Lions complete maiden victory

Centuries from Alviro Petersen and Jonathan Vandiar led Lions to a 29-run win on the D/L method against Dolphins in Potchefstroom, their first victory of the Franchise 1-Day Cup after five defeats and two no-results. Petersen scored an unbeaten 145 off 144 balls and Vandiar made 109 in an opening partnership of 232, which ended in the 41st over. Rain forced Lions' innings to end on 284 for 2 after 47 overs. The Dolphins' target was revised to 287.

Dolphins stumbled early in their chase and were 65 for 3 before a steadying partnership between Divan van Wyk and Daryn Smit. They were 145 for 4 after 31.5 overs when the floodlights failed at Senwes Park and ten overs were lost as a result. Dolphins now had a revised target of 227 in 37 overs. They lost wickets in a hurry in the pursuit of quick runs after the resumption and finished on 197 for 8. Smit was the top-scorer with 67 while Cliffe Deacon took 2 for 27 in seven overs.

Cape Cobras claimed top spot in the league with a six-wicket win against Warriors at Newlands. Warriors suffered from a regular loss of wickets after choosing to bat: their largest partnership was 50, between Arno Jacobs and Colin Ingram for the second wicket. Jacobs made 55, and Johan Botha contributed an unbeaten 57 at No. 6, but contributions from the others were meagre. Justin Kemp took 3 for 34, while Johann Louw, Charl Langeveldt and Rory Kleinveldt claimed two wickets each as Warriors were dismissed for 244 in 50 overs.

Cobras were jolted early in their chase, with Makhaya Ntini dismissing Graeme Smith and Andrew Puttick to reduce them to 19 for 2 in 6.5 overs. Half-centuries from Owais Shah and JP Duminy, however, steadied the innings and Justin Ontong scored 65 off 62 balls to help his team reach the target in 46.5 overs.

Knights medium-pacer Malusi Siboto took 5 for 38 to dismiss Titans for 186 in 39.5 overs and set up a three-wicket victory for his team in in Kimberley. Six of Titans' top seven batsmen made double-figure scores but no one managed more than Faf du Plessis' 40. They lost wickets in two clutches, to slip from 59 for 1 to 97 for 4, and then from 153 for 4 to 186 all out.

Knights scored briskly in their chase but also lost wickets too regularly for comfort. They did not have a half-century partnership in their innings but Rilee Rossouw held it together, scoring an unbeaten 65 off 64 balls. The next best score was opener Morne van Wyk's 24. Rowan Richards took 3 for 34 but couldn't prevent Knights from reaching 187 for 7 in 31.1 overs.