Ken Borland

Dominic Hendricks fell one short of a brilliant century as he was the Imperial Lions batsman who best defied an accurate Titans attack on the first day of their 4-Day Domestic Series match at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

Having won the toss and elected to bat, the Lions were bowled out for just 206, a moderate total when they would have been aiming for much higher. But it may yet prove to be a competitive score as the Wanderers pitch proved lively all day with good bounce and both swing and seam on offer.

Opener Hendricks was the one batsman to prosper though as the compact left-hander spent a single-minded 224 minutes at the crease, before Okuhle Cele zeroed in and trapped him lbw for 99.

The left-handed Hendricks was beaten as he tried to on-drive an inswinger, which left captain Nicky van den Bergh (41) to try and bolster the rest of the innings.

Van den Bergh was unfortunate to be run out at the bowler’s end when Williams could not hold a return catch from a fierce Kagiso Rabada straight drive, but the ball rebounded on to the stumps.

Williams, who bowled a disciplined line just outside off stump, then zipped through the tail to finish with three for 54 in 17 overs, while there were two wickets apiece for Dayyaan Galiem and Cele as all the Titans seamers impressed.

The Titans then had to weather 70 minutes of ferocious fast bowling that conjured up memories of some of the great pace attacks that have enjoyed bowling at the Wanderers, reaching 45 for one when bad light stopped play.

Aiden Markram was on 23 not out, but Dean Elgar was dismissed for two by Rabada, Temba Bavuma taking a superb catch, running back from mid-off and diving.

*The Dolphins, chasing a place in the final from Pool A, were able to bully the Warriors on the first day at St George’s Park.

The Dolphins attack, led by paceman Eathan Bosch (13-5-18-3), bundled the Warriors out for just 124 and the visitors then reached 67 for two at stumps.

*The Knights, the other Pool A team in contention, found the going tough at Newlands, despite winning the toss and batting against the Cape Cobras.

The Knights slumped to 36 for four and then 112 for eight after Raynard van Tonder’s 47, before some crucial late runs by tailenders Duan Jansen (23) and Alfred Mothoa (34) lifted them to 181.

Cobras new-ball bowlers Nandre Burger and Tshepo Moreki enjoyed the moist conditions as they took four wickets apiece.

Jansen did take an early wicket for the Knights, but Pieter Malan (51*) and Zubayr Hamza (29*) then added 73 to take the Cobras to 84 for one at stumps.

The Cape Cobras also suffered a parlous mid-innings collapse as they went down to the Dolphins on the first day of the CSA T20 Challenge at Kingsmead in Durban on Friday.

Chasing 156 for victory, the Cobras were cruising on 70 for one after 10 overs with Tony de Zorzi (39) and Kyle Verreynne (29) well set.

But Proteas star Keshav Maharaj bowled De Zorzi in the 11^th over and also dismissed Verreynne, well-stumped by Grant Roelofsen off a superb piece of slow left-arm spin, in the same over.

Fellow spinner Prenelan Subrayen also chipped in with the wicket of George Linde (1) and the Cobras subsided to 106 for seven, mirroring the Knights’ collapse earlier in the day against the Titans when they slumped to 116 all out from 84 for two.

Some lusty blows by Christiaan Jonker (41* off 25) lifted the Cobras to 141 for seven, but they were also-rans by then, ultimately losing by 14 runs.

Maharaj finished with magnificent figures of four for 15 in his four overs, while off-spinner Subrayen was also excellent with one for 19.

The Dolphins, who won the toss and batted, found themselves in trouble in the first half of their innings as they struggled to 63 for four.

There were two run outs in their top-order and they were the vital wickets of the in-form Grant Roelofsen for a duck and kingpin David Miller for 16.

But an inspired innings of 59 off 39 balls by Khaya Zondo shifted the momentum away from the Cobras and lifted the Dolphins to 155 for eight.

Andile Phehlukwayo (13) and Robbie Frylinck (17) played their part in consecutive partnerships of 43 and 48 with Zondo.

Zondo fell in the final over and was the middle victim in a superb hat-trick by rookie left-arm spinner Siyabonga Mahima.

The 24-year-old from Mpumalanga finished with four for 18 in three overs having been thrust into bowling the last over in a surprise move by captain Tony de Zorzi. It was the fourth hat-trick in South African T20 franchise history.

Montagu Toller is not a well-known cricketer with great exploits immediately springing to mind except for those with the most intricate knowledge of the sport, but it looks like the Proteas will need to take a leaf out of his book after the first day of the second Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi on Thursday.

Toller is an Olympic Games hero, taking seven for nine as Great Britain bowled France out for 26 to win the 1900 Olympic final by 158 runs. It was the only time cricket has featured at the Olympics. But the relevant item of trivia from paceman Toller’s tale is that all seven of those wickets were out bowled. In other words, he must have really targeted the stumps and it looks as if that is going to be the best line of attack for the Proteas as well.

That’s because Pakistan won the toss and reached 145 for three on the first day, which saw the final session of play washed out. After early moisture gave the South African bowlers some assistance, the pitch dried out and developed into a real beauty for batting as Babar Azam (77*) and Fawad Alam (42*) shared a really fruitful partnership.

Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada and Wiaan Mulder, the all-rounder who has specifically been chosen for his line-and-length abilities, have all bowled well, but with precious little movement on offer in the afternoon and the ball seldom bouncing more than hip-high, bowled and lbw seem the most likely ways for them to get wickets. So straight lines are going to be essential.

Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj is probably the greatest threat to the Pakistan batsmen and his variations of flight and pace have certainly tested Babar and Fawad. One sensed Babar was just itching to hit him into the spacious gardens of the Nawaz Sharif Park across the road from the stadium, but the closest he came was a lovely straight drive for a one-bounce four as Maharaj showed all his craft, cunning and accuracy.

It was a testing day for Maharaj as well as his first delivery turned sharply, finding the edge of Imran Butt’s bat only for Temba Bavuma to drop the straightforward catch at slip.

But the Dolphins star removed both Butt and Azhar Ali for a duck soon afterwards, the opener being smartly caught behind by Quinton de Kock as the ball turned again and Azhar being trapped lbw by a delivery that went straight on with the arm.

Back-up spinner George Linde left the field after bowling just 2.5 overs as a fierce drive by Babar lacerated the pinkie finger of his left-hand, leaving Maharaj, who turns 31 on Sunday, to toil for 25 overs on Thursday as the turn on offer diminished.

“Getting through the early session is crucial for batsmen here and Babar and Fawad absorbed the pressure nicely and then after lunch it was easier to bat. With the newish ball and the moisture in the morning, the ball tended to stick in the pitch a bit more. But as the moisture seeped away, the turn became substantially less.

“The wicket is pretty hard and the moisture from the rain and tomorrow [Friday] morning might bind it together more, especially if the heavy roller is used between innings. We’ll have a better idea of how the pitch will play at the end of the second day, but everyone has been a bit confused,” Maharaj said after the early close of play on Thursday.

Dean Elgar followed up his 206-minute occupation of SuperSport Park in the first Test by making the Wanderers his own erf of batting tenaciousness, steering South Africa to 148 for one, just nine runs behind Sri Lanka’s total, on the first day of the second Test on Sunday.

With Anrich Nortje taking a career-best six for 56 in 14.3 overs, finishing off the fine work of Wiaan Mulder before lunch, Sri Lanka were bundled out just after 2pm for 157 in only 40.3 overs. Elgar and Rassie van der Dussen then ensured the Proteas made a solid response as they added 114 for the second wicket.

Elgar made it to stumps on 92 not out, having batted for 174 minutes and faced 119 balls, and showed a great ability to adapt his game, absorbing pressure when necessary and changing gears when possible. His first 25 runs came at a run-a-ball, but after tea when Sri Lanka stuck to really disciplined lines and lengths, he showed great patience and resolve. Later in the afternoon, when the shackles were released a bit, the left-hander was able to regain his fluency.

Van der Dussen was even more patient, showing the sort of composure that comes from experience as he took 26 deliveries to get off the mark, but bided his time, sticking to his game plan until the Sri Lankan bowlers backed off. The 31-year-old went to stumps on 40 not out, after 139 minutes and 82 deliveries, having come to the crease in the third over after tea after Aiden Markram (5) was caught in the slips off debutant Asitha Fernando, who took the new ball and produced an impressive first spell in Test cricket.

Sri Lanka had won the toss and elected to bat first under cloudy skies in cool conditions, and opener Kusal Perera’s belligerent 60 off 67 balls took them to 71 for one, before experiencing a dramatic collapse that saw them lose nine wickets for 86 runs.

South Africa’s fast bowlers were having difficulty tying Kusal down and the left-hander bashed 11 fours in his innings as anything approaching full in length was lashed through the covers. But Mulder changed the complexion of the game, finding the perfect length and some away movement as he took three wickets for one run before lunch.

Kusal was caught in the slips as he planted the front foot, reached for a drive and edged the delivery going across him, with Kusal Mendis (0) and Lahiru Thirimanne (17) also being caught in the slips. Mulder also ended with career-best figures of three for 25.

Nortje came to the fore after lunch, Sri Lanka’s lower-order being unable to cope with the combination of high pace and a fuller length as he took five for 35 in the second session.

“Kusal batted really well and if you gave him any width he was immediately on to it, but I’m very happy with the end result. As a unit the bowlers did very well and it was great to improve on the first innings at Centurion. Wiaan did really well, he’s not just bowling dot balls but taking wickets as well, which helps us so much.
“I just tried to be tight, keep it as simple as possible and use the extra bounce. You’re not trying to do miracles and we stuck to what we wanted, which is bowling in the channel after we were a bit wide and maybe both sides of the wicket at Centurion. Today we created lots of opportunities and those bowling partnerships is what we want,” Nortje said.

Only Wanindu Hasaranga (29) and Dushmantha Chameera (22) gave the Proteas much pause for thought as they added 39 for the eighth wicket.

But Monday could be a long second day for Sri Lanka, with batting likely to be easier.