Ken Borland

Coach Dave Nosworthy went out of his way on Wednesday to assure bizhub Highveld Lions fans that his team are not satisfied with merely qualifying for the Champions League; instead, there is a great hunger in the side to win Sunday’s MiWay T20 Challenge final against the Nashua Titans at the Wanderers.

The Lions topped the round-robin log to qualify for the lucrative Champions League for the second time in three seasons, but Nosworthy said this time they are determined to go one better and win the final. In 2009/10, the Lions were hammered by 82 runs by the Eastern Cape Warriors in the final.

“We’ve learnt a lesson from the previous season we qualified for the Champions League, when we rode the honeymoon for too long. Two years ago at St George’s Park, it was a big honeymoon for us and we relaxed mentally. There’s a totally different vibe in the side now and the most important thing for them is the final. The Champions League is great, but the guys are desperate to get over the line on Sunday and will be right up for the game,” Nosworthy said at the Wanderers on Wednesday.

The Lions have not played a full match in the last fortnight, bad weather causing both their games against the Sunfoil Dolphins and the New Age Impi to be abandoned, but the loss of momentum has been partially offset by the opportunity to refocus after the joy of qualifying in first place.

“The emotions have been allowed to come off that massive high and we were out in the middle yesterday, regaining any lost momentum with a middle practice where we set different scenarios. So our preparations are on track,” Nosworthy said.

Nosworthy managed to arrest the decline in confidence in the side after a miserable One-Day Cup campaign at the end of last year in which the Lions finished bottom of the log after winning just two of their 10 games.

“There’s a lot of belief in the side and a balance between the experienced players who have won stuff before and the exuberance of youth. The team chemistry has been one of the key things and when games have gone down to the wire, we’ve had that belief. We’ve stuck to our game plans and kept to our good habits,” Nosworthy said.

The former Titans coach confirmed that he will definitely be making use of the services of Alviro Petersen, who returned from New Zealand with the national team on Wednesday afternoon. While the opening batsman is obviously in form and is a proven limited-overs performer, there is always the risk of disruption to the side, especially since Petersen has been in test-match mode for the last three weeks.

“Alviro will come straight back into the team as captain. He was here for the first four matches and the issues are more if you change four or five players, which changes the whole dynamic. But through this season, Alviro has been more with us than anywhere else and everyone’s more than comfortable with him coming back.

“The players all know his plans and the relationship between him and Thami Tsolekile [the previous captain] is crucial. It is brilliant, they are good mates, so Alviro comes back, he has always been part of us,” Nosworthy said.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120328/Nosworthy_assures_fans_of_Lions_focus

The Nashua Titans had middle-order dasher Farhaan Behardien and pace bowler cum late hitter Alfonso Thomas to thank as they beat the Chevrolet Knights by 13 runs in a super over in their MiWay T20 Challenge qualifying playoff at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.

http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120325/Titans_clinch_victory_in_a_super_over

The victory not only sees the Titans advance to the final against the bizhub Highveld Lions next weekend at the Wanderers, but also gains them an entry into the financial bonanza that is the Champions League.

The Titans were chasing a moderate 145 for victory and were yet again facing charges of slipping at the final hurdle as they crashed to 67 for five before Behardien (37) and Albie Morkel (25) took them within sight of victory, only for a lower-order collapse to leave them needing 13 runs off the final over to win.

Thomas missed the first three balls of left-armer Jandre Coetzee’s over, launched the fourth over wide long-on for six, missed the fifth again and then hammered the final ball for six over midwicket to secure an extraordinary tie and the super over.

The Titans batted first in the super over and notched 19 runs off Johan van der Wath, including a six and a four by Behardien, both swashbuckling strokes through extra cover.

Thomas, who has played 133 T20 matches for five different franchises, is as well-versed in the dark arts of T20 cricket as anyone and has the composure and smarts to pull off the biggest swindles on the field. Having done it with the bat, he then kept the Knights duo of Morne van Wyk and Rilee Rossouw to just six runs in their super over.

In a match of many twists and turns, Van der Wath, still one of the best bowlers in the country, had seemingly won the game for the Knights as his new-ball burst of 3-15 reduced the Titans to 29 for four.

Ryan McLaren, another bowling all-rounder who should still be in the international picture, made the initial breakthrough with the scalp of Henry Davids for a duck in a maiden first over.

Van der Wath bowled the other opener, Heino Kuhn, for 12 when the batsman missed a pull at a fullish delivery, before the fiery pace bowler produced a top-class third over that included a double-strike.

Roelof van der Merwe (10) miscued a lofted drive to deep mid-on and, two balls later, Faf du Plessis (6) edged a full away-swinger to give a catch to wicketkeeper Van Wyk and a crucial breakthrough for the visitors.

Martin van Jaarsveld (24) and Behardien added 38 off 30 balls to steady the innings and Behardien and Morkel had tilted the balance back in the Titans’ favour with their stand of 53 off 43 deliveries that left them needing 26 runs off the last three overs.

But the Titans suffered another sad collapse as they lost three wickets for 13 runs in the next two overs, all three of them weak dismissals.

Facing the slow seam of Coetzee, Morkel skied a full toss to deep midwicket, where Aubrey Swanepoel had to latch on to a steepling catch. The big-hitting left-hander hung his head as soon as he hit the ball, departing the scene after hammering two sixes off 21 balls.

David Wiese fell for a single, plonking the ball straight down long-on’s throat, Coetzee ending his penultimate over with figures of 3-13.

SENSATIONAL CATCH

Behardien then fell with 14 required off seven balls, depositing a low full toss in the hands of long-off, Van der Wath finishing with outstanding figures of 4-24.

Coetzee then bowled the final over with the Titans needing 13 to win and 12 to tie, and Thomas swung and missed at the first three balls, and the penultimate delivery. But balls four and six were in the slot and Thomas, who is not available for South Africa and classified as a white player due to CSA shenanigans, duly put them away for maximums.

The Titans were on fire in the field and accurate with the ball as they restricted the Knights to 144 for six

The Knights, having been sent into bat because the Titans prefer chasing on their home turf, were on their knees on 89 for five after 13 overs, but McLaren stuck around long enough to provide a decent finish to the innings with his great effort of 42 not out off 28 balls.

The early pressure on the Knights came from the fielders, not the bowlers, as the first three wickets fell to superb catches.

The free-scoring Rilee Rossouw had blazed his way to 16 off 10 balls when he swung Ethy Mbhalati low and flat to the deep square-leg boundary, but Van der Merwe came haring around and dived to take a super catch. On any other day, it would have been the catch-of-the-match, but Morkel stole the limelight with two even better efforts of his own.

Thomas had just come back on from the West Lane End when Van Wyk (10) mistimed a drive off the bottom of the bat and Morkel, on the circle at deep mid-on, dived to his left to take a great catch.

The Knights were just starting to get back on top again as Reeza Hendricks and Dean Elgar added 46 for the third wicket off 40 balls, and the left-handed Elgar must have felt he had collected a nice Christmas present boundary when he bashed left-arm spinner Van der Merwe straight down the ground. But that was before the advent of the flying Morkel, who ran round from long-on and dived full-length to take a miraculous one-handed catch just inside the boundary rope.

The sensational catch meant Elgar was out for a composed 17, and a top-class delivery from off-spinner Eden Links then accounted for Hendricks three balls later.

Hendricks, a fine young talent, had scored a polished 35 off 30 balls when Links ripped a delivery from outside off stump into his leg-stump to beat a drive.

The outlook looked even more gloomy for the Knights when Ryan Bailey (6) was incorrectly given out lbw sweeping at leg-spinner Du Plessis, having bottom-edged the ball into his pad.

Not even a sixth-wicket stand of 47 off 38 balls between McLaren and Werner Coetsee (15) could dampen the confident, expectant atmosphere at SuperSport Park, with wicketkeeper Kuhn pulling off a sharp stumping to dismiss Coetsee and give Van der Merwe his second wicket.

Van der Merwe finished with 2-39, but fellow spinner Links was the best of the Titans bowlers with 1-20 in his four overs.

The consistent Thomas bowled well to finish with 1-27, while Mbhalati took 1-11 in two overs with the newish ball.

The Nashua Titans scored a crucial bonus point as they won their MiWay T20 Challenge match against the Chevrolet Warriors by eight wickets with five balls to spare at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120321/Titans_win_get_home_playoff

The Titans were set a Duckworth/Lewis-adjusted target of 60 in 11 overs to win the match, but they needed to reach that total in 8.4 overs in order to earn a bonus point and a home playoff against the Central Knights.

With Martin van Jaarsveld scoring 23 off 18 balls and Faf du Plessis 22 not out off 18 balls, the Titans passed their target in just 7.5 overs.

With nothing to lose and so much to gain, it was a merry old bash for the Titans from the moment they came out to bat after a two-hour rain delay.

Henry Davids did not last long after a rather meek prod at a Rusty Theron in-swinger that trapped him lbw for a single, but Van Jaarsveld played some punishing strokes, collecting two fours and a six before off-spinner Johan Botha zipped a delivery past his shins and into off stump.

Du Plessis and Farhaan Behardien (13*) then finished the job without too much fuss.

It was the Titans bowlers who had opened the gate for them to snatch second place on the log, with the Warriors top-order floundering against an inspired seam attack.

The Titans attack had reduced the Warriors to a miserable 64 for six in 14 overs when rain ended the visitors’ innings, with Alfonso Thomas (2-0-11-2) and Albie Morkel (2-0-4-2) retiring to the changeroom with the most striking figures.

The Warriors had won the toss and elected to bat first, only for their top-order to disappoint, as they crashed from 35 without loss to 53 for six before Simon Harmer (9*) and Athenkosi Dyili (3*), the last two recognised batsmen, added 11 runs, the joint second-biggest partnership of the innings.

Openers Ashwell Prince (10) and Wayne Parnell (23) had staged the largest partnership of the innings as they put on 35 for the first wicket, but they were both dismissed in the space of three deliveries.

The Titans were somewhat under the cosh as the clean-striking Parnell rushed to his 23 runs off 16 balls, stroking four fours and a six, but the initially wayward Ethy Mbhalati made the breakthrough.

Having conceded eight runs from his first four balls, Mbhalati changed his line to over the wicket on to off stump and bowled a fuller, slower delivery at Parnell. The left-hander unfurled the big drive, but was hopelessly early on the shot, skying the ball high to deep mid-off, where Thomas took the catch.

Thomas himself removed Prince and Davey Jacobs for a duck in the next over, the fifth, as the Warriors crashed to 38 for three.

The delivery to remove Jacobs was particularly good. Pitching just outside off stump, the law of T20 states that the batsmen has to go for it and Jacobs pushed firmly, but bounce and away movement found the edge of the bat and Van Jaarsveld took the catch at slip.

International Morkel was the next to make his presence felt, trapping Colin Ingram (5) lbw with a delivery that looked to be going down the offside, and then zeroing in on the stumps of Botha (7) with a beauty that was angling in towards leg, before nipping away and hitting off stump.

The Warriors were stumbling like drunkards in a dark alley and it was only getting worse with the rain saving them from further misery.

The introduction of Roelof van der Merwe brought another wicket, the left-arm spinner zipping a delivery that also bounced appreciably on to the edge of Craig Thyssen’s bat, wicketkeeper Heino Kuhn comfortably taking the tricky catch.

Thyssen was yet another batsman who failed, scoring just three from seven balls.

The Titans were desperate to get back on to the field as, after several failed attempts to qualify for the Champions League, they were well-placed to earn a crucial bonus point against the Warriors and therefore host the qualifying playoff against the Central Knights.

The bonus point has indeed moved the Titans up to second on the final log.

Faf du Plessis took ownership of the run-chase as he steered the Nashua Titans to a six-wicket victory over the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras in their MiWay T20 Challenge match at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday.

 – http://www.supersport.com/cricket/domestic-t20/news/120318/Faf_the_owner_of_the_runchase

Du Plessis finished with an unbeaten 38 off 27 balls as the 27-year-old continues to live up to his tag as one of the best finishers in South Africa, taking the Titans to their target of 157 with nine balls to spare.

Farhaan Behardien was with him at the end on 12 not out, scoring the winning runs with a tremendous six over extra cover off left-arm paceman Beuran Hendricks.

The target could have been a tricky one on a two-paced pitch against a Cobras attack that only had one quickish bowler and four spinners, but Henry Davids (24 off 17), Roelof van der Merwe (18 off 13) and Martin van Jaarsveld (24 off 18) provided the attacking impetus that gave the likes of Heino Kuhn (25 off 26), Du Plessis and Berhardien the freedom to play sensibly without taking risks.

The openers – Davids and Kuhn – gave the innings the ideal start as they added 48 in six overs. Davids showed great hands as he drove the ball inside-out superbly, collecting two sixes and a four in his 24.

Davids fell when he charged down the pitch and missed a slash at legspinner Alistair Gray, and Kuhn departed two overs later when he top-edged a reverse-sweep at offspinner Dane Piedt and was caught at short third man.

Justin Kemp and Dane Vilas combined superbly to dismiss Van der Merwe, although there was some doubt as to whether the batsman actually gloved a surprise bouncer that was brilliantly taken by the wicketkeeper standing up to the stumps.

There might have been some concern in the Titans camp with the score 74 for three at the halfway mark, but captain Van Jaarsveld threw the bat at anything remotely wide as he collected four fours off 18 balls.

Van Jaarsveld was stumped by Vilas off Gray in the 15th over, but with just 35 runs still needed, the Cobras knew their hopes of staying in contention for the playoffs were almost gone.

Du Plessis and Behardien calmly finished the match at the behest of their appreciative home crowd, but the Titans’ failure to secure the bonus point means their hopes of finishing top of the log and hosting the final are gone.

Even if the Titans get a bonus-point win over the Warriors on Wednesday, they can only draw level with the Lions’ current total of 35 points.

The applicable tie-breaker then is the results of matches between the Lions and the Titans, with both teams having seven outright wins overall. Unfortunately for Matthew Maynard’s team, the Lions won both of their round-robin contests.

Wrist-spinner Brad Hogg was the best of the Cobras bowlers, conceding just 16 runs in his four overs, but the visitors obviously lacked quality back-up and four spinners was perhaps overkill.

The Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras had earlier made run-scoring look difficult as they cobbled together 156 for six, although there were certainly hints of inconsistent bounce and spinners Eden Links and Van der Merwe both obtained noticeable turn.

Richard Levi more often than not makes run-scoring look easy when he charges at the top of the innings, and he bashed a quickfire 25 off 13 balls to give the Cobras a good start after they had won the toss and elected to bat.

The Cobras were 30 without loss after three overs thanks to Levi, but the Titans fought back as they claimed three wickets and conceded just 37 more runs in the next seven overs.

Albie Morkel removed Levi with his first ball, Behardien hanging on to a rocket of a catch at cover, and Yaseen Vallie (6) and Owais Shah (12) both fell cheaply as they misjudged slower balls from Alfonso Thomas and Morkel respectively.

Stiaan van Zyl and Vilas steadied the innings as they added 26 off 27 balls for the fourth wicket, before Van Zyl was bowled by Van der Merwe for 33, backing away and trying to deliver a big hit.

The Titans were in control as Morkel stood at the top of his mark at the Hennops River End with the Cobras on 120 for five after 18 overs.

But having bowled so well previously, taking two for 10 in three overs, Morkel’s final over was the one that allowed the visitors to substantially up their run-rate, Vilas and Kemp taking 27 runs from it.

The first ball of the over was up to the bat and driven majestically over cow-corner for six by Vilas, and even the Titans crowd clapped when Kemp pulled the last two balls of the over for sixes in the same vicinity.

It meant Morkel finished the innings with tired old figures of two for 37 in four overs, but the Cobras were still up against it at the other end, where Thomas closed with two overs for 13 runs and picked up the wicket of Kemp, who hit a slower-ball full toss off the toe of the bat, slapping a return catch.

Kemp’s 24 off 18 balls was a crucial contribution, but the real hero of the Cobras innings was Vilas, whose 48 not out off 28 balls was a top-class innings.

His composure and a talent for hitting boundaries in the closing overs provided a mighty boost to the innings as he collected four fours and two sixes.

The Titans bowling was a mixed bag. Ethy Mbhalati, Morkel and Van der Merwe were all expensive, while Links, David Wiese and Du Plessis bowled seven overs for 46 runs between them. Thomas’s figures of two for 22 in four overs took the cake, however.