Ken Borland

Dean Elgar produced an innings of enormous class as he scored a century to lead the Unlimited Titans into the Momentum One-Day Cup final with a 58-run victory over the Sunfoil Dolphins in the playoff at Kingsmead on Tuesday night.

Elgar came to the crease in the third over with the Titans in trouble on eight for two, and he mastered a poor pitch as he batted through to the final over, scoring a priceless 100 off 130 balls, with eight fours and a six.

The left-hander spent most of the innings just keeping the Dolphins attack at bay, as their attack made use of a deteriorating pitch that not only provided sharp turn, but also grip and uneven bounce for the seamers, but he received tremendous support from David Wiese, the Titans blazing 109 runs in the last 10 overs.

Chasing 268 batting second was always going to be a tall order for the Dolphins, who paid the price for gambling on a pitch that was more suited to the final day of a Test than a limited-overs knockout game.

The Titans, combining aggressive pace bowling with cunning seam and spin, performed brilliantly in the field, bowling the Dolphins out for 209 in the 45^th over.

The Titans had earlier won the toss and elected to bat first, and the nature of the pitch was shown when the Dolphins used spinner Keshav Maharaj to bowl the second over.

The left-armer removed the Titans captain, Henry Davids (2), with his fifth ball, the batsman failing to clear the infield with a lofted drive.

The other opening bowler, Robbie Frylinck, then had Theunis de Bruyn (4) caught in the slips in the next over, bringing Elgar to the crease.

The Dolphins soon suffered a couple of killer blows with all-rounder Ryan McLaren, who passed a fitness test on the morning of the game, re-injuring his hamstring and having to leave the field in his fourth over, and Elgar then being dropped on 18 as an off-balance Cameron Delport put down a relatively straightforward chance at backward point off Andile Phehlukwayo.

Despite a poor fielding effort – four catches went down in all – the Dolphins bowlers were not relaxing the pressure they exerted and Jacques Rudolph and Elgar had to work exceptionally hard to add 78 for the fourth wicket in 19.4 overs.

Batting was not a simple task with the ball seaming, turning sharply, sometimes bouncing, sometimes keeping low and often stopping in the pitch.

Rudolph scored 39 off 69 balls before Maharaj claimed a superb return catch to dismiss him, but Elgar is one of the most determined cricketers in the country and one could almost sense him vowing not to get out before the Titans had a decent total on the board.

Qaasim Adams was trapped lbw for 11 by Maharaj and Albie Morkel (24) was just getting into his stride when he was dismissed by Andile Phehlukwayo during an impressive spell by the 18-year-old.

But Elgar and Wiese then added 92 runs during a match-changing 54-ball spell which saw the Dolphins fielders wilting and the bowlers pitching too full on a wicket which rewarded balls that were banged into the surface.

The powerful Wiese was dropped before he got off the mark by Daryn Smit at slip off the aggressive Phehlukwayo, and the Dolphins paid heavily for that as the all-rounder blasted five fours and five sixes in an explosive 71 not out off just 33 balls.

The late assault rather ruined the figures of Phehlukwayo (10-0-64-1), Maharaj (10-0-50-3) and Frylinck (10-1-45-2), but they were the best of the Dolphins bowlers.

Chasing such a large score batting second was always going to be a daunting task for the Dolphins, but truth be told, they made life harder for themselves through poor shot-selection.

Playing cross-batted shots on a pitch with inconsistent bounce is always risky, and Morne van Wyk (12), Cameron Delport (0), Khaya Zondo (72) and Phehlukwayo (2) were all caught pulling or cutting.

Zondo showed what an exciting talent he is with his wonderful innings of 72 off 87 balls and while he was at the crease, there was still danger for the Titans.

But JP de Villiers is bowling with increasing confidence and good pace these days and he bounced out both Zondo and Phehlukwayo in the batting powerplay and there was little hope for the Dolphins after that.

While De Villiers finished with three for 34 in nine overs, there was an equally impressive return of three for 35 in eight from Junior Dala and Morkel was also very handy, taking three for 33 with his seamers and cutters.

The spin bowling for the Titans was left in the hands of Tabraiz Shamsi and Elgar and they both went for a run-a-ball.

Every chance is precious in a knockout game and Davids took an exceptional one-handed reflex catch at slip, with wicketkeeper Mangaliso Mosehle diving in front of him, to remove the in-form Vaughn van Jaarsveld for 15 off the bowling of Dala.

http://citizen.co.za/324296/titans-dominate-dolphins/

Reeza Hendricks stamped himself as a new contender for the national team’s opening berth as his splendid century carried South Africa A to 287 for six in their final limited-overs match against the England Lions at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Thursday.

Hendricks and Dean Elgar formed a wonderful partnership up front as they added 149 for the first wicket in 28 overs after SA A were sent in to bat.

What was most impressive about their stand was the way they married watchfulness with an ability to work the ball around and keep the scoreboard ticking over.

While Elgar fell for a determined 66 off 74 balls, Hendricks went on to score 107 off 128 deliveries, with 10 fours and a six, before being bowled by Tim Bresnan with the total on 210 in the 39^th over.

The England Lions were on top from that moment on, claiming three more wickets and it was only thanks to a fiery 35 not out off 20 balls from Chris Morris that SA A were able to post 287, when something over 300 was certainly on the cards.

Hendricks went to his half-century first – his third of the year – off just 59 balls with seven fours.

Elgar reached his half-century six overs later, although he took two fewer deliveries, but his demise came when he tried to slog-sweep leg-spinner Adil Rashid, but could only top-edge a catch to deep midwicket.

Hendricks brought up his second century of the series in the batting powerplay with a beautifully balanced and controlled flick off his pads off left-arm seamer Harry Gurney for his 11^th four, but an over later, SA A lost their second wicket.

Theunis de Bruyn had breezed to 29 off 25 balls, as he and Hendricks added a run-a-ball 53, but then chanced his arm once too often against the impressive Jack Brooks and was bowled.

Brooks was the golden arm for the England Lions on Thursday as he also bowled Stiaan van Zyl for 21 and then claimed a return catch off Khaya Zondo (7) as the SA A innings just faded away.

Bresnan claimed the wicket of Hendricks in the 39^th over, hitting the middle stump as the 25-year-old tried to drive through the on-side.

Gurney added the soft wicket of Dane Vilas (8), cutting to point, and it was only the big-hitting Morris, smiting three fours and clearing the boundary twice, that lifted SA A in the last handful of overs.

Brooks was the best of the touring bowlers, finishing with three for 55, including two for 18 in his last three overs at the death.

http://citizen.co.za/321414/south-africa-v-england-lions-1st-innings/

Rilee Rossouw proved his credentials with the World Cup just around the corner as he lashed a great century to take South Africa to a massive 361 for five in the rain-shortened fifth Momentum One-Day International against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

Midway through their run-chase, the West Indies had done little to divorce themselves from the perception that they are lightweights in comparison to the Proteas as they stuttered to 115 for three in 21 overs in reply, leaving them with an unlikely 250 runs to win from 126 balls.

And there will be no cavalier innings from Chris Gayle to rescue them either as the big-hitting left-hander was out to the first ball of the innings.

Kyle Abbott sent down a rather wretched loosener, short and very wide outside off stump, which Gayle flashed at and umpire Sundaram Ravi called wide. The South Africans were convinced, however, that the batsman had nicked the ball and called for a review, receiving a positive verdict from third umpire Steve Davis.

Narsingh Deonarine and Dwayne Smith then added 77 from 77 balls for the second wicket, but it was hardly a hair-raising time for the South Africans with the comfort of such a large total on the board.

There was some disappointing bowling from Abbott in particular, but Wayne Parnell joined the fray in the eighth over and suggested that his game is there or thereabouts as he bowled three tidy overs for just nine runs.

There was some respite for the home side when Aaron Phangiso trapped Smith lbw for 31 with a straight one, and it all went horribly wrong for Deonarine in the left-arm spinner’s next over when he was run out for 43, losing his bat in the process as he tried to beat Hashim Amla’s whirlwind throw from short fine leg.

Marlon Samuels (22*) and Denesh Ramdin (11*) were working the ball around in a stand of 32 for the fourth wicket, but they had an awful amount of work to do if they were to challenge South Africa’s total.

Rain had delayed the start of play for two-and-a-half hours and saw the match reduced to 42 overs a side, and the West Indies won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat.

Rossouw helped himself to a career-best 132 off just 98 balls, with nine fours and eight sixes, and Amla cruised to yet another century, scoring a fine 133 off 105 deliveries.

Rossouw and Amla added 247 for the third wicket off just 181 balls, a record third-wicket partnership for South Africa and equalling their own mark for the best stand for any wicket that they set in the second ODI at the Wanderers.

It was another top-class batting display by the South Africans, even with big gun AB de Villiers having a rest, as they laid a solid platform on a tricky pitch and then launched a spectacular late onslaught.

A couple of wickets had fallen in the first 10 overs as Quinton de Kock (4) and Faf du Plessis (16) fell to horizontal-bat strokes on a pitch that provided enough awkward bounce to make those shots difficult.

Amla once again looked in a class apart as he reached a 49-ball half-century in the 21^st over, midway through the innings with South Africa on 109 for two, while Rossouw, who has endured a troubled ODI career thus far, struggled through to his 50 off 60 balls.

But those early miscues all seemed a lifetime ago as Rossouw then blossomed in spectacular fashion, needing just 23 more deliveries to register his second century of the series.

The left-hander raced past Amla and looked every bit a power-hitter as he smashed 82 runs off his last 38 balls.

Amla just kept on amassing runs as he has all series, except in this innings he was able to do it in half-dozens at a time, clearing the boundary six times to go with his 11 fours, showing that even a great batsman like him has had room to improve his game.

The West Indies were bleeding runs horrifically as the sun shone brightest on its way to the western horizon, bathing SuperSport Park in a sepia light befitting a display that was one for the ages.

The last 147 runs of the Amla and Rossouw partnership came off just 69 balls … and that by two batsmen who are not renowned for being big boundary-hitters.

Finishers David Miller (23 off 9) and JP Duminy (18* off 7) were left with only a handful of overs to bat but they collected their share of boundaries as 87 runs were hammered in the last five overs.

With the bounce providing something for the bowlers to work with – which the West Indians failed to do – South Africa’s total is certainly well over par. But they will be wary that Chris Gayle is probably due a score in this series.

 – http://citizen.co.za/316633/no-cavalier-innings-for-gayle/

Rilee Rossouw proved his credentials with the World Cup just around the corner as he lashed a great century to take South Africa to a massive 361 for five in the rain-shortened fifth Momentum One-Day International against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

Rain delayed the start of play for two-and-a-half hours and saw the match reduced to 42 overs a side, and the West Indies won the toss and sent South Africa in to bat.

Rossouw helped himself to a career-best 132 off just 98 balls, with nine fours and eight sixes, and Hashim Amla cruised to yet another century, scoring a fine 133 off 105 deliveries.

Rossouw and Amla added 247 for the third wicket off just 181 balls, a record third-wicket partnership for South Africa and equalling their own mark for the best stand for any wicket that they set in the second ODI at the Wanderers.

It was another top-class batting display by the South Africans, even with big gun AB de Villiers having a rest, as they laid a solid platform on a tricky pitch and then launched a spectacular late onslaught.

A couple of wickets had fallen in the first 10 overs as Quinton de Kock (4) and Faf du Plessis (16) fell to horizontal-bat strokes on a pitch that provided enough awkward bounce to make those shots difficult.

Amla once again looked in a class apart as he reached a 49-ball half-century in the 21^st over, midway through the innings with South Africa on 109 for two, while Rossouw, who has endured a troubled ODI career thus far, struggled through to his 50 off 60 balls.

But those early miscues all seemed a lifetime ago as Rossouw then blossomed in spectacular fashion, needing just 23 more deliveries to register his second century of the series.

The left-hander raced past Amla and looked every bit a power-hitter as he smashed 82 runs off his last 38 balls.

Amla just kept on amassing runs as he has all series, except in this innings he was able to do it in half-dozens at a time, clearing the boundary six times to go with his 11 fours, showing that even a great batsman like him has had room to improve his game.

The West Indies were bleeding runs horrifically as the sun shone brightest on its way to the western horizon, bathing SuperSport Park in a sepia light befitting a display that was one for the ages.

The last 147 runs of the Amla and Rossouw partnership came off just 69 balls … and that by two batsmen who are not renowned for being big boundary-hitters.

Finishers David Miller (23 off 9) and JP Duminy (18* off 7) were left with only a handful of overs to bat but they collected their share of boundaries as 87 runs were hammered in the last five overs.

With the bounce providing something for the bowlers to work with – which the West Indians failed to do – South Africa’s total is certainly well over par. But they will be wary that Chris Gayle is probably due a score in this series.