Roelof's roar and Lumb's comic fielding

A match that refused to pick a side finally seemed to choose one when Pat Cummins sliced a ball high in the air, in the direction of mid-off. Farhaan Behardien readied himself to take the catch and had time to get under it but found himself needing to dive forward to grab it low down. He ended up grassing it, to the collective groan of the crowd and, presumably, a sigh of relief in the Sydney Sixers dugout.

At 91 for 5 after 16 overs, it did not look as though the Titans were going to post a competitive total, but David Wiese thought otherwise. He started the four-over blitz with a six over square-leg but it will be the way he ended that will be remembered. An inside-out shot over long-off gave Wiese the opportunity to display his power and with it gave the Titans more than a fighting chance.

The Titans didn't have much going for them early on but Michael Lumb gave them something to smile about nonetheless. When Henry Davids pushed the ball to him at point, all Lumb had to do was the simple pick-up-and-throw. He got the first part right but when he tried to throw, the ball rolled out of the back of his fingers and fell over his shoulder. Lumb spent a millisecond trying to figure out what had happened before returning the ball, blushingly.

Steven Smith has established himself as one of the best boundary fielders in the competition but there was something he could not get right. When Wiese sent a low full toss back over Mitchell Starc's head, Smith ran around from long-on to cut it off. He initially managed to scoop it back infield but his second move, to keep it there, saw him tumble into the advertising boards while the ball just about breached the boundary.

After the ball landed in the spectators' splash pool on the opening day of the tournament, the organisers put up a net to prevent it heading back there. A net too has its limits, and the Sixers' opener Lumb exposed them. His only six of the night was a fierce shot over the on side, and the pool. The ball bounced onto the deck before bobbling down, inches away from the paddle pool below and then made its way onto the field. With the latest antics, one wonders whether the authorities will demand closing the pool during play as they had done before.

Roelof van der Merwe is nicknamed Bulldog for his tenacity but he also has a powerful bark. When Brad Haddin was caught at deep midwicket and the Titans sensed a small opening, van der Merwe let his voicebox loose. He stretched out both arms and howled at the night sky, like only someone called Bulldog can.