Ken Borland

The Titans still need to address their batting but their bowling and fielding were outstanding enough for them to beat the Cape Cobras by 16 runs for their second successive victory in the T20 Challenge at Kingsmead on Sunday.

Defending just 149, the Titans bowlers were impressively accurate and adapted especially well to a pitch which did make it hard for the batsmen to score freely, bowling the Cobras out for 132.

Part-time off-spinner Aiden Markram opened the bowling and conceded just three runs and the seamers were then all bang on the money as the Cobras struggled to just 24 for two in the powerplay.

The Cobras just could not break the shackles and they were 87 for five after 16 overs, needing 62 runs from the last 24 balls when George Linde did put the Titans under some pressure by hitting spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for three consecutive sixes in the 17^th over.

It gave the Cobras a glimmer of hope as they then needed 39 off the last three overs to win, but the impressive Lizaad Williams then bowled Linde (37 off 21) with a superb yorker.

Lungi Ngidi and Chris Morris also bowled outstanding overs at the death as the Titans conceded just 22 runs and claimed five wickets in the last three overs.

Ngidi, using slower balls as his preferred weapon of attack, led the way with brilliant figures of three for 18, while Morris finished with two for 21 and Williams two for 25.

The Titans had chosen to bat first, but for all the talents of Proteas Markram (10), Dean Elgar (31), Theunis de Bruyn (12) and Heinrich Klaasen (7) they needed a wee gem of an innings by Sibonelo Makhanya to get to 148 for six.

Busy from the outset, Makhanya lifted the run-rate with his energetic intent and used the slog-sweep to great effect to score 47 off 33 balls.

The three Cobras spinners – George Linde, Imraan Manack and Siyabonga Mahima – were impressive, with Linde leading the way with two for 23 in his four overs.

Paceman Corbin Bosch also bowled extremely well for his one for 24.

Khaya Zondo is using this T20 Challenge competition to remind everyone of his quality as he produced his second successive matchwinning innings for the Dolphins as they battled past a gutsy Knights side by four wickets at Kingsmead on Saturday.

The Dolphins were set a target of just 145 for victory – and this was only possible due to an extraordinary unbroken partnership of 75 off 39 balls by Knights captain Pite van Biljon and Migael Pretorius – but this proved challenging to the hosts as they slipped to 86 for five after 12 overs.

But Zondo, who top-scored with 59 in the Dolphins win over the Cape Cobras, showed great composure and determination as he made 35 not out off 31 balls to usher his team to victory with 11 balls to spare. He received superb support from reliable finisher Robbie Frylinck, who scored a powerful 24 off 15 deliveries with a couple of hard-struck sixes, as they added a matchturning 55 off 41 balls for the sixth wicket.

The Dolphins, who lost the toss, began the match in spectacular fashion as ace spinner and captain Keshav Maharaj took two wickets with the first three balls of the match, trapping both Patrick Kruger and Andries Gous lbw for ducks.

The Knights crashed even further from 0 for two as they were then 21 for four when Frylinck removed Jacques Snyman, well caught by a diving Zondo at slip for 6, and Farhaan Behardien, lbw for five.

That the Knights managed to fight their way back from that dreadful start can only be respected and it was their skipper, Van Biljon who led the way.

The Proteas T20 player counterpunched his way to an heroic 72 not out off 54 balls, a tremendous effort considering he was physically ailing due to some heatstroke. Van Biljon did not take the field when the Dolphins batted, wicketkeeper Wandile Makwetu taking over the reins, and said after the match that he was feeling dizzy and had goosebumps all over his body during his 90 minutes at the crease.

Ferisco Adams (18) helped Van Biljon stabilise the innings as they added 48 for the fifth wicket, but fast bowler Pretorius, bumped up the order, then showed his batting credentials. Coming in at 69 for five in the 15^th over, Pretorius feasted on some loose bowling as he bashed 38 not out off 23 deliveries.

Maharaj finished with two for 18 in his four overs and fellow spinner Prenelan Subrayen was also impressive, conceding just 25 runs in his stint. Frylinck took two for 11 but only bowled three overs, which was surprising considering how both Eathan Bosch and Kerwin Mungroo were punished at the death.

Proteas stars Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma have always had one of the more calming relationships at the crease and their partnership did the bulk of the work as the Imperial Lions beat the Warriors by four wickets in their opening T20 Challenge match at Kingsmead on Saturday.

Coming together on a troubled 19 for two, Van der Dussen belted four sixes as he scored 64 off 41 balls, while Bavuma cruised to 40 off 35 deliveries as they added 64 for the third wicket to put the Lions well on course for their target of 158.

Seamer Aya Gqamane split the pair but Van der Dussen then added another 58 runs with Delano Potgieter (17).

Gqamane (3-0-20-3) dismissed both of them in the 17^th over  as the Lions eventually wobbled to victory with four balls remaining.

The dominant Lions attack bowled the Warriors out for 157 with Kagiso Rabada simply at another level as he took three for 23 in his four superb overs.

Fellow Proteas Bjorn Fortuin (4-0-18-1) and Dwaine Pretorius (4-0-23-1) were also outstanding, but the Warriors, led by captain Sinethemba Qeshile’s 33 off 28 balls, fought manfully to post a competitive total.

Sisanda Magala ripped through the tail to claim four for 37 and ensure that the Lions would not need to chase more than 8 an over.

It’s been the proverbial season horribilis for the Nashua Titans with the Ram Slam T20 Challenge providing the last chance for the dominant franchise of 2011/12 to get something out of the summer.

The four-day Sunfoil Series was particularly galling for the Titans, who went into the competition as the defending champions, but lost eight of their 10 matches and failed to win any. To make it even more traumatic, their defeats were by huge margins – one by an innings and 247 runs, three by 10 wickets, one by nine wickets and others by 161 runs and 393 runs. Six of their matches were all over in three days.

The root of their travails would appear to be that the reserve talent in the squad responded poorly to the challenge of stepping up and replacing the likes of Faf du Plessis, Jacques Rudolph, Albie Morkel, Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, Paul Harris and Morne Morkel, who for various reasons only played 15 Sunfoil Series matches between them.

“The four-day campaign was dreadful and there were a combination of reasons. But it’s fair to say that the youth didn’t come through, they just didn’t execute their skills, either batting or bowling.

“Sometimes youngsters come in and take to it straight away, for others it takes them a while. We were playing three or four youngsters at once, whereas in an ideal world you’d like to knit one or two at a time into the team. We’ve got to work really hard,” coach Matthew Maynard admitted.

The Titans were, of course, rocked by twin tragedies at the start of the summer, with Maynard losing his son, Tom, a Surrey cricketer who was considered one of the most promising in England, and long-time and much-loved CEO Elise Lombard then passing away in August.

But their followers were heartened by their start to the season, making the semi-finals of the Champions League and then reaching the Momentum One-Day Cup playoff.

It is fair to say that the franchise are baffled by how the season just totally unravelled from that point.

Jacques Faul is the new CEO of the Titans and he admits that a franchise will always be judged by the performance of the team.

“The team is the showcase of the franchise and the play on the field is what we sell, if you like. I’ve been impressed with Matt Maynard as a coach, but even he doesn’t seem to really know where it all went wrong. He has worked out what we need though, going forward, and this has been such a successful franchise so I don’t think it will be difficult to return to winning ways,” Faul said.

A late resurgence in the T20 Challenge could, of course, turn around the whole season, especially in terms of the financial rewards it provides a franchise.

And the increased financial resources means Maynard could be in the market for some new players, while yesterday’s men slip from the scene.

“We still need to strengthen the squad and we’ll look to do that,” Maynard said.

Faul, drawing from his experience of helping to build the high-flying bizhub Highveld Lions team, is frustrated that the Titans allowed players like Hardus Viljoen, Imran Tahir and Gulam Bodi to slip away.

“You need to hang on to your talent, we were losing matches to teams with guys who used to play for the Titans, and you need a good mix of old and young players. It took the Highveld Lions a while to build their team. We know our national players are not going to play, it would be naïve to rely on them. We have to win without them and we have to create more stars to win,” Faul said.

The Titans management would seem to want a top-order batsman, a paceman and perhaps an experienced spinner, Harris having retired, who specialises in four-day cricket.

Of course, the Titans will look a different team when the likes of Rudolph, Albie Morkel, Behardien and De Lange play regularly.

“What the senior players bring to the table is match-winning performances. But the positive from the season is that guys like Graeme van Buuren, Francois le Clus and JP de Villiers look to have the potential to succeed at that level. The talent is there,” Maynard said.

The pressure will now be on the team and coaching staff to ensure that talent makes the Titans way more competitive next season.