Ken Borland

What the Unlimited Titans team to take on the Warriors in a Sunfoil Series match from today lacks in experience it will no doubt make up for in terms of enthusiasm as a new-look side completes the season at SuperSport Park in Centurion.

Coach Rob Walter has decided to reward the form of players excelling for Northerns and Easterns in the CSA Provincial Three-Day Competition, with Theunis de Bruyn, Ernest Kemm, Shershan Naidoo, Cobus Pienaar and Grant Thomson all included in the squad of 13 named yesterday.

This obviously means that some regular players will be missing out on the last game of the season, most notably the Titans’ leading run-scorer, Roelof van der Merwe and JP de Villiers, while Heino Kuhn, named as the franchise’s Player of the Year on Tuesday night, has been included in the squad but could well be rested from the starting XI.

“We want to give the guys who have performed at amateur level an opportunity, even though it means guys who deserve to play like Roelof and JP miss out, but we need to look at our options for next season. We need to acknowledge some of the performances that have been put in at that level,” Walter told The Pretoria News yesterday.

Thomson, the 26-year-old Easterns all-rounder, tops the averages in the CSA Provincial Three-Day Competition with 799 runs at 61.46, while he has also picked up 26 wickets with his seamers.

Naidoo, a 24-year-old from Pretoria Boys’ High and Tukkies, has earned his call-up through sheer consistency, scoring 675 runs with seven half-centuries and a hundred.

Easterns opener Ernest Kemm made his debut for the Titans last weekend, scoring just 3 and 8, but he has made three centuries this season at the amateur level and clearly deserves another chance as a future prospect.

Theunis de Bruyn and Cobus Pienaar have both shone for the Titans earlier this season and thoroughly deserve their recalls as they will clearly play a part next season.

Walter said his side will go in with an extra batting option against the Warriors because “it’s important when you have younger guys up front that there is some stability and depth”.

The coach said although the Warriors are also bringing a new-look team to Centurion, he was wary of their attack featuring Andrew Birch, Basheer Walters and new captain, off-spinner Simon Harmer, who have taken 84 wickets between them.

Although Colin Ingram and Davey Jacobs are both out injured and Ashwell Prince has retired, the Warriors batsmen are also not to be underestimated; when the Titans played them in Port Elizabeth just before Christmas, Michael Price scored 181 and Colin Ackermann 110 as they amassed a match-winning 502 for five declared.

Squad: Ernest Kemm, Theunis de Bruyn, Cobus Pienaar, Henry Davids, Qaasim Adams, Grant Thomson, David Wiese, Mangaliso Mosehle, Shaun von Berg, Marchant de Lange, Junior Dala, Shershan Naidoo, Heino Kuhn.

The Dolphins were unable to administer the killer blow to the Warriors due to bad weather in their four-day domestic series match at Buffalo Park in East London on Sunday.

The Dolphins declared their second innings on their overnight total of 257 for eight, a lead of 356, meaning it was all about survival for the Warriors, who had 96 overs to bat out on the fourth day.

And with Robbie Frylinck taking three for 20 in eight overs with the new ball, the Dolphins looked about to run through the home side when lunch was taken with the Warriors on 70 for three.

But rain began falling during the interval and at 2pm what seemed a rather rushed decision to call off the game was made.

Opener Michael Price (37*) and Colin Ingram (12*) had batted most sensibly to take the Warriors from 30 for three to their lunchtime total.

The Dolphins shaded the bonus point battle by 8.78 points to 6.80, which has allowed them to seize third place on the four-day domestic series log from the Highveld Lions.

Centuries by Cody Chetty and Morne van Wyk carried the Dolphins to 339 all out on the first day of their four-day domestic series match against the Warriors at Buffalo Park in East London on Thursday.

The Dolphins won the toss and elected to bat first, but were off to a shaky start as Andrew Birch took two early wickets that reduced them to 102 for four shortly after lunch.

But Chetty and captain Van Wyk then combined to add 144 for the fifth wicket, before Chetty fell to the off-spin of Simon Harmer, the best of the Warriors bowlers, for a fine 120 that showcased the 22-year-old’s talent.

LEAVE IT TO ME, SKIPPER: Cody Chetty showed fine judgement in his 120

Van Wyk went on to bat through the rest of the innings, finishing with 104 not out as Harmer and seamer Rusty Theron worked through the Dolphins lower-order, bowling them out on the stroke of stumps.

Harmer was the most successful of the Warriors bowlers with four for 85 in 24.3 overs, while the pacemen – Birch, Basheer Walters and Theron – each finished with two wickets.

At Boland Park in Paarl, the Cape Cobras gained the upper hand late in the day against the Titans, as Yaseen Vallie and Dane Vilas added 145 for the fifth wicket to take the home side to 345 for five at stumps.

Vallie and Vilas were the producers of the best batting of the day as they blunted a Titans comeback with the ball which had seen the Cobras slip to 189 for four after winning the toss and electing to bat.

The left-arm swing bowling of young Vincent Moore had sparked the comeback as he claimed the wickets of Andrew Puttick (9), Justin Ontong (21) and Stiaan van Zyl (71).

But he lacked support in the final session, with Junior Dala, on loan from the Highveld Lions, the obvious weak link in the attack as he conceded 103 runs in 17 wicket-less and maiden-less overs.

The Cobras had shrugged off the early loss of Puttick, caught behind off Moore, with a second-wicket stand of 114 between Omphile Ramela (59) and Van Zyl.

The left-hander needed 142 balls for his 71 and struck seven fours, taking him past 600 runs in the 2013/14 campaign, at an average of 65.60.

The 23-year-old Vallie took the fight to the Titans in a composed innings which showed impressive shot-selection.

His 80 and the return to form of wicketkeeper/batsman Vilas, who ended the day on 62 not out, ensured the Cobras finished the first day in control.

The first day of the match between the Highveld Lions and the Knights at the Wanderers was abandoned due to the pitch being too wet for play after the recent torrential rain in Gauteng.

http://www.iol.co.za/sport/cricket/domestic/van-wyk-chetty-tons-prop-up-dolphins-1.1657579#.Uxl7rD-Sy9A

The Knights showed greater staying power than the Warriors as they beat them by 10 wickets on the fourth and final day of their Sunfoil Series match at Chevrolet Park in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

The Warriors collapsed to 197 all out in their second innings on Sunday, leaving the Knights with a target of just 71 for victory, and openers Reeza Hendricks and Gihahn Cloete each scored 31 not out as they knocked off those runs in a breezy 18.3 overs.

The Warriors resumed on 25 for three and opener David White (89) and Ryan Bailey (39) fought hard as they added 101 for the fifth wicket before fast bowler Quinton Friend had Bailey caught behind.

Off-spinner Werner Coetsee (three for 47) and seamer Malusi Siboto (two for 27) then claimed the remaining five wickets for just 37 runs, killing off the Warriors’ hopes of setting the Knights a stiff target.

The Warriors trailed by 127 runs on first innings thanks to an error-strewn final session on the third day when they allowed the Knights’ last pair of Rudi Second (180) and Corne Dry (43 not out) to add 145 for the 10th wicket.

With Johan van der Wath, who took six wickets in the first innings, again causing plenty of trouble for the top-order, the Warriors were left with an uphill task to save the game on Sunday, even though the Knights lost both Van der Wath and fellow pace bowler Dry to injury on the final day.

The defeat continues the pain for the Warriors in the Sunfoil Series, with the Eastern Cape side bottom of the log with just one win in six matches, while the Knights have climbed back to second in the standings, just less than six points behind the Cape Cobras.