Share

Titans fight rearguard action

Cape Town - The Titans were left to fight a rearguard action to protect their lead at the top of the SuperSport Series table after trailing by 111 runs on the first innings of their match at Sahara Park Newlands on Saturday.

A career best innings of 163 (292 balls, 23 fours and a six) from Yaseen Vallie and a supporting century from the experienced Justin Ontong (147 off 179 balls with 21 fours and a six) enabled the second-placed Cape Cobras to post 480 in their first innings. Vallie and Ontong put on 177 for the fourth wicket before the Cobras lost their last seven wickets for 119 runs.

It nevertheless gave them a substantial advantage and their position became even stronger when another of their newcomers, Dane Piedt, picked up two wickets including the experienced Jacques Rudolph by the time the Titans had 52 runs on the board in their second innings.

They finished the day on 107/2 for an overall deficit of four runs with eight wickets in hand.

Meanwhile, the Knights are in an excellent position to force an outright result in their match against the Dolphins at the Maritzburg Oval in spite of losing a lot of time to bad weather.

The Knights declared their first innings at the overnight total of 428/6 and then bowled the Dolphins out for 239. Vaughn van Jaarsveld’s 72 (114 balls, 11 fours and 2 sixes) was far and away the biggest contribution for the home side while 20-year-old newcomer Michael Erlank bowled 19.2 overs of off spin to take 5/107. It was his first five-wicket haul.

The Dolphins had reached 10 without loss in their follow on innings by the close and need a further 179 runs to make the Knights bat again.

In the third SuperSport Series match this weekend, the Highveld Lions also hold a strong position at the Wanderers Stadium after leading the Warriors by 103 runs on the first innings.

Once Michael Price (72 off 183 balls with 8 fours) was dismissed the rest of the Warriors innings fell apart with seven wickets falling for 51 runs against the four Lions’ seamers. Shane Burger, who had earlier scored a century, was the most successful with 3/46.

The Lions then stretched their lead to 287 by the close with five wickets still intact.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
26% - 1118 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1283 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 1978 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE