Parnell, batsmen secure big win for Warriors

Warriors 502 for 5 dec (Price 181, Ackermann 110) and 183 for 7 dec (Prince 62) beat Titans 246 (Van der Merwe 64*, Parnell 3-54) and 214 (Van der Merwe 61*, Parnell 5-48) by 225 runs
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Centuries from Michael Price and Colin Ackermann and a match haul of eight wickets from left-arm seamer Wayne Parnell set up a comprehensive 225-run win for Warriors against Titans in Port Elizabeth.

Warriors, choosing to bat, were on top for the entirety of the game and a 249-run second-wicket stand between Price and Ackermann propelled them to 502. Price struck 26 fours during his 181, while Ackermann's 110 included 12 fours and a six. Both batsmen had departed by the 97th over, but half-centuries from Ashwell Prince and JJ Smuts added a late flourish to Warriors' innings.

Titans, in reply, never really got going and barring a 52 from David Wiese and an unbeaten 64 from Roelof van der Merwe, saw no significant contributions, and they subsequently folded for 246 inside 83 overs, with Parnell taking three wickets.

Warriors lost quick wickets early in their second essay, but with a first-innings lead of 256 in hand, went after the bowling in an effort to set a big fourth-innings target. Smuts and Prince once again hit fifties, Prince's 62 coming in 63 balls, as Warriors declared at 183 for 7, setting Titans 440 to win.

Titans needed a bright start to salvage anything from the game, but Parnell ran through their top and middle order to leave them 84 for 6, and finished the innings with 5 for 48. Van der Merwe once again top-scored and remained unbeaten on 61 as Simon Harmer cleaned up the tail to bowl Titans out for 214.

Dolphins 341 (Miller 109, Smit 60) and 373 for 6 dec (Van Wyk 114, Miller 104) beat Lions 214 (Abbott 5-34) and 102 (Alexander 6-38) by 398 runs
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Hundreds from David Miller in both innings paved the way for Dolphins' 398-run rout of Lions in Potchefstroom.

Miller's first-innings score of 109, and his sixth-wicket stand of 110 with Daryn Smit, who made 60, helped take Dolphins to 341. Miller followed that up by hitting 104 in the second, and adding 156 for the fourth wicket with Divan van Wyk, who top-scored with 114, as Dolphins set Lions a daunting target of 501.

Lions were poor during both their outings with the bat. They were bundled out for 214 in the first, with no batsman making a fifty, as the fast bowler Kyle Abbott finished with 5 for 34 to wreck their top and middle order.

The team fared even more poorly in the second innings during their mammoth chase, and were dismissed for 102 inside 35 overs. Seamer Craig Alexander was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with 6 for 38.

Knights 355 (Van Biljon 112, Hendricks 4-69) and 171 for 8 (Van Biljon 44, Piedt 4-60) beat Cape Cobras 315 (Van Zyl 94, Ontong 93) and 209 (Vallie 68, Coetsee 5-34) by two wickets
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Pite van Biljon helped Knights chase down 170 in the fourth innings to help them secure a two-wicket win against Cape Cobras in Cape Town.

Van Biljon's 44 in Knights' second innings helped them overcome a slow start which saw them precariously placed at 96 for 5, and paved the way for their close win. Van Biljon had earlier made a crucial contribution in the first innings as well, striking 112 with 19 fours to help Knights to 355 and wrestle a lead of 40.

Van Biljon's ton - his sixth in first-class cricket - was accompanied by handy contributions from Werner Coetsee and Ryan McLaren before seven wickets between the Cobras seamers Rory Kleinveldt and Beuran Hendricks saw Knights bowled out in 141.3 overs.

Cobras themselves had made 315 in the first innings thanks to a 94 from Stiaan van Zyl and 93 from the captain Justin Ontong, as the pair added 101 for the third wicket. The team could however make only 209 in the second innings as Coetsee finished with 5 for 34 to run through the line-up, leaving Knights to chase a target of 170.