Ken Borland

The Northerns Titans suffered a shock thrashing at home on Friday when their extraordinary batting collapse and ill-disciplined bowling saw them hammered by eight wickets with 19 overs to spare by the North-West Dragons in their CSA One-Day Cup match at SuperSport Park.

When Dewald Brevis raised his bat and bowed to the changeroom upon reaching a sparkling 76-ball century, his first in List A cricket, it seemed likely that the wunderkind would steer the Titans to 400 with the total already on 168 for three in just the 26^th over.

But just two balls later, Brevis was back in that changeroom for 100, having slapped Kerwin Mungroo to long-on, where lanky Duan Jansen took a fine, low catch running in from the boundary.

Mungroo then produced a fine delivery to bowl Donovan Ferreira through the gate for a duck in the same over, although the Titans’ other key batsman was rather stuck in the crease to a fullish delivery.

From there the Dragons simply blew the rest of the batting line-up, missing Dean Elgar due to happy family reasons, away – an astonishing collapse of seven for 39 in 12 overs saw the Titans bundled out for just 207.

With Brevis in complete command and Matthew Kleinveldt having scored a bright 47 off 41 balls, it was an incredible turnaround. Credit must go to a North-West attack who sniffed the opportunity and rammed home the advantage given to them by Mungroo’s double-strike, but it really was a slack batting display by the Titans.

The 20-year-old Brevis will have learnt a hard lesson about giving one’s wicket away when in control, and how momentum can so easily and disastrously be relinquished.

Having seized the moment with such alacrity in the field, the Dragons then showed no tentativeness with the bat, openers Lesego Senokwane and Meeka-Eel Prince making a fiery start, racing to 50 in the eighth over.

Although the Titans employed the services of eight bowlers, no-one could make an impression or produce the discipline and control required on a pitch that did offer the bowlers something, although it was largely an excellent batting wicket.

Senokwane and Prince marched on to an opening stand of 115 off just 93 balls, a record for North-West, before left-arm spinner Neil Brand eventually made a breakthrough.

Senokwane missed a sweep at a delivery that was probably too full for the stroke, and was given out lbw, although the ball may have pitched just outside leg-stump. The in-form 26-year-old had cruised to 52 off 47 balls, timing the ball sweetly for seven fours and two sixes.

Prince, using his height and power well, went on to a devastating 89 off just 78 balls, crunching 11 fours and three sixes. The former SA U19 player is on a rookie contract in Potchefstroom, and his move from the Western Cape has certainly borne fruit for both player and province. Friday’s runs made him the leading run-scorer in the competition with 280 in five innings, but he was overtaken by team-mate Raynard van Tonder when he saw the Dragons to victory with 32 not out.

The ability of the Northerns Titans to keep their wits about them under pressure is something the national team should maybe try and borrow from them as Mandla Mashimbyi’s side claimed the CSA T20 Challenge title at the weekend with a thrilling victory over the KZN Dolphins in Potchefstroom.

Having restricted KZN to 162/3 after they were 110/1 after 15 overs, the Titans chased their target down with two balls to spare and four wickets in hand, despite slipping to 99/5 after 14 overs. It meant Northerns won a staggering eight of their nine matches in Potchefstroom, with Dayyaan Galiem (32* off 22) and Donavon Ferreira (40 off 25) the heroes in the final as they added 63 off 37 balls for the sixth wicket.

“It was a tough campaign but I think that prepared us for those tight moments in the final,” coach Mashimbyi told The Citizen on Sunday. “We had two low-scoring chases before, the one we came close, the other we nearly stuffed up.

“But there were learnings from that, it gave us an emphasis and a structure of how to chase. If it hadn’t happened, we might have made the same mistakes as in last season’s final.

“The players were able to identify the big moments and the areas they had to look after. The bowling unit was a big highlight for me, that’s what wins you tournaments.

“With the batting, partnerships are the only thing that get you over the line and we had two guys who were able to connect and find a way. It was nice to see us control our emotions,” Mashimbyi said.

The 2021/22 CSA Coach of the Season has high hopes for the 25-year-old Galiem and believes he will become the same sort of expert finisher for the Titans as Farhaan Behardien was, as well as pushing for higher honours.

“Dayyaan has been the big positive for me this tournament, just how he went about his business,” Mashimbyi said. “He was really focused over the winter and worked hard on his finishing skills and power-hitting.

“He’s shown 100% buy-in for what we want to do and I think he can finish for us like how Fudgie used to. Dayyaan Is certainly an up-and-coming star for the Titans and our national teams.

“And he can bowl as well, so he’s a huge talent. That 19^th over he bowled that cost just one run and he got Jon-Jon Smuts out brought us back into the game.

“If he keeps on playing like this then I won’t be surprised if he gets a call-up,” Mashimbyi said.

The Northerns Titans and the KZN Dolphins, the two teams that will contest the CSA T20 Challenge final in Potchefstroom on Saturday afternoon, both have powerful bowling attacks that should decide the destination of the trophy, or will another inspirational innings by Dewald Brevis prove the difference?

It seems that the final will be played on the same strip on which Brevis plundered 162 off 57 balls against the Free State Knights and a world record 501 runs were scored in the match. But the pressures of a final and the fact that the two best bowling attacks of the competition will be on show, suggests the ball will continue to hold sway as it has for most of the tournament.

“Both teams have really good bowling attacks and I think whoever bowls best will win the final,” Northerns coach Mandla Mashimbyi told Saturday Citizen on Friday.

“Our four spinners have really put the opposition under pressure. We have experienced campaigners in Aaron Phangiso and Simon Harmer, Neil Brand has been really good and Dewald has done well with his leggies too.

“Our bowlers have put in quality performances game in, game out, and that’s why we’ve been winning,” Mashimbyi said.

The Dolphins also have quality spinners in Prenelan Subrayen and Jon-Jon Smuts, and potent pacemen in Ottneil Baartman, Eathan Bosch and fast man Daryn Dupavillon.

“Our bowling attack has really stood up, as it has done in this competition in the last three seasons,” KZN assistant coach Quinton Friend said.

“We try to simplify things and we’ve put a big emphasis on death bowling, which has been going very well. We need to keep doing what we’ve been doing with the ball.

“The confidence in our bowling unit is high, the low totals against us speaks to the quality of the guys and the way they’ve stuck to the plans put in place.

“We’ve often had to defend low scores, which adds a lot of pressure, but the guys have stepped up. Our bowling is probably our strength,” Friend said.

The Titans have an average score of 170/6 in the tournament, but if one removes their extraordinary 271/3 against Free State, then their average drops to 155/7. The Dolphins are averaging 160/5.

Northerns won six of their seven round-robin games and KZN lost twice. But the Dolphins are too dangerous to be called underdogs and Mashimbyi is mindful of how the Titans slipped up in last season’s final, having also won six out of seven to top the log, but then losing by 15 runs to the Boland Rocks.

“We have learned from last season that we have to play certain big moments a little better. Hopefuly it all clicks for us in this final,” Mashimbyi said.

Seven wickets from the spinners bowled the Northerns Titans to a 38-run victory over the Free State Knights in their CSA T20 Challenge semi-final in Potchefstroom on Wednesday.

A vastly-improved Knights attack meant the Titans could only score 158 from their 20 overs, compared to the record 271/3 they made just two days earlier.

Free State were well in the game on 92/3, having benefited from a bright start from openers Gihahn Cloete (21) and Jacques Snyman (33), but from the 15^th over onwards it was one-way traffic as the Northerns spinners took control.

Five wickets were claimed in the space of 22 deliveries as the Knights crashed to 111/8, and they eventually closed on 120/8.

Left-arm spinner Neil Brand did the bulk of the damage with 3/24 from his four overs, but there was much pressure exerted from the other end as well, with orthodox left-armer Aaron Phangiso (3-0-16-1), off-spinner Simon Harmer (4-0-22-2) and leggie Dewald Brevis (3-0-15-1) all emerging from the match with excellent figures.

Northerns had elected to bat first, but with fast bowler Gerald Coetzee roaring in with impressive pace, the Knights turned their frustrations and humiliation from their previous meeting into redemption.

Coetzee roughed up their nemesis Brevis, and fellow quick Migael Pretorius then roared with delight as he had the prodigious talent caught at mid-on for just 9, trying to drive on the up.

It was a real arm-wrestle for the Titans, but Jiveshan Pillay scored a composed 33 off 24 balls, and the experienced Theunis de Bruyn (36 off 28) and Sibonelo Makhanya (45 off 34) shared a key partnership of 48 for the third wicket in 6.2 overs.

Coetzee (4-0-28-2) was outstanding in leading a Knights attack that was as smart as it was ferocious, with Mbulelo Budaza (4-0-22-1) and Alfred Mothoa (4-0-31-0) also impressive.

Off-spinner Jacques Snyman (3-0-17-1) was also hard to get away, but the Titans had given themselves enough of a total for their spinners to run rampant once again.