Report

De Lange's six-for takes Titans to win

A round-up of the Sunfoil Series matches that ended on December 21, 2014

Marchant de Lange took 6 for 108 in Titans' win over Knights  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Marchant de Lange took 6 for 108 in Titans' win over Knights  •  ESPNcricinfo Ltd

An all-round display from Lions saw them overpower Cape Cobras by 213 runs at Newlands, helping them to the top of the table. Lions, batting first, posted a commanding 413 in their first essay. Their innings was built around a 210-run partnership for the third wicket between Dominic Hendricks and Neil McKenzie. Hendricks fell one run short of a hundred, but McKenzie stayed on to collect his 51st first-class ton, making 125.
Cobras, in reply, were bowled out for 306, handing Lions a vital 107-run lead. Justin Ontong (94) and Dane Vilas (89) raised fifties, but no other batsman was able to contribute more than 38, as Dwaine Pretorius and Eddie Leie picked up three wickets each to dismiss the team in 87 overs.
A five-wicket haul from George Linde (5 for 84) hampered Lions' progress in their second innings, but they still managed to hit 223 for 9 before declaring, thanks to handy knocks from McKenzie and Chris Morris down at No.8. This meant that Cobras needed 331 for victory, but only three of their batsmen managed to reach double digits, with Linde top-scoring with 51. Morris was the pick of Lions' bowlers, taking 4 for 35, while Kagiso Rabada and Leie snared two scalps each, ensuring that Cobras were bundled out for 117 in 38.2 overs.
Eight wickets from left-arm pacer Rowan Richards in the match helped Titans move to second place in the points table after they dismissed Knights for 396 in their mammoth chase of 549 on the last day in Bloemfontein. Titans' second-innings performance was led by Marchant de Lange's 6 for 108.
Put in to bat, Titans scored 366 on the back of opener Heino Kuhn's 132 and a fifty from Roelof van der Merwe (51). Knights could manage only 185 in reply, as Richards rattled them with 5 for 38, his eighth five-for in first-class matches. Titans built on that further by declaring on 367 for 7, after van der Merwe notched a hundred this time - 121, only his second hundred so far. Knights improved on their first-innings performance and scored 396 this time, but lost by 152 runs Richards took three more wickets and Pite van Biljon's 113 went in vain.
Michael Price and Ryan McLaren made centuries as Warriors and Dolphins drew their match in Pietermaritzburg. Price made 113 to lead Warriors to 353 in the first innings after they chose to bat. Colin Ingram scored 63 while Wayne Parnell contributed an unbeaten 74. Imran Tahir and Robbie Frylinck picked up seven wickets between them.
Despite Vaugh van Jaarsveld's 71, Dolphins were tottering at 169 for 7 in reply before McLaren cracked 24 fours on his way to 121. He put on 65 for the eighth wicket with Thandi Tshabalala (30), 64 for the ninth with Tahir (33) and 72 for the tenth with Craig Alexander (11). Dolphins ended up taking a narrow lead as they posted 370.
Warriors crumbled to 124 for 7 in the second innings before the lower order took them to 277 for 9 declared. Simon Harmer scored 57 at No. 8 while the next two batsmen Andrew Birch and Sisanda Magala hit forties.
Dolphins had just over 35 overs to negotiate and they reached 145 for 5 when the game was called off. They did lose three wickets in the space of 3.1 overs and were 64 for 4 at one stage but Khaya Zondo (45) and captain Morne van Wyk (41 not out) took them to safety with a fifty partnership.