The bizhub Highveld Lions made light work of the Chevrolet Warriors as they hammered them by 115 runs in their MiWay T20 Challenge match at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

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The Warriors’ international-class bowling attack was put to the sword as the Lions, led by Gulam Bodi’s career-best 90, posted 199 for six, before Australian fast bowler Dirk Nannes (3-1-9-2) blasted through the visitors’ top-order with two quick wickets.

With Chris Morris – perhaps a future international himself? – also taking two wickets, the Warriors quickly crashed to 28 for four.

A 1200-strong contingent of Lions fans were treated to a thrilling new-ball burst by left-armer Nannes, who bowled fast and full to bowl openers Jon-Jon Smuts for one and Ashwell Prince for four.

The Warriors were 11 for two after three overs, but still had a bit of batting class available with Colin Ingram and Johan Botha at the crease.

Ingram hit a couple of boundaries for his eight but soon made his exit, caught skying an attempted pull off Morris, who then bowled Kelly Smuts for five to complete an excellent spell of two for seven in two overs.

Ex-SA under-19 all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius then bowled Craig Thyssen for two to leave the Warriors on a parlous 36 for five in the eighth over.

Botha scrapped his way to an ugly 15 off 23 balls but the lower order made spinners Aaron Phangiso (two for 30) and Jean Symes (three for five) look like pros of the highest order as the pair claimed combined figures of five for 35 in 4.2 overs.

Athenkosi Dyili was the unbeaten batsman on 15 when the Warriors were all out for 84, condemned to the second-biggest defeat in the history of franchise T20 cricket.

The record is held by the Eagles, who beat the Lions by 130 runs in Potchefstroom in 2004/5.

Bodi had bashed his way by hook or by crook to his career-best 90 on a tough night for the Warriors bowlers on a hard and true Wanderers pitch, surrounded by its usual quick outfield. But the Eastern Cape team made life tougher for themselves with some very untidy fielding.

The Warriors had won the toss and sent the Lions in and made a good start as Makhaya Ntini had Jonathan Vandiar (1) caught at third man to leave the home side on four for one after two overs.

But the visitors were soon singing a different tune as Bodi gave the innings an excellent foundation and Quinton de Kock continued his rich vein of form with 46 off 26 balls.

De Kock hit a pair of sixes and half-a-dozen fours in another top-class display of power-strokeplay, often showing a total lack of respect for the five international bowlers he was up against.

It was a particularly bad day for off-spinner Botha and left-armer Wayne Parnell, who conceded 42 and 44 runs respectively in their four-over stints.

De Kock eventually fell when he got his leg in the way of a quicker delivery from left-arm spinner Nicky Boje and was trapped lbw.

The Lions lost two wickets in two balls as Bodi, who is definitely not a member of the smart-running-between-wickets club, turned down a second run and Pretorius was stranded and run out without facing a ball.

Bodi was not fazed, however, as he went past his former franchise best of 88 not out, for the Titans against the Cobras two seasons ago, hammering seven fours and five sixes in his fantastic 51-ball innings.

It was not a faultless innings by any means, but it did show just how destructive Bodi can be on his day.

Stalwart Neil McKenzie was also an integral part of the fine Lions innings with his 37 off 29 balls, but the Warriors did manage to tighten the screws towards the end of the innings as Parnell and Rusty Theron took three wickets in the last three overs.

Theron was the one bowler to keep calm during the breathless assault, taking one for 32 in his four overs, but there was terrible punishment for the rest of his fellow internationals.

Tanveer arrived in Johannesburg late last week and is set for his first outing for the Lions when they play the Chevrolet Knights in Potchefstroom on Wednesday.

Dave Nosworthy’s team are currently on top of the log and have the opportunity to extend their one-point lead over the Titans, who have played an extra game, and the Knights, who are two points behind, also after six matches.

The left-arm paceman and powerful lower-order hitter has been playing in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and was one of the star performers in that competition, taking 13 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 15.53 and an economy rate of just 5.94.

“I was in very good form in Bangladesh and hopefully tomorrow will be my first chance to play together with the Lions. The Lions don’t have many big names, but they have very good talent and have been performing very well.

“The Lions are on the top of the log, which means the local players have done very well, they’ve been winning on their own. That means there is less pressure on me.

“In the BPL, my team wasn’t winning, which always makes it difficult for the professional, he is under more pressure. But here at the Lions, the local guys have performed very well,” Tanveer said at the Wanderers on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old Tanveer first played for Pakistan in 2007, making his debut in South Africa in the T20 World Cup, and he was one of the stars of the tournament, helping his team into the final, where, unfortunately for them, they lost to India by five runs in a thriller.

“The cricket is very good in South Africa, most international players love to play here, and the facilities are very good too. One of the things I love about South Africa is that I made my debut here in the T20 World Cup. I have good and bad memories of the Wanderers, I played well here, but we lost the final – that’s the bottom line! But there is good bounce and swing here,” Tanveer said.

KNEE PROBLEMS

Knee problems, leading to surgery in 2010, perhaps explains why Tanveer is in Africa rather than preparing for the Asia Cup in Dhaka with the rest of the Pakistan squad. The bowler himself blames his unorthodox action, which leads to him bowling off the wrong foot, a la Mike Procter, for the injury.

“I was out for one-and-a-half years with a knee injury, it was because of my action, the whole load is on my left leg. All my weight is on one leg, with no support from the other one. But I’m finally back to full form, I’m getting my swing back.

“In my country, we’re not allowed to ask why we aren’t selected, but I believe it was at the last moment and I’m not disappointed – this will be a good opportunity to show I’m good enough to play international cricket again,” Tanveer said.

So a motivated fast bowler, whose great weapons are swing and yorkers, and a team high on confidence should make for a potent combination.

And Tanveer has a history of success in T20 cricket, playing a key role in the Rajasthan Royals’ triumph in the inaugural season of the IPL.

He was the leading wicket-taker in the competition and also hit the winning runs in a last-ball triumph in the final.

“It’s all about confidence. When a team is going well, nobody can stop you. In the IPL, we were one of the lowly teams and we did not have any really big names. But once we started winning, we beat all the teams with the big names.

“It’s all about the team combination, when you’re playing well as a team, it doesn’t matter who is coming up against you,” Tanveer said.

The Lions and Tanveer would seem to be a good fit for each other, and there is also the delicious prospect of two left-arm quicks opening the bowling with Australian Dirk Nannes already into the swing of things.

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Henry Davids and Roelof van der Merwe were the men who did most of the damage as the Nashua Titans hammered the New Age Impi by nine wickets with 26 balls to spare in their MiWay T20 Challenge match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Sunday.

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Van der Merwe destroyed the New Age Impi middle-order as the Titans bowled them out for just 131, before Davids hit a whirlwind 55 off 35 balls to rush the “visitors” to victory.

The New Age Impi experiment has battled to get off the ground with the composite side crashing to their fifth straight defeat and only a meagre crowd coming to watch in Benoni, where the Titans of course play often.

Apart from Davids, Jacques Rudolph and Van der Merwe also enjoyed themselves with the bat, retiring to the changeroom with 47 not out and 30 not out respectively after the bonus-point victory was completed.

Left-handed Rudolph anchored the innings as he scored his runs off 39 balls, with three fours and two sixes, while Van der Merwe lashed three fours and a six from 20 deliveries.

But it was Davids who stole the show with a top-class innings, a delightful display of footwork and superb timing as he stroked seven fours and two sixes.

It was like the old pro against the interns as he moved around his crease and found the gaps at will, notching a 26-ball half-century before chipping offspinner Khaya Zondo to midwicket, where Paul Collingwood took a fine catch diving forward.

That left the Titans on 78 for one in the 10th over and in complete control, Rudolph and Van der Merwe completing the formalities as they added 59 in 39 balls.

The New Age Impi seamers were unimpressive and captain Collingwood needed to turn to the slower bowlers, with left-arm spinner Siyabulela Simetu continuing the good impression he has made in the competition as he took the new ball and conceded just 23 runs in his four overs.

The Impi had won the toss and elected to bat first for the first time in the campaign, and Zondo and Collingwood had given the innings a solid foundation as they put on 51 for the third wicket off 41 balls.

The Impi’s problems, as is so often the case, began with a run out, and Van der Merwe was the architect, defeating the batsmen’s efforts for a second run as he rushed in from the midwicket boundary and scored a direct hit at the bowler’s end to remove Collingwood for a bright 28 off 18 balls.

Zondo was still there, though, having come in first-wicket down and watched as another Englishman, Luke Wright, also scored 28 off 18 balls to give the Impi a quick start.

But 92 for three quickly became 99 for six as Ryan ten Doeschate chopped on off David Wiese for just a single, and Van der Merwe removed Zondo and Richard Cameron off successive deliveries.

Zondo, who scored 33 off 31 balls, backed away to try and cut the left-arm spinner, but was off-balance and only succeeded in edging a catch to sharp wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn, who had earlier stumped opener Adrian McLaren for four in Van der Merwe’s first over.

Cameron then chipped his first ball straight to extra cover and, although Ryan Canning ensured that there would be no hat-trick for Van der Merwe, he could not find the boundary as he was the last man out for 17 off 21 balls.

Van der Merwe finished his quota of overs with excellent figures of three for 28 and his fantastic fielding netted him another run-out, dismissing Simetu for five in the penultimate over.

The 27-year-old has not played for South Africa in over 18 months, but continues to send good messages to the national selectors, having now taken five for 91 in 14 overs in this season’s T20 Challenge.

Off-spinner Eden Links also had a profitable afternoon with two for 21 in his four overs, while seamer Wiese came on in the 12th over and was not easy to get away as he took one for 13 in three overs.

The Titans will be unhappy that their fielding at the start of the innings was not up to scratch, a couple of catches going down, but, led by the indomitable Van der Merwe, they eventually got the job done in some style.

The bizhub Highveld Lions will be thrilled with how clinical they were as they beat the Chevrolet Warriors by eight wickets with seven balls remaining in their MiWay T20 Challenge match at Axxess DSL St George’s in Port Elizabeth on Wednesday.

 http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120222/Lions_will_be_thrilled_with_clinical_win

Chris Morris bowled with good pace to lead the Lions attack as they restricted the Warriors to 134 for nine and then, with Jonathan Vandiar anchoring the chase with 56 not out off 53 balls, the visitors barely had to rush as they cruised to 136 for two in 18.5 overs.

Veteran Neil McKenzie added the final touches with his 31 not out off 29 balls as the Lions showed themselves to be early contenders with their second straight victory.

The Lions were only chasing a moderate total, but the St George’s pitch is renown for getting lower and slower, so tactically they were spot on as they looked to make the most out of the first six powerplay overs against the hard new ball.

Captain Alviro Petersen looked in sublime form as he stroked 26 off 16 balls, but them smashed a return catch to Makhaya Ntini.

Dwaine Pretorius then came in and hit two massive sixes off left-arm spinner Jon-Jon Smuts on his way to 21 off 15 balls, but it was debatable whether the pinch-hitter tactic really worked.

Simon Harmer was the leading wicket-taker in the SuperSport Series (44 in nine matches) for a reason and the off-spinner removed Pretorius when he fired in a wonderful yorker to bowl the powerfully-built all-rounder, on his way to fine figures of one for 19 in four overs.

But McKenzie hasn’t put a foot wrong all season and he helped Vandiar steer the Lions to a breakthrough victory – having lost all their previous T20 games in Port Elizabeth, they will be celebrating their win long and loud.

Earlier, Morris had another excellent evening in the field as the Highveld Lions restricted the Warriors to 134 for nine.

Morris had taken the new ball and bowled tidily, his two overs costing just 10 runs, but Jon-Jon Smuts and Ashwell Prince had given the Warriors a solid platform as they took them to 66 for one after 10 overs.

The Warriors had won the toss and elected to bat first, but had lost Kelly Smuts to the second ball of the innings, bowled for a duck by Ethan O’Reilly.

But his older brother Jon-Jon, a compact, punchy batsman, played some top-class strokes as he scored 42 off 37 balls before he was beaten and bowled by a fine delivery from left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso.

There has been plenty of discussion about Prince’s future, but the left-hander looked solid as he scored 33 off 29 balls before part-time off-spinner Petersen won their little battle by bowling him as the batsman came down the pitch.

Miscommunication then cost the Warriors two wickets off successive balls, with Morris running out both Colin Ackermann (4) and Nicky Boje (0), with super throws from deep square-leg and short fine-leg respectively.

Athenkosi Dyili hit the ball about with some aplomb in the closing overs as he scored 22 off 11 balls, but the Warriors would have wanted more than just four runs from the final over, bowled by the impressive Morris.

Andrew Birch (6) stepped across his stumps and tried to hit Morris on the leg-side, but the ball was full and hitting middle stump so umpire Marais Erasmus had no hesitation in given the lbw when the batsman missed.

Morris then hit the blockhole superbly with his final ball, yorking Simon Harmer for 14.

It gave the lanky all-rounder marvellous figures of two for 19 in four overs, but credit must also go to Phangiso, who did much to stifle the Warriors with one for 18 in his four overs.

Left-arm spinner Jean Symes took two wickets to further frustrate the Warriors.