Ken Borland

Leg-spinner Shaun von Berg ensured that his name will be mentioned more often in future national selection meetings as his three-wicket burst put the Unlimited Titans in control of their Sunfoil Series match against the Knights at SuperSport Park in Centurion yesterday.

After David Wiese (45) and JP de Villiers (59) stretched the Titans first innings to 366, Von Berg claimed three for 10 in his first eight overs as the Knights limped to 212 for eight at stumps, which came with 18 overs left to be bowled due to bad light.

The Titans resumed yesterday morning on 268 for seven, and Wiese and De Villiers ensured they converted a good first day into a meaningful total with an eighth-wicket stand of 81 lasting exactly 100 minutes.

The home side batted through to the brink of lunch, leaving the Knights with three overs to survive before the break, which they did in reaching 11 without loss.

But with Reeza Hendricks (3) lasting just two balls in the second session before edging an away-swinger from Wiese into the slips, the Knights were under pressure from the start of the afternoon session.

Wiese again found swing to bowl Gihahn Cloete through the gate for 12 and Rilee Rossouw (23), having taken four successive fours off Marchant de Lange’s previous over, then edged the fast bowler low to Roelof van der Merwe at third slip in a thrilling passage of play.

Von Berg then took centre-stage in another proof that the hours of work he has put in in the nets are paying off as he ripped through the middle-order.

He landed his first delivery perfectly and it went straight on to trap Obus Pienaar lbw for 14 and he then outfoxed Rudi Second, inducing a return catch, to remove a batsman who had looked capable of causing a few hours of trouble for the Titans as he breezed to 38.

Von Berg’s fortunes changed, however, in the last one-and-a-half hours of play as Werner Coetsee took control.

The 27-year-old returned to the attack straight after tea, changing to the West Lane End, and an inspired piece of bowling saw him rip a delivery across Gerhardt Abrahams (26) and into his off stump in his first over back.

That gave Von Berg figures of 8-3-10-3, but Coetsee ensured 45 runs would come from his last five overs yesterday as he raced to 57 not out off 61 balls.

But the 31-year-old Coetsee was fighting a largely lone battle, with De Villiers removing both Johan van der Wath (10) and Quinton Friend (2) in the 45^th over, in an excellent second spell.

A probing Knights attack, led by the under-rated Quinton Friend, made it hard work for the Unlimited Titans, but they still managed to post a respectable 268 for seven on the first day of their Sunfoil Series match at SuperSport Park in Centurion yesterday.

Compared to their recent batting performances, it was an improvement by the Titans, who were made to grind by an impressive Knights attack that stuck to their lines and generally succeeded in strangling the home side.

Roelof van der Merwe (87) and Mangaliso Mosehle (42) managed to break free from the stranglehold after lunch, adding 95 for the fifth wicket in 83 minutes, off 123 balls, and David Wiese (24 not out) and Shaun von Berg (32) then showed courage and skill to fend off the second new ball as they added 63 for the seventh wicket.

Von Berg fell just one ball before the umpires took the players off the field for bad light, fending a nasty lifter from Friend to leg-slip.

That gave Friend, who is the fourth-highest wicket-taker in the franchise era (204 @ 24.11), excellent figures of four for 55 in 19 overs at stumps.

Van der Merwe played the innings of the day as he continued his remarkable transformation as a batsman. Previously considered a spinner who could slog – often comically – down the order, the Bulldog has scored five of his 11 Sunfoil Series half-centuries this season and has been the Titans’ best batsman.

He was promoted to number four for this innings and responded with a textbook knock that featured several marvellous punches through the covers. But having gone to a career-best 87 in 136 minutes off just 91 balls, he then failed to press home the advantage.

Friend returned after an early tea break had been taken due to a passing rain shower, and immediately bowled three full, wide deliveries at Van der Merwe, who swung vigorously at all of them. The first was edged over the slips for his 13^th boundary, the second was missed and the third he edged to wicketkeeper Rudi Second.

Five overs later, Corne Dry accounted for Mosehle, caught in the gully, but his 42 was a welcome return to form for the talented wicketkeeper/batsman.

The Titans had slipped from 183 for four to 205 for six, but Wiese and Von Berg dug in manfully, needing 141 deliveries for their 50 partnership.

The Titans had won the toss and elected to bat first, with conditions not offering a huge amount for the Knights bowlers, but they managed to make the first session really tough for the batsmen.

Easterns talent Ernest Kemm scored just three in his first innings at the higher level before edging a pull and being caught behind off Friend, while both Heino Kuhn (37 in two hours) and Henry Davids (8 in 70 minutes) would pay the price for trying to break the shackles and fall to fine catches, by Gerhardt Abrahams off spinner Werner Coetsee and Second off Johan van der Wath respectively.

The Unlimited Titans will welcome the return of all-rounder David Wiese and the debut of opening batsman Ernest Kemm as they take on the Knights in a Sunfoil Series match starting at SuperSport Park in Centurion from today.

Wiese broke his finger in the nets three weeks ago and he is back in time to lead an inexperienced Titans pace attack in the last two games of the season, and will also be hoping to regain some of the batting touch that has deserted him this year.

The 23-year-old Kemm captained Tukkies to the Momentum National Club Championships title last April and made his first-class debut for Easterns at the start of the summer, and has averaged 44.46 with three centuries. Left-handed and blessed with patience, he has the opportunity to throw his name into the hat for the Titans’ future planning in four-day cricket.

“Ernest is prepared to bat time and it’s exciting that he’s scored three centuries in amateur cricket, now we’ll see if he can take it up to franchise level. He has the patience of a traditional opening batsman, he sets up his stall, and we need that,” Titans coach Rob Walter told The Pretoria News yesterday.

Kemm takes the place of Graeme van Buuren, who joins the long list of unfortunate batsmen injured in the nets, taking a painful blow from Wiese during the week.

It’s been a long and difficult four-day campaign for the Titans and just one victory in eight matches has left them rooted to the bottom of the log. But there is still an outside chance of them finishing third and claiming R200 000 in prizemoney from Sunfoil if they can win their last two matches, against the Knights and Warriors, both at SuperSport Park.

The Knights are the team they have beaten in the Sunfoil Series this season – in Kimberley in mid-February – and their attack is stronger for this match with the return of fast bowler Marchant de Lange for the first time since November, after a string of delays due to minor niggles.

Mangaliso Mosehle also returns as wicketkeeper because Tumelo Bodibe, originally chosen for the previous match against the Dolphins that was abandoned without a ball being bowled a fortnight ago, has subsequently signed as a Knights player and, as Walter said, “it would be silly to play him if he’s not going to be part of our future”.

While the Titans are approaching the match as a pointer to how they can improve their four-day fortunes next season, the Knights are coming to Centurion chasing the title.

They are a fraction less than five points behind the Cape Cobras and will be regarding victory as non-negotiable, especially since the defending champions are hosting the Warriors at Newlands.

The Knights are confident that captain Johan van der Wath, who engineers so much of their success with his fiery bowling and powerful lower-order batting, will be fit to play, but Dean Elgar is an unlikely starter and Ryan McLaren has not recovered from a shoulder injury.

But the Titans are going to have to be prepared to take on a side that is confident and hungry for success, boasting an impressive pace attack, an in-form spinner in Werner Coetsee and dangerous batsmen like Rilee Rossouw.

“The Knights’ performance speaks for itself, they’ve won a lot of games [4] and must have played well. They know how to perform.

“But our only four-day win was against them, so we have good memories of that and hopefully we’ll play like we did in Kimberley. Our batting just really needs someone to step up,” Walter said.

Teams

Titans: Heino Kuhn, Ernest Kemm, Henry Davids, Qaasim Adams, Roelof van der Merwe, David Wiese, Mangaliso Mosehle, Shaun von Berg, JP de Villiers, Marchant de Lange, Junior Dala.

Knights (from): Gihahn Cloete, Rilee Rossouw, Rudi Second, Obus Pienaar, Gerhardt Abrahams, Johan van der Wath, Werner Coetsee, Quinton Friend, Duanne Olivier, Corne Dry, Malusi Siboto, Dean Elgar, Thabo Masheshemane.

The Unlimited Titans have made arguably the biggest strike in the domestic transfer market by securing the services of top-order batsman Dean Elgar for the next two seasons, chief executive Jacques Faul confirmed yesterday.

The Knights left-hander is on the verge of becoming a Test regular following the retirement of Graeme Smith and he has a first-class average of 43.69 and a List A average of 37.61, plus a strike-rate of 110.15 with a great average of 38.96 in T20 cricket.

“Dean is the kind of player we need at the Titans, he’s gutsy, well-respected in South African cricket and he gives it his all. He’s a helluva player in all three formats, but especially in four-day cricket. At the moment we’re playing guys who are averaging in the 20s, which is not what we want. Dean is a special player and he gives us lots of options,” Faul told The Pretoria News yesterday.

And it would appear to be a good bet that Elgar hits top form for the Titans because Smith’s absence has now given him the chance to cement a regular place for himself in the national team, as evidenced by Cricket South Africa’s decision to give him a contract once the Test skipper retired.

“If he performs at our level then he will become a permanent fixture in the national team. But he must do well for us first and I believe he’ll be fresh, hungry and wanting to prove himself. He’s wanted to come here for a long time and he’s one of the guys who has always been keen to play for his franchise,” Faul said.

While the 26-year-old Elgar is a high-quality signing that will make a real difference to the Titans team, the ambitious franchise did not stop there and also targeted fellow Proteas Ryan McLaren and Quinton de Kock.

McLaren – who Faul complimented on his “honest” negotiations – has been confirmed as a Dolphins player for next season, while De Kock is most likely to remain as a marquee player for the Titans’ Gauteng rivals, the Highveld Lions.

“Obviously we wanted to strengthen the squad but franchises do make counter-offers and sometimes guys are not as serious about moving as they say,” Faul said.

The Titans are also in negotiations with Jacques Rudolph,who wants to be considered as only a limited-overs player next season, and Faul was optimistic that there would be a good outcome, describing the left-handed top-order batsman as “another special player”.

Seamer CJ de Villiers has been sent on his way, while paceman Junior Dala, currently on loan from the Lions, will be joining the Titans full-time next season.

Other high-flying youngsters being rewarded with improved deals are batsman Graeme van Buuren (rookie contract) and Tukkies star Theunis de Bruyn (semi-pro).

Despite the hype around SA U19 captain Aiden Markram, the batsman will have to make do with a contract from the University of Pretoria for the time being.

“Aiden is a very talented young player, very level-headed and smart, and the sort of guy we want to hang on to. But we literally don’t have space because we’re only allowed to contract a certain number of players. We have other former SA U19 stars like Murray Coetzee and Theunis at Tukkies and my best advice to Aiden is to stay patient,” Faul said.

Other big-name moves in franchise cricket include Lions spinner Eddie Leie moving to the Knights, along with Cobras T20 star Richard Levi, and Dolphins left-arm seamer Mthokozisi Shezi possibly going to the Cobras.