Publications
Partners
Pietermaritzburg - Morné van Wyk held off an on-song Simon Harmer to ensure that the Sunfoil Dolphins drew their Sunfoil Series clash with the Chevrolet Warriors on the final day at the City Oval.
Harmer took three wickets to keep the Warriors in the hunt for their first victory in the format this season, but Van Wyk’s unbeaten 41 meant that he and Colin Ingram shook on a draw with the Dolphins at 145 for five.
The off-spinner had already top-scored in the Warriors second innings, hitting 57 as the visitors posted 277 for nine declared and set the Dolphins a target of 261 in 45 overs.
The final day had begun with the Warriors on 75 for two, leading by 58 runs, but they soon lost overnight batsmen, Michael Price and Ryan Bailey, to Craig Alexander (3 for 71).
With the middle-order folding, that disappointment turned into a full-on collapse that saw five wickets go down for 25 runs, leaving the Warriors 124 for seven.
However, Harmer combined with Andrew Birch (43) in an 86-run stand that put the visitors back in control and after both batsmen had fallen, Sisanda Magala’s unbeaten 42 set up the declaration.
Victory looked feasible
The real scare for the Dolphins came when they lost Imraan Khan and Vaughn van Jaarsveld to consecutive deliveries and then had David Miller trapped lbw by Harmer three overs later.
At 64 for four with almost 30 overs still to be played a Warriors victory looked feasible until Khaya Zondo (45) joined Van Wyk in a 58-run stand that ate up almost 15 overs.
Although Zondo was also dismissed by Harmer, Ryan McLaren dug in convincingly enough for the Warriors to settle for the draw with less than 10 overs scheduled to be bowled.
While the Warriors took 7.92 points from the game and sit fourth on the table, the Dolphins earned 7.4 from their first four-day fixture of the season.
