Adam Bacher sends selectors an early reminder

Warriors 250 for 6 (de Wett 62) beat Titans 227 for 5 (Kemp 102, Cullinan 57) by 23 runs
Scorecard

At Buffalo Park in East London, the Titans threw away any chance of winning as the Warriors capitalised on some poor death-overs bowling from the experienced Andre Nel and Justin Kemp.

Some good starts from the Warrior batsmen were not converted into big partnerships as the Titans held the batsmen back, gaining the upper hand by restricting them to 157 for 5 after 36 overs. Back into the attack, to close the innings out, came Kemp and Nel. Instead they were pasted to all parts of the ground, with Nel unable to get a ball on the off stump and Kemp hardly finding the pitch. In two overs, Nel conceded 34, while Kemp gave away 32 from four. That allowed Burton de Wett to race to 62 off 48 balls, and Tyron Henderson to collect 34 off 19. The Warriors reached 250 for 6, with 93 scored in the final nine overs.

An early setback for the Titans was followed by a 104-run partnership between Daryll Cullinan and Kemp, who made 102 to make some amends for his bowling performance. With Cullinan having fallen on 57 and the target almost out of reach, Pierre de Bruyn made a valiant attempt with 33 off 31 balls. But at the finish, the Titans were 227 for 5, still 23 runs short.

Lions 261 for 3 (Bacher 69, Cook 67) beat Dolphins 250 (Watson 104, Benkenstein 71, Roe 4-45, Crookes 3-40, Kruger 3-57) by 11 runs
Scorecard

At the Wanderers in Johannesburg, the Dolphins came up against an in-form Adam Bacher as he and Stephen Cook put the Lions squarely in the driving seat with a splendid 149-run opening partnership. Though both men were dismissed within three balls of each other, they had laid a foundation for the following batsmen to build on. And build they did, with Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Derek Crookes accepting the open ticket with relish. They put on 59 off 46 balls to steer the Lions to 261 for 3.

In reply, Doug Watson and Dale Benkenstein put on 179 runs for the second wicket but could never get ahead of the run rate. Watson went to his third career hundred while Benkenstein scored a run-a-ball 71. Sadly for the Dolphins, after being 198 for 1, they collapsed to 231 for 7 as Crookes and Garnet Kruger helped themselves to three wickets each. Garth Roe, who finished with 4 for 45, wrapped up the tail as the Dolphins were bowled out in the last over for 250.