SuperSport Series
Dolphins take advantage
2012-01-28 18:17
Durban - Kyle Abbott struck a late double-blow to leave the Chevrolet Warriors
struggling on 30 for three at stumps on the third day of their
SuperSport Series match against the Sunfoil Dolphins at Sahara Stadium
Kingsmead in Durban on Saturday.
Fast bowler Abbott ended the day with figures of 2-6 off four overs
while left-arm seamer Mthokozisi Shezi had 1-11 as the visitors ended
the day still needing a daunting 356 runs to win the match with only
seven wickets in hand.
Abbott struck with the fourth ball of the Warriors’ second innings when
he trapped Kelly Smuts (0) leg-before before he bowled Kelly’s older
brother Jon-Jon (5) with a delivery that kept a touch low.
Shezi then removed Ashwell Prince (10) when the left-handed batsman
edged a good length delivery to Vaughn van Jaarsveld at first slip.
The Dolphins had declared their second innings closed on 275 for eight
thanks to a season’s best innings of 71 not out from the left-handed
David Miller. The declaration left 12 overs in the day for the Warriors
batsmen to deal with.
Miller has battled for form this season but he brought up his first
half-century of the campaign off 77 balls while his innings in its
entirety used up 97 deliveries as he struck nine fours and a six.
The 22-year-old Miller helped rebuild the Dolphins’ innings after they
had slipped to 161 for six with left-arm quick Wayne Parnell taking
three of the wickets to fall.
The Dolphins began after lunch on 79 for one thanks to Imraan Khan who
had struck a quickfire 43 off 48 balls but they added just three runs to
their total before Divan van Wyk (26) spooned a delivery from
off-spinner Simon Harmer to Basheer Walters in the covers.
Daryn Smit (26) and Vaughn van Jaarsveld then added 42 runs for the
third wicket but Smit’s innings was ended when he was trapped leg-before
by Parnell.
The right-handed Cody Chetty (4) did not last long before he was out lbw
to the part-time spin of Jon-Jon Smuts while Van Jaarsveld, who had
looked a cut above the other batsmen in scoring 36 off 46 balls, chased a
wide Parnell delivery to send an edge through to keeper Arno Jacobs who
took a fine catch diving to his left.
Parnell grabbed his third wicket when he trapped Kyle Nipper (2) leg-before as the Dolphins lost four wickets for 37 runs.
But Miller showed some fighting spirit to stop the slide and he shared
to two decent partnerships of 51 for the seventh wicket with Kyle Abbott
(22) and 47 for the eighth wicket with Robbie Frylinck (27).
Parnell ended with figures of 3-43 while Harmer finished with 3-107.
However, the Warriors’ bowling attack was limited somewhat by the side
strain suffered by paceman Andrew Birch which ruled him out of bowling
in the Dolphins’ second innings.
Leg-spinner Imran Tahir had earlier finished with 5-67 off 32 overs as
the Warriors were bowled out for 211 in their first innings, 40 minutes
after the start of play.
Tahir struck with the fourth ball of the morning when he bowled Andrew
Birch (17) with a googly before Harmer and Rusty Theron (14) took the
score to 201.
Harmer brought up his first SuperSport Series fifty off 157 deliveries,
but after scoring one more run off his next six balls, he was trapped
leg-before by Tahir.
Theron was the last man out when he thumped a delivery from left-arm
spinner Nipper to Miller with the fielder taking a good catch low to his
left to give Nipper his first SuperSport Series wicket. Walters was not
out on nought.