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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Thanks in no small measure to the rearguard qualities of Ashwell Prince, a rival in the Test arena, Kevin Pietersen’s plans for meaningful pre-Ashes stints at the crease in South Africa have not gone fully according to plan thus far.
GALLERY: Kevin Pietersen bats for the Dolphins
GALLERY: Kevin Pietersen meets his Dolphins team-mates
The England star’s much-publicised return to the Dolphins fray encompasses two SuperSport Series matches and he got only a lone innings of 36 in 73 minutes as the Warriors clung on for a draw in his Pietermaritzburg “return debut” on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Pietersen, who is seeking to fine-tune his game ahead of England’s quest to retain the Ashes in Australia this summer, the Dolphins only got to bat once and he did not make the most of his opportunity at No 4 as the team amassed 500 for six.
Instead, the player who once blamed “quotas” for his decision to quit the domestic scene watched team-mates Imraan Khan (a career-best 169) and Ahmed Amla (102) do the bulk of the scoring.
And he was deprived of a possible second turn in the middle as Prince, another product of the transformation drive in South African cricket, registered his second rearguard century in a row in the SuperSport Series, keeping the Dolphins attack at bay for well over five hours as he recorded 123 in the visitors’ second knock.
Prince had struck 144 in 278 minutes a few days earlier, albeit in a losing cause as the Warriors lost to the Titans by nine wickets.
But the determined left-hander has already left everyone in no doubt about his plans not to surrender his Test place again, and is a certainty for the series against Pakistan shortly.
As for Pietersen, his final opportunity for a weighty score or two comes from Thursday to Sunday, when his lowly-placed side entertain the table-topping Titans at Kingsmead.
Things are tight at the top, following the Cape Cobras’ weekend victory against the Titans at Willowmoore Park, where they did well to overcome the inconvenience of mid-match injuries to Stiaan van Zyl (he went on to register an innings of 172) and Justin Kemp plus the bout of illness suffered by wicketkeeper Ryan Canning.
Although the Titans cling to first position after two rounds (24.44 points), they have both the Cobras (23.90) and Knights (23.82) breathing down their necks.
The two other games this week are at Newlands, where the Cobras play their opening home game against the Knights, and in Port Elizabeth where the Warriors tackle the Lions.
Cape Town – Thanks in no small measure to the rearguard qualities of Ashwell Prince, a rival in the Test arena, Kevin Pietersen’s plans for meaningful pre-Ashes stints at the crease in South Africa have not gone fully according to plan thus far.
GALLERY: Kevin Pietersen bats for the Dolphins
GALLERY: Kevin Pietersen meets his Dolphins team-mates
The England star’s much-publicised return to the Dolphins fray encompasses two SuperSport Series matches and he got only a lone innings of 36 in 73 minutes as the Warriors clung on for a draw in his Pietermaritzburg “return debut” on Sunday.
Unfortunately for Pietersen, who is seeking to fine-tune his game ahead of England’s quest to retain the Ashes in Australia this summer, the Dolphins only got to bat once and he did not make the most of his opportunity at No 4 as the team amassed 500 for six.
Instead, the player who once blamed “quotas” for his decision to quit the domestic scene watched team-mates Imraan Khan (a career-best 169) and Ahmed Amla (102) do the bulk of the scoring.
And he was deprived of a possible second turn in the middle as Prince, another product of the transformation drive in South African cricket, registered his second rearguard century in a row in the SuperSport Series, keeping the Dolphins attack at bay for well over five hours as he recorded 123 in the visitors’ second knock.
Prince had struck 144 in 278 minutes a few days earlier, albeit in a losing cause as the Warriors lost to the Titans by nine wickets.
But the determined left-hander has already left everyone in no doubt about his plans not to surrender his Test place again, and is a certainty for the series against Pakistan shortly.
As for Pietersen, his final opportunity for a weighty score or two comes from Thursday to Sunday, when his lowly-placed side entertain the table-topping Titans at Kingsmead.
Things are tight at the top, following the Cape Cobras’ weekend victory against the Titans at Willowmoore Park, where they did well to overcome the inconvenience of mid-match injuries to Stiaan van Zyl (he went on to register an innings of 172) and Justin Kemp plus the bout of illness suffered by wicketkeeper Ryan Canning.
Although the Titans cling to first position after two rounds (24.44 points), they have both the Cobras (23.90) and Knights (23.82) breathing down their necks.
The two other games this week are at Newlands, where the Cobras play their opening home game against the Knights, and in Port Elizabeth where the Warriors tackle the Lions.
