Ken Borland

Tremendous eight-wicket hauls by Andrew Birch and Kyle Abbott turned the four-day domestic franchise series into a three-horse race on Saturday as the Dolphins upset the log-leading Cape Cobras and the Warriors thrashed the Knights in Bloemfontein.

Abbott produced a classy display of match-winning fast bowling as he led the Dolphins to a thrilling 15-run victory over the Cobras at Newlands.

The Cobras were chasing a tricky target of 183 to stretch their lead at the top of the log, but Abbott’s magnificent eight for 45 in 18 overs saw them bowled out for 167, keeping the Warriors and Highveld Lions firmly in contention for four-day honours.

Abbott had Andrew Puttick caught behind for four in his opening five-over spell and he returned six overs later to have Justin Ontong caught off a mistimed pull for 25.

He then struck twice in his eighth over to dramatically undermine the Cobras’ run-chase and reduce them to 82 for five.

Stiaan van Zyl cruised to 40 off 37 balls, but he then also mistimed a pull and looped a catch to mid-on.

Abbott then went full and trapped Dane Vilas lbw for a two-ball duck.

Justin Kemp revived the Cobras’ hopes with 29 off 31 balls, but he was not able to finish the job as he shouldered arms to Abbott after lunch and was bowled as the competition’s leading wicket-taker jagged a delivery back into the right-hander.

The Cobras were not giving up without a fight, however, and Johann Louw

(16) and Dane Piedt (20) chipped away at the target.

But Calvin Savage removed Louw before Abbott returned after a short rest and was too good for Piedt, trapping him lbw and then having Beuran Hendricks (4) caught behind, Daryn Smit taking a sharp catch.

Abbott finished with superb match figures of 12 for 96 and, as far as the Cobras are concerned, their once considerable lead atop the standings has now been whittled down to just 0.18 points over the Warriors.

Third place is filled by the Lions, who are currently 14 points behind and are being frustrated by the rain in Johannesburg as their bowlers look to enforce the follow-on against the Titans.

An amazing bowling performance by Birch led the Warriors to a crushing 10-wicket victory over the Knights.

The Knights batsmen could not fathom the late swing Birch obtained in cloudy conditions, crashing to 106 all out in their second innings, leaving the Warriors with a target of just 94 to win.

Birch finished with career-best figures of eight for 30 as he claimed four of the five wickets to fall on Saturday morning after the Knights had resumed on 76 for five.

He struck for the first time in his second over of the day, having Patrick Botha (18) caught behind by Adrian McLaren to break a stubborn sixth-wicket stand of 33 with Dean Elgar.

Elgar top-scored for the Knights with 34 before he was also caught behind off Birch four overs later.

Birch then wrapped up the Knights tail for the addition of just 20 more runs as the home side completed a dismal second-innings effort that lasted just 32.1 overs.

Quickfire innings of 48 not out by Michael Price and 44 not out by Davey Jacobs saw the Warriors go to victory in just 13.3 overs.

In Johannesburg, the aggressive Lions pace attack reduced the Titans to

115 for eight, still 188 runs behind, in the 41.2 overs of play that were possible before rain washed out play.

With the Lions attack swinging the ball and getting good bounce from the Wanderers pitch, there was little resistance from the Titans batsmen, with 20s from openers Jacques Rudolph and Pieter Malan, and Heino Kuhn the leading contributions.

That trio and David Wiese (14) were all caught behind the wicket, the Lions catching everything that came their way.

Chris Morris bowled with unrelenting pace and accuracy, but it was swing bowlers Cliffe Deacon and Zander de Bruyn who emerged as the biggest threats.

Deacon ended the day as the leading wicket-taker with three for 25 in

11 overs, as well as a great catch at second slip to dismiss Malan, while De Bruyn had two for 30.

Another embarrassing batting effort by the Titans has left them needing

39 runs to avoid the follow-on as play enters its final day.

The heavy rain around Gauteng limited play on the second day to just two deliveries and the umpires stopped play on the third day at 4pm.

Kyle Abbott produced a classy display of match-winning fast bowling as he led the Dolphins to a thrilling 15-run victory over the Cape Cobras in their four-day domestic franchise series game at Newlands on Saturday.

The Cobras were chasing a tricky target of 183 to win and stretch their lead at the top of the series log, but Abbott’s magnificent eight for 45 in 18 overs saw them bowled out for 167, keeping the Warriors and Highveld Lions still very much in contention for four-day honours.

Abbott had Andrew Puttick caught behind for four in his opening five-over spell and he returned six overs later to have Justin Ontong caught off a mistimed pull for 25.

He then struck twice in his eighth over to dramatically undermine the Cobras’ run-chase and reduce them to 82/5.

Stiaan van Zyl is one of the most elegant strokeplayers in the country and the left-hander cruised to 40 off 37 balls, but he then also mistimed a pull shot and looped a catch to mid-on.

Abbott then went full and trapped Dane Vilas lbw for a two-ball duck.

Justin Kemp is an experienced and dangerous strokeplayer and he revived the Cobras’ hopes with 29 off 31 balls, but he was not able to finish the job as he shouldered arms to Abbott after lunch and was bowled as the competition’s leading wicket-taker jagged a delivery back into the right-hander.

The Cobras were not giving up without a fight, however, and Johann Louw

(16) and Dane Piedt (20) continued to chip away at the target.

But Calvin Savage trapped Louw leg-before before Abbott returned after a short rest and was too good for Piedt, catching him in front of his stumps and then having Beuran Hendricks (4) caught behind, wicketkeeper Daryn Smit taking a sharp catch.

Abbott finished with superb match figures of 12 for 96 and, as far as the Cobras are concerned, their once considerable lead atop the series standings has now been whittled down to just 0.18 points over the Warriors.

The Lions are currently 14 points behind, but are well-placed to earn an extra 10 points for beating the Titans at the Wanderers, providing the rain clears in Johannesburg, plus they have a game in hand.

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/domestic/abbott-stars-in-thrilling-dolphins-win-1.1454924#.UX_S5aJTA6w

An amazing bowling performance by Andrew Birch led the Warriors to a crushing 10-wicket victory over the Knights on the third day of their four-day domestic franchise series match in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

The Knights batsmen could not fathom the late swing Birch obtained in cloudy conditions, crashing to 106 all out in their second innings, leaving the Warriors with a target of just 94 to win the match.

Birch finished with career-best figures of eight for 30 as he claimed four of the five wickets to fall on Saturday morning after the Knights had resumed on 76 for five.

He struck for the first time in his second over of the day, having Patrick Botha (18) caught behind by Adrian McLaren to break a stubborn sixth-wicket stand of 33 with Dean Elgar.

Elgar, fresh off his maiden Test century last weekend, top-scored for the Knights with 34 before he was also caught behind off Birch four overs later.

Birch then wrapped up the Knights tail for the addition of just 20 more runs as the home side completed a dismal second-innings effort that lasted just 32.1 overs.

Quickfire innings of 48 not out by Michael Price and 44 not out by Davey Jacobs would then see the Warriors go to victory in just 13.3 overs without the loss of a wicket.

The Warriors earned 17.62 bonus points to go to 92 points overall, just 0.18 points behind the log-leading Cape Cobras.

Jonathan Vandiar was the one batsman who did not throw his wicket away when well set as he kept the Dolphins afloat against the Cape Cobras on the second day of their four-day domestic franchise series match at Newlands on Friday.

Vandiar dug in for over three hours to score 78 and lead the Dolphins to 210 for nine in their second innings at stumps, a lead of 178 runs over the log-leading Cobras.

The 22-year-old rescued the Dolphins from a parlous top-order collapse in which they lost three wickets in three balls to crash to 22 for three. The rest of the specialist batsmen all failed and it was left to the lower-order of Daryn Smit (24), Kyle Abbott (28) and Calvin Savage (28) to eventually provide Vandiar with some support and ensure the KwaZulu-Natalians did not succumb to a dismal two-day defeat.

The Cobras had also batted wastefully as they resumed on their overnight score of 130 for four, just 44 runs behind the Dolphins’ first-innings total of 174. But the home side lost their last six wickets for just 58 runs as they slid to 206 all out.

Six of the top eight batsmen reached 20, but only opener Alastair Gray (36) scored more than 30.

Abbott, who does look more and more like an international prospect with every outing, was the best of the Dolphins bowlers with four for 51 in 18.1 overs, while impressive youngster Savage supported him well by contributing three wickets.

But the Dolphins were not able to build on their successful morning as Beuran Hendricks trapped Imraan Khan leg-before for 14 at the end of the sixth over and Justin Kemp then had Divan van Wyk (8) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld (0) caught behind the wicket with the first two balls of the seventh over, the last before lunch.

Seamers Johann Louw, Hendricks and Kemp claimed two wickets apiece, but the Cobras were not able to finish off the Dolphins innings before stumps, leaving themselves with the probability of a tricky run-chase on the third day.

The second-placed Warriors would seem to have the upper hand in their match against the Knights in Bloemfontein, thanks to a devastating new-ball burst by Andrew Birch.

The 27-year-old paceman claimed the first four wickets to fall as he reduced the Knights to 22 for four in their second innings, Birch having earlier shared the biggest partnership of the Warriors innings that helped them to 281 all out and a first-innings lead of 13 runs.

The Knights ended the second day on 76 for five, leading by just 63 with only half their wickets intact.

Birch perturbed all the batsmen with his prodigious swing in overcast conditions, with Michael Erlank completing a pair as he edged the first ball of the innings into the slips, where Rilee Rossouw (4) was also caught. Rudi Second (3) was caught behind and Birch then induced a return catch from Ryan Bailey (8).

Obus Pienaar (17) was then trapped leg-before by off-spinner Simon Harmer, but the Warriors were denied any further wickets by Dean Elgar (28*) and Patrick Botha (14*).

The Warriors, resuming their first innings on 79 for two, were rocked by the early loss of the experienced Arno Jacobs for 40 in the fifth over of the day, dismissed by Dillon du Preez.

The Warriors had slipped to 171 for six when debutant Vuyisa Makhapela was out for 35, caught close-in off the bowling of spinner Botha, but the innings was boosted by Harmer’s defiant 50 and his eighth-wicket partnership of 59 with Birch, who scored 27.

Young fast bowler Corne Dry was the most successful of the Knights bowlers with three for 68 in 18 overs.

The match between the Lions and the Titans at the Wanderers was washed out after just two balls were bowled in the morning, the visitors scoring two runs to take their first-innings total to 25 without loss.

The third-placed Lions scored 303 in the first innings and will be desperate for the weather to improve to give them a chance of keeping in touch with the Cobras and Warriors at the top of the log.