Ken Borland

Three batsmen caught behind down the leg-side and two stuck in their creases and trapped lbw was the sorry tale of the Unlimited Titans first-innings batting on the second day of their Sunfoil Series match against the bizhub Highveld Lions at the Wanderers on Friday.

With the formidable four-man Lions pace attack all hitting their straps, the Titans struggled to 158 for five at stumps, replying to the home side’s first innings of 401.

That the Lions managed to reach that total after being 271 for five overnight was largely due to Kagiso Rabada hitting an impressive 48 not out at number 10, while the rest of the lower-order all dug in to reach double figures.

The 19-year-old Rabada, batting for just the fourth time in the four-day competition (his previous innings have been 0, 3* & 0), showed tremendous composure and plenty of potential with the bat as he hit six fours and two sixes, generally using the straightest of bats.

The Titans had started the second morning well with the third over of the day bringing the wicket of Thami Tsolekile for 31, failing to pull off the hook shot against the pace of Marchant de Lange.

Devon Conway and Chris Morris (16) added 35 for the seventh wicket before the latter edged the left-arm seam of Rowan Richards into the slips, and leg-spinner Shaun von Berg claimed the wicket of Conway (24) in the next over.

The Lions were then seemingly on track to waste the strong start to the innings given to them by Temba Bavuma (84) as they slipped to 321 for eight. But Rabada and Hardus Viljoen (23) added 53 for the ninth wicket and Lonwabo Tsotsobe (10) helped add another 17 for the last wicket, but couldn’t hold out long enough for Rabada to achieve what would have been a richly-deserved maiden half-century.

The ease with which the Lions lower-order batted in the morning was in stark contrast to how the Titans fared as they came out to bat 40 minutes after lunch, but then again the home side’s pace attack is streets ahead of that of the visitors.

De Lange finished with three wickets for the Titans, but was expensive, conceding 114 runs in his 28 overs, while Richards took two for 64 in 20.1 overs and Ethy Mbhalati was wicketless for 64 runs in 24 overs.

Von Berg picked up three wickets and went for 87 runs in his 37 overs, the most admirable effort amongst the Titans bowlers.

The Titans top-order soon found themselves in deep trouble on 47 for four. Instead of being workers of the new ball, they tried too many aggressive strokes and paid the price.

Credit must go to the Lions attack because they put the Titans under pressure with some fine pace bowling, even if some of the wicket-taking deliveries themselves were no great shakes.

Dean Elgar clipped Viljoen for four through midwicket but then shouldered arms to the next delivery, which was straight and swung back, and the left-hander was on his way practically before the umpire put his finger up.

Four balls later, Heino Kuhn flapped loosely at a short delivery down the leg-side from Tsotsobe and was caught behind for a duck, but young Theunis de Bruyn seemed to be stepping up to the plate as he stroked six boundaries in cruising to 30.

Rabada, who gradually upped his pace to impressive levels as the innings progressed, had Qaasim Adams (8) splendidly caught down the leg-side by diving wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, and when De Bruyn was trapped lbw by Morris, the Titans were up against it on 47 for four.

Some of Roelof van der Merwe’s strokeplay may not be suitable for posters of batsmen on schoolchildrens’ walls, but the nuggety all-rounder got stuck in as usual and scored a run-a-ball 23 to at least slightly extricate the Titans from the mire they found themselves in.

Disaster struck, however, when the first ball of Tsotsobe’s second spell, a rank loosener shortly after tea, was sliding down leg but took a deflection into wicketkeeper De Kock’s gloves. Umpire Adrian Holdstock was in no doubt that it had come off Van der Merwe’s bat, but there was a strong suggestion in the batsman’s reaction that the ball had only hit pad.

Coming in at 102 for five, it was critical that Mangaliso Mosehle hung around and he played himself in carefully before becoming more expansive in the last hour.

The wicketkeeper/batsman ended the day on 35 not out and helped Farhaan Behardien add 56 for the sixth wicket in 21.2 overs.

Behardien showed the sort of determination and sound judgement expected of a senior batsman, being technically sound and generally not being drawn into loose strokes as he finished the day on 45 not out in 165 minutes. He is a natural strokeplayer, though, and he did manage to collect eight fours from the 103 deliveries he faced.

Behardien and Mosehle will be central to the Titans’ hopes of staying in the game, the deficit a sizeable 243 at the halfway stage of the opening four-day match of the season.

The brilliant seam bowling of Corbin Bosch proved too much for the batsmen of Leeds Bradford MCCU, as Assupol Tuks brushed aside the hosts by seven wickets with 22 balls to spare on the second day of the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals in London on Tuesday.

Bosch struck with the new ball in the second and fourth overs to immediately undermine the Leeds Bradford innings after they had won the toss and elected to bat first, and he claimed further wickets in the 18th and 20^th overs as the English students battled to 109 for eight in their 20 overs.

The final result was then obvious as soon as Aiden Markram made a brisk start at the top of the Tuks batting line-up, the SA U19 captain stroking a run-a-ball 42 as the University of Pretoria sealed victory in the 17^th over.

Tuks have now ensured their place in Saturday’s semi-finals of the T20 Varsity World Cup, regardless of what happens in their final round-robin fixture against the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association on Wednesday.

It was a second successive convincing victory for the Pretoria students after the Theunis de Bruyn-inspired thrashing of Bangladesh’s University of the Liberal Arts on the first day.

The hero yesterday was Bosch, with four for 27 in his four overs. One of the stars of the SA U19 team that won the ICC Junior World Cup earlier this year, Bosch has not yet played first-class cricket, but he is almost certain to appear for Northerns in the summer.

The son of former Test fast bowler Tertius is also wonderfully skilful at the death and he was superbly supported by his opening partner, Vincent Moore, who conceded just 12 runs in his four overs.

Off-spinner Ruben Claassen was the other class act for Tuks, taking two for 13 in four overs.

The runs have kept flowing for Markram since the Junior World Cup triumph where he was the man of the tournament, and he anchored the straightforward Tuks chase with Gerry Pike and De Bruyn both adding 20s.

Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association will qualify for the semi-finals alongside Tuks if they win on Wednesday, but if the South Africans make it a clean sweep of three from three in Group 2 then they will be joined by whoever has the better run-rate between the West Indians and the winner of the other clash between the Bangladeshis and English.

– http://thesportseagle.co.za/cricket/corbin-bosch-much-leeds-bradford/

Assupol Tuks sent their hosts from the north of England, Leeds Bradford MCCU, packing on the second day of the Red Bull Campus Cricket Finals in London yesterday.

Tuks beat Leeds Bradford by seven wickets with 22 balls remaining to ensure their place in Saturday’s semi-finals of the T20 Varsity World Cup.

It was a second successive convincing victory for the University of Pretoria students after the Theunis de Bruyn-inspired thrashing of Bangladesh’s University of the Liberal Arts on the first day.

The hero yesterday was pace bowler Corbin Bosch, who took four for 27 in his four overs to restrict Leeds Bradford to just 109 for eight after they had elected to bat first.

Bosch, one of the stars of the SA U19 team that won the ICC Junior World Cup earlier this year, has not yet played first-class cricket, but he is almost certain to appear for Northerns later this year.

The son of former Test fast bowler Tertius, Bosch struck with the new ball in the second and fourth overs to immediately undermine the opposition innings, but he is also wonderfully skilful at the death and he claimed further wickets in the 18th and 20^th overs.

Off-spinner Ruben Claassen was the other class act for Tuks, taking two for 13 in four overs and showing as much talent as any of the other spinners from the east.

The runs have kept flowing for SA U19 captain Aiden Markram since that Junior World Cup where he was the man of the tournament, and he anchored a straightforward Tuks chase with a run-a-ball 42.

With Gerry Pike and De Bruyn both addings 20s, the target was reached in the 17^th over.

The Pretoria students complete their round-robin campaign against the Jamaica Inter-Collegiate Sports Association today, and the West Indians will qualify for the semi-finals alongside Tuks if they win.

If the South Africans make it a clean sweep of three from three in Group 2 then they will be joined by whoever has the better run-rate between the Jamaicans and the winner of the other clash between the Bangladeshis and English.

All-rounder David Wiese was the star for the Unlimited Titans on the second day of their Sunfoil Series match against the Warriors at SuperSport Park yesterday, his runs and wickets helping the home side to take firm control of the game.

Wiese was an important cog in heeding coach Rob Walter’s plea that the team show more application with the bat, scoring 46 as they posted 353 all out in their first innings, and then did another fine job with the ball for the Titans, claiming three for 26 in 15 overs as the Warriors limped to 165 for eight in reply.

Debutant Somila Seyibokwe (11*) and Basheer Walters (8*) were the batsmen at the crease for the Warriors when bad light stopped play at 4.35pm with 21 overs to be bowled on the second day.

In-form opener David White was the only batsman to shine for the Warriors as he scored a classy 85 off 116 balls on a pitch which is producing more and more uneven bounce.

While the Titans definitely had an advantage by winning the toss and batting first, their bowlers have been impressive, Wiese, Marchant de Lange, Shaun von Berg and Cobus Pienaar offering no leniency as they applied constant pressure.

White and Jon-Jon Smuts (20) offered the most resistance with a third-wicket stand of 60 after Michael Price (6) and Colin Ackermann (4) had fallen cheaply to De Lange and Wiese respectively shortly after lunch.

De Lange gave a glimpse of what the Aussie batsmen were fortunate to miss out on while he was injured, having Price caught at short-leg off a sharp lifter and generally bowling with terrific pace and ferocity, without the reward he deserved.

Ryan Bailey added 42 for the fourth wicket with White, but the veteran once again fell in the teens, falling into a short midwicket trap set by Pienaar and being well-caught by Qaasim Adams for 17.

Despite the odd delivery keeping lethally low, the Warriors batsmen were addicted to the drug of back-foot play and Athenkosi Dyili and Andrew Birch were both bowled for ducks, hanging back in the crease, by Pienaar and leg-spinner Von Berg respectively.

The Titans had begun the second day on 268 for six and Pienaar, who had done much to arrest a middle-order slide on the first day, completed his third half-century of this Sunfoil Series campaign off the third delivery of the day, but was then removed two balls later by Birch, driving to cover.

Wiese claimed eight fours off 71 balls and De Lange (27) also dished out some punishment though to lift the Titans to an impressive total, one that could ensure they are not left languishing at the bottom of the log.