chasing just 130 for victory, the Lions slipped to 88 for six in the 15^th over and were grateful to young Ruan Haasbroek, who finished the innings superbly with his determined 44 not out off 38 balls. Malusi Siboto (16*) provided great support as they added 44 off 33 balls to win the game.

Spinner Sean Whitehead was the best bowler for SWD, taking one for 18 in four excellent overs.

What will really hurt for the Lions is that they bowled so well after winning the toss to restrict SWD to 129 for six, especially their fiery pacemen Lutho Sipamla (4-0-23-2), Sisanda Magala (4-0-18-1) and Siboto (4-0-23-1).

Captain Jean du Plessis scored 41 off 38 balls, and Jhedli van Briesies provided a late boost with his 24 not out off 17 deliveries, SWD putting enough runs on the board to ensure they go through to the quarterfinals in first place in Pool A with a nett run-rate of +0.44.

But ultimately the Lions batsmen let down their bowlers.

Kyle Verreynne once again showed his mettle under high pressure as he took Western Province home to their tricky target of 164 in 18.2 overs with his 25 not out off 11 balls, ensuring they go through.

Zubayr Hamza continued his rebirth as a quality T20 player with his 62 off 50 deliveries, putting on 63 for the first wicket in 7.5 overs with Tony de Zorzi (30).

There were also welcome runs for young Jonathan Bird, who showed his talent with 42 off 23 balls.

Western Province had sent their friends from the Northern Cape in to bat and reduced them to 58 for five by the halfway stage as seamers Tshepo Moreki (4-0-23-2) and Wayne Parnell (4-1-30-3) bowled superbly, spinner Kyle Simmonds (4-0-27-1) providing great support.

But Evan Jones (50 off 35) and Beyers Swanepoel (39* off 18), both Pretoria products, then combined for a punishing end to the innings as Northern Cape shot to 163 for eight.

It was a testing target, but not enough to save the Lions.

The Central Gauteng Lions paid for a poor display in the field as they were beaten by just two runs by Western Province in the opening game of the CSA Provincial T20 Cup at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Friday.

Having sent Western Province in to bat, the Lions were loose up front and wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton, seemingly losing the white ball against quite a pale-coloured pitch, dropped opener Tony de Zorzi in the first over off Sisanda Magala.

De Zorzi and Zubayr Hamza went on to add 58 for the first wicket in 7.5 overs as the Lions added sloppy ground fielding and missed half-chances to their woes.

Hamza, who has struggled in T20 cricket before this year, went on to score a brilliant century, only being dismissed in the final over after he had stroked a dazzling 106 off just 63 balls.

With the able support of De Zorzi (26 off 22), Kyle Verreynne (35 off 23) and Wayne Parnell (18 off 8), Hamza led the Cobras to 197 for seven.

Malusi Siboto rescued an even worse situation for the Lions as he was economical at the death and took wickets to finish with a brilliant four for 30 in his four overs. Magala finished with one for 32, but the rest of the Lions bowling was poor.

Young openers Josh Richards (28 off 22) and Rickelton (53 off 31), as well as Shane Dadswell (32 off 14) in the middle overs, were good advertisers for the hitting ability off the Lions, but they fell just short despite the valiant efforts of Magala (23* off 15) with the bat.

Parnell, after his cameo with the bat, produced an outstanding display of skill with the ball, conceding just nine runs in the final over and 29 runs overall in his four overs.

Left-arm spinner Kyle Simmonds took crucial wickets in the 13^th and 17^th overs.

In the other match on Friday, South-Western Districts consigned Northern Cape to a 24-run loss on their home turf.

Yaseen Valli (60 off 49) and captain Jean du Plessis (69 off 39) added 113 in 12 overs to give SWD a great start after they were sent in to bat. Heath Richards then took them to 192 for four with a destructive 41 off just 14 deliveries.

Pacemen Hershell America then took crucial wickets, finishing with a superb three for 23 in his four overs, as Northern Cape were restricted to 168 for nine.

Onke Nyaku supported well with two for 30.

On Saturday, South-Western Districts play neighbours Western Province and Northern Cape take on the Central Gauteng Lions.