Titans running away with Championship

The Titans took an almost unassailable lead at the top of the MTN Domestic Championship, their three wins this week maintaining their 100% record and giving them an 11-point lead over the Dolphins. However, all of the victories were hard fought.

Their game with the Warriors was the match of the week. Warriors posted 221 for 9 and the Titans seemed to be coasting as they reached 221 for 7 before losing two wickets in three balls. They eventually squeezed a one-wicket win. Against the Lions they again struggled, eventually overcoming a target of 139 with four wickets In hand. A hundred from Tatenda Taibu enabled Zimbabwe Chevrons to score 223 for 8, and when the Titans slid to 166 for 7 an upset seemed likely. But David Wiese and Brendon Reddy added an unbeaten 58 in five overs to see them home.

The Dolphins started the week with a thumping win over Zimbabwe, Johann Louw's 5 for 27 setting them on their way to a five-wicket victory, and two days later Louw was again to the fore with 4 for 23 as they beat Cape Cobras by four wickets. But their hopes of staying in touch with the Titans suffered a major blow when they crashed to a five-wicket loss at the hands of the Lions.

The Eagles lifted themselves into the middle of the table with two solid wins over the Cobras and the Warriors. Roger Telemachus was the star against the Warriors with 6 for 24. The Cobras, who led the competition early on, suffered two more defeats to leave them struggling to make the semi-finals.

The Lions and the Warriors are still in with a chance of the semi-finals, and on form you have to prefer the Lions who won both their games while the Warriors lost both theirs. Zimbabwe, with one win in seven, will not be competing in the knock-out stages in mid March.

The picture will be much clearer this week as the Cobras and the Lions play the Warriors. At the top of the table, the Titans can almost wrap up the league if they win home matches against the Dolphins and the Eagles.