Lions, Dolphins wrap up innings wins

Lions 580 for 7 dec (Hendricks 160, Stephen Cook 150, Yassar Cook 92) beat Cape Cobras 258 (Puttick 73, Parnell 62, Fortuin 3-87) and (f/o) 244 ( Ramela 47, Viljoen 4-42, Fortuin 3-16) by an innings and 78 runs
Scorecard

Centuries from captain Dominic Hendricks and opener Stephen Cook, who made 115 on Test debut against England in January, underpinned an innings-and-78-run victory for Lions over Cape Cobras in Potchefstroom.

Having chosen to bat, Lions lost Rassie van der Dussen early, but Stephen Cook and Hendricks combined well in a 261-run partnership to propel their side. Cook and Hendricks fell for 150 and 160 respectively, but there was no respite for Cobras. Yassar Cook, wicketkeeper-batsman Nicky van den Bergh, and Dwaine Pretorious all stroked fifties as Lions stacked up 580, before declaring the innings. As it turned out, they did not have to bat again.

Cobras, who had managed only 258 in their first dig, fared worse, after being asked to follow on. Left-arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin finished with a match haul of six wickets to clean up the lower order. Fast bowler Hardus Viljoen, who made light work of the top order, claimed figures of 4 for 42 to dismiss Cobras for 244.

Omphile Ramela Stiaan van Zyl, Wayne Parnell all had starts, but failed to push on. Parnell had a start in the first innings as well, which he converted to 62 before being pinned lbw by pacer Pumelela Matshikwe. Andrew Puttick scored 73 at the top of the order, but the middle order fell away. Lions ultimately walked away with 19.1 points to narrow the gap at the top of the table. Cobras, on the other hand, remained rooted to the bottom half of the table with just a solitary win in six matches.

Marchant de Lange produced career-best figures to help Titans stretch their lead at the top of the points table with a crushing 359-run win against Knights in Centurion. De Lange took 7 for 76 in the second innings to follow up his four-for in the first as Knights were routed for for 164, chasing 524. Only Michael Erlank provided brief resistance with a patient fifty.

Titans, who chose to bat, posted 277 on the back of Dean Elgar's 79 along with handy contributions from Heino Kuhn (45) and Theunis de Bruyn (40). Right-arm seamer Duanne Olivier took his ninth five-wicket haul to restrict Titans.

De Lange's 4 for 34 and Rowan Richards' 4 for 41 destroyed Knights in their first innings, bowling them out for 122 and gaining a 155-run lead in the process. Erlank was the top-scorer with 27. Kuhn and de Bruyn then continued their form, sharing an unbeaten 254-run stand to push Titans' lead to 523 before the innings was declared.

Kuhn, the tournament's top-scorer, struck 20 fours and a six in his 244-ball 151, while de Bruyn, who is currently third on the run-scoring charts, hit his 150 in just 174 balls, including 18 fours and three sixes.

Dolphins 450 for 8 dec (Van Wyk 122, Imraan Khan 90, Harmer 3-70) beat Warriors 209 (Vallie 86*, Dupavillion 5-49, Alexander 4-45) and (f/o) 187 (Nqolo 64, Phehlukwayo 4-39) by an innings and 54 runs
Scorecard

Morne van Wyk led from the front with a century as Dolphins beat Warriors in little over three days in East London to register their second win in the Sunfoil series.

Warriors, who were asked to follow-on, folded for 187, with Andile Phehlukwayo, the pacer, finishing with 4 for 39. The only semblance of resistance came from Jerry Nqolo (64) and Simon Harmer (25), whose sixth-wicket stand of 59 briefly kept the Dolphins at bay.

That the Warriors found themselves in the position they did was due to a strong batting performance from the Dolphins. Van Wyk built on the platform laid by the top five by making a 147-ball 122 from as Dolphins declared on 450 for 8. As many as four batsmen crossed fifty, with the second highest being Imraan Khan's 90 upfront. Harmer, the only Test cricketer in the Warriors' XI, was the pick of the lot, finishing with 3 for 70.

Warriors were driven by Yaseen Vallie, who held one end up to finish 86 not out, but found little support from the others. Six other batsmen got into double digits, with the highest being 29 by BD Walters, at No. 11. The new-ball pair of Craig Alexander and Daryn Dupavillon picked up four and five wickets respectively to force a follow-on, which eventually paved way for a crushing win.