Rudi Second – Bulletproof Truth

Titans triumph in tight title race

“This was the most competitive long-format series in the history of our domestic structure.” – Pholetsi Moseki, CSA acting chief executive

Telford Vice | Cape Town

HOW big is 7.42 points in a soup of hundreds? Big enough to decide the champions of South Africa’s 2021/22 first-class competition. The Titans topped the standings by that margin when the last round of fixtures ended on Monday.

But, as late as Sunday evening, they were in third place. The leaders were the Warriors, who were a sliver of 0.44 points ahead of the Lions, with the Titans a further 2.14 adrift. As CSA acting chief executive Pholetsi Moseki was quoted as saying in a release on Tuesday: “This was the most competitive long-format series in the history of our domestic structure, with the teams fighting till the very last day of the series for the title.”

What happened between Sunday evening and Monday afternoon? Essentially, the Titans beat the Lions in Centurion and the Knights and Warriors drew in Bloemfontein. But there was more to it than that.

The Titans took the Lions’ six remaining wickets for 143 runs and then knocked off their nominal target of 62 to win by seven wickets. Central to that drama was Simon Harmer, who bowled more than a third of the overs the Lions faced in the match and took 6/84 in the second innings to finish the game with 9/168. The off-spinner’s sizzling summer haul of 44 wickets at 19.29 made him the competition’s leading bowler.

Mitchell van Buuren’s 103 not out had steadied the Lions’ first innings of 270. The Titans replied with 482, an advantage of 212, with Theunis de Bruyn scoring 143 and seamer Codi Yusuf taking 5/91. Van Buuren was also the Lions’ lynchpin in the second innings, in which he made 107.

In the other key fixture, in Bloem, — and based on Sunday evening’s scenario — victory for the Warriors would have seen them secure the title regardless of results elsewhere. Draws in Centurion and Bloemfontein would also have made the Warriors champions. Had the Lions won and the Warriors not, the Lions would have finished on top. If the Titans and Lions drew and the Knights won, the Lions also would have triumphed.

Rain prevented any play in Bloem on Sunday, so the visitors went into all or nothing mode and declared on their overnight score, which left them 61 runs behind. They had reduced the Knights to 82/8 in their second innings — a lead of 143 — when hands were shaken on the draw. Medium pacer Mthiwekhaya Nabe took 4/26 to finish the match with 7/71.

Patrick Botha’s 123 had served the Knights well in their first innings of 227, in which left-arm fast bowler Tiaan van Vuuren claimed 4/46. The Warriors slipped to 67/3 inside 20 overs before Rudi Second and Diego Rosier scored half-centuries in an unbroken stand of 99 that took them to what turned out to be their declaration total.

As for the also rans in the first division, Western Province beat North West by an innings and 132 runs at Newlands, and Boland and the Dolphins drew in Paarl.

Medium pacer Delano Potgieter had WP captain Tony de Zorzi caught behind in the fourth over of the Cape Town match with a solitary run on the board. But 128 by De Zorzi’s opening partner, Jonathan Bird, and 153 by Daniel Smith helped the home side total 576 despite Potgieter taking 6/87. George Linde claimed 5/69 and Kyle Simmonds, also a left-arm spinner, 4/24 as North West slumped to 202 all out. They followed on 374 behind and were dismissed for 242. No. 4 Senuran Muthusamy was last out for 101.

In the winelands, Keegan Petersen made 123 and Andile Phehlukwayo 107, and fast bowler Achille Cloete and leg spinner Shaun von Berg shared six wickets, in the Dolphins’ first innings of 422. Pieter Malan’s undefeated 219 — which confirmed him as the season’s leading batter with 601 runs at 120.20 in seven innings — allowed Boland to declare at 422/8. Fast bowler Eathan Bosch and off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen took three wickets each.

Northern Cape finished on top of the second division by winning three of their six matches and losing one. The leaders in the promotion-relegation standings after the 2022/23 season will move up to the top tier at the expense of the bottom team in the first division. Currently, the Knights are that team.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Provincial pudding proof to be eaten in last round

Sarel Erwee strengthened his case to replace Aiden Markram, who didn’t play.

Telford Vice | Cape Town

NINE of the 17 members of South Africa’s squad picked for two Tests in Christchurch next month did not feature in the latest round of domestic first-class matches. Four of them, including captain Dean Elgar and spearhead Kagiso Rabada, haven’t been on the field since the end of the Test series against India almost three weeks ago.

Concerns about international players’ work-life-bubble balance impact on their availability for matches in the level below. But measures taken to keep all those balls in the air also create opportunities for squad members who spend series in substitutes’ bibs.

Players like Sarel Erwee, who spent all three Tests against India on the bench — but for the odd spot of fielding — and wasn’t in the ODI squad. So he might have had to remind himself which end of his bat to hold when he opened for the Dolphins against the Warriors at Kingsmead on Friday — the first time he had taken guard in a match since December 9; a break of exactly 50 days. Happily, Erwee picked up where he left off. Having scored 75 and 97 against India A in Bloemfontein in December, he made 93 in his only innings against the Warriors. That will add to the argument for him to replace Aiden Markram in the Test XI.

Markram struggled through the India series, scoring 76 runs in six innings. How might he have fared for the Titans against the Knights last week? We’ll never know. He didn’t play, no doubt because he was among six players who were in action in the Test as well as the ODI rubbers against the Indians. And so he needed rest. He made just 56 runs in three trips to the white-ball crease, retaining his place largely because his part-time off-spin was considered a viable bowling option. Markram took 2/85 in 17 overs. That’s a decent economy rate of 5.00, but stopping an out-of-form frontline batter from fixing his game in order to deploy him as a bowler doesn’t add up.

Especially as Markram has few opportunities to sort himself out away from the glare of the international spotlight. He hasn’t appeared for his domestic team since March last year, when he made 100 and 64 against the Lions’ all-international attack — Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Lutho Sipamla and Bjorn Fortuin — at the Wanderers. In total in that match, Markram batted for almost eight-and-a-half hours and faced 326 deliveries.

Surely he could have used the opportunity to re-find his feet in that fashion before having to consider the prospect of facing Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson and Neil Wagner at Hagley Oval, New Zealand’s greenest, most seaming pitch?

Along with Erwee, Simon Harmer, Wiaan Mulder, Duanne Olivier, Ryan Rickelton, Sipamla, Glenton Stuurman and Kyle Verreynne — all of them in the New Zealand-bound Test squad — played for their provinces last week. Harmer took 4/70 and 4/33 for the Titans. Mulder scored 24 and nought and took 1/35 and 0/38 for the Lions against Western Province at Newlands. Sipamla claimed 1/47 and 0/28 in the same match, which was also the stage for Rickelton’s innings of 90 and 102 not out. The Warriors’ Stuurman took 5/97, and Verreynne made 86 for WP.

So, a mixed bag. But those players will go to New Zealand with a fair idea of what shape they’re in. More so than Markram, and even more so than Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Keegan Petersen and Rabada — who have had their feet up since the Tests against India.

No cricket happens in a vacuum, and the feeder system for the international game is particularly susceptible to instability created by players coming and going. That’s understood and expected. But it’s also a pity in this case, because the return of the senior domestic circuit to a provincial system this summer — having been based on a franchise model for the previous 17 seasons — has produced a keen contest that deserves respect. With only the last round of first-class matches left, just 6.3 points separate the Lions, Warriors and Titans at the top of the first division standings. As a win is worth 16 points and a draw six, with batting and bowling bonus points also on offer, all of those three sides have realistic hopes of clinching the title.

The Warriors would seem to have the best chance of adding significantly to their points tally. They play the Knights, who have won only one and lost two of their six games, on Bloemfontein’s docile pitch. The other two contenders, the Titans and the Lions, go head-to-head in a crunch clash at Centurion. Both matches start on Friday.

The Titans ensured they stayed in the running by thrashing the Knights by an innings and 153 in Bloem last week. Sibonelo Makhanya’s 111 and half-centuries by Grant Mokoena, Jordan Hermann, Heinrich Klaasen, Corbin Bosch and Dayyaan Galiem powered the Titans to a declaration at 515/9, and that despite fast bowler Alfred Mothoa’s 5/62. Harmer’s eight-wicket haul helped dismiss the Knights for 197 and 165, in which Patrick Kruger’s 97-ball 53 was the best effort.

In the only other top flight match that wasn’t drawn, Boland beat North West by an innings and 20 runs in Paarl to register their first win of the campaign in their sixth match, three of them drawn. Stiaan van Zyl’s 127, Janneman Malan’s 99 and half-centuries by openers Pieter Malan and Cebo Tshiki guided the home side to 485/7 declared. Wesley Marshall’s 97 and half-centuries by Lesego Senokwane, Senuran Muthusamy and Duan Jansen couldn’t stop North West from being dismissed for 170 and 295. Slow left-armer Siyabonga Mahima opened the bowling and took 6/54 and 3/92.

At Newlands, WP reached 315 thanks to half-centuries by Tony de Zorzi, David Bedingham, Verreynne and Yaseen Vallie. The Lions were dismissed 28 runs behind, with Dominic Hendricks and Rickelton passing 50. Slow left-armer Kyle Simmonds claimed 6/109. Opener Jonathan Bird’s undefeated 152 and more half-centuries by De Zorzi and Bedingham took the home side to a declaration at 337/3. Chasing 366 to win, the Lions had slipped to 36/2 when Rickelton took guard. He saw another five wickets go down, including Simmonds removing Kagiso Rapulana and Mulder with consecutive deliveries. But Rickelton’s unbeaten hundred — his third century in five innings this season, which took his average for the summer to 118.25 — ensured the Lions saved the match. Simmonds completed a match haul of 10/202.

Rudi Second’s 120 earned the Warriors a first innings of 386 in Durban. Eathan Bosch took 5/75. The Dolphins replied with 451 on the back of Erwee’s effort, Marques Ackerman’s 96 and Slade van Staden’s 53, and despite Stuurman’s five-for. The Warriors made it to 137/4 before the game was called.

In the second division, Northern Cape hammered Border by an innings and 271 runs in East London, Easterns were 10-wicket winners over Mpumalanga in White River, and South Western Districts beat Limpopo by eight wickets in Polokwane.

Ernest Kemm and Aubrey Swanepoel scored 106 and 111 not out for Northern Cape. Seamer Divan Posthumus claimed 5/59 for Easterns, whose Grant Thomson scored 145 in the same innings in which fast bowler Bamanye Xenxe took 5/111 for Mpumalanga. Slow left-armer Malcolm Nofal took 5/60 for Limpopo in SWD’s first innings. Medium pacer Marcello Piedt banked figures of 5/21 in Limpopo’s second innings. Matches involving Limpopo and Mpumalanga are not first-class.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Rickelton rocks, Whitehead rolls

11 centuries, 8 five-wicket hauls in latest round of four-day matches.

Telford Vice | Cape Town

RYAN Rickelton banked his sixth score of 50 or more in his last nine first-class innings at the weekend. The wicketkeeper-batter’s 117 for the Lions followed an effort of 159 for the same team last month, which came after scores of 92 and 109 for South Africa A in June, and 58 and 194 for the Lions in March.

Rickelton’s latest feat was central to the Lions’ division one victory over Boland by an innings and 30 runs at the Wanderers. In the same division, the Titans hammered Western Province by an innings and 139 runs at Newlands thanks to first-innings hundreds by Grant Mokoena, Dean Elgar, Jiveshan Pillay and Ayabulela Gqamane. The Warriors beat North West by 130 runs in Potchefstroom with the help of undefeated centuries by Matthew Breetzke and Rudi Second, and the Dolphins and Knights drew at Kingsmead despite Matthew Kleinveldt’s unbeaten 177 — the highest score of the round — for the visitors. The 141 overs lost to rain and bad light on the first three days in Durban proved the deciding factor.

After three rounds, the Lions, having won all their matches, lead the division one standings. They are 15.26 points ahead of the Knights, who lead the Warriors by 3.7 points.

Noteworthy history was made in division two, where left-arm spinner Sean Whitehead followed the 66 he scored in the first innings for South Western Districts against Easterns in Oudtshoorn by taking 5/64. He made 45 in the second innings — and then claimed all 10 of Easterns’ wickets for 36.

That made Whitehead only the second player in first-class cricket to take five wickets in one innings, 10 in the other and score 100 or more runs in the same match. The other was EM Grace — the most prominent of WG’s three brothers — who made 192 not out and took 5/77 and 10/69 for Gentlemen of MCC against Gentlemen of Kent in Canterbury in August 1862. Whitehead’s 10-for was the fourth in first-class cricket in South Africa and the first since fast bowler Mario Olivier claimed 10/65 for the Warriors against the Eagles in Bloemfontein in November 2007.

At the Wanderers, Duanne Olivier and Sisanda Magala took four wickets each in Boland’s first innings of 170, of which Janneman Malan made 54. Rickelton’s ton and Kagiso Rapulana’s 65 — and their stand of 140 — steadied the Lions’ reply of 350. Rickelton was caught behind off fast bowler Ferisco Adams, who took 5/24 in a dozen overs. Olivier claimed 5/57 to finish with match figures of 9/95 as Boland shambled to 150 all out with No. 11 Siyabonga Mahima’s 32-ball 47 — 40 of them in boundaries — their top score.

WP chose to field first at Newlands, where the Titans batted for 172 overs before declaring at 647/7. As opening batters, Mokoena’s 154 and Elgar’s 117 — they shared 231 — didn’t raise eyebrows. But when No. 7 Pillay scored 113 not out and No. 9 Gqamane made an unbeaten 117 in an unbroken stand of 199, the annals were consulted. Turns out that’s not the highest eighth-wicket stand in first-class cricket in South Africa, but it’s only the sixth time four centuries have been scored in an innings in the country and just the second time in a game not involving at least one national or international team.

Off-spinner Simon Harmer snapped up 7/76 as WP crashed to 195 all out, their last nine wickets tumbling for 103. The home side followed on, and although Daniel Smith made 83 and Kyle Verreynne 50 in a decent total of 313, the damage had been done in the first innings. Harmer and slow left-armer Neil Brand shared six wickets, which gave Harmer match figures of 10/225.

Edward Moore’s 79, Lesiba Ngoepe’s 88 and Diego Rosier’s 52, and Alindile Mhletywa’s patient 46, which came off 131 balls, helped the Warriors reach 334 in Potch. The visitors lost their last four wickets for one run.

North West mustered 350 in reply, thanks to another three half-centuries — Wesley Marshall made 94, Delano Potgieter 74 and Nicky van der Bergh 64 not out. Medium pacer Mthiwekhaya Nabe and slow left-armer Tsepo Ndwandwa took seven wickets between them.

Breetzke and Moore — who scored 55 — shared 118 for the Warriors’ first wicket, and Breetzke and Second put on 170 for the unbroken third. Breetzke was 152 not out and Second scored an unbeaten 103.

The declaration of 364/2 left North West a target of 349, but they were dismissed for 218 inside 70 overs with Marshall making 65 and Van den Bergh 64. Nabe and left-arm wrist spinner Lizo Makhosi took three wickets each.

There were also three each at Kingsmead for Knights fast bowlers Gerald Coetzee, left-armer Mbulelo Budaza and Alfred Mothoa in the Dolphins’ first innings of 226. Kleinveldt’s sturdy performance and Jacques Snyman’s 94 — they put on 155 for the first wicket — allowed the visitors to declare at 397/4. The Dolphins began their second innings 171 behind, and were three ahead with five wickets standing when the draw was declared.

Whitehead’s heroics helped SWD beat Easterns by 120 runs — and that after the home side were 5/3 on their way to a total of 193 in a second innings in which the visitors used nine bowlers. Asked to chase 186, Easterns were shot out for 65 in 25.1 overs. Oddly, they lost more than one wicket in an over only once.

In another division two match, KwaZulu-Natal Inland beat Border by seven wickets in East London. Thomas Kaber’s 103 not out powered Border’s first innings of 384, but Tshepang Dithole made 162 to bolster the visitors’ reply of 384 in which left-arm wrist spinner Kaber took 5/109. The home side were rattled out for 106 in 51.5 overs with slow left-armer Luke Schlemmer snapping up 6/31. That left KZN Inland a target of just 107, which they reached in 21.4 overs.

Limpopo and Northern Cape drew their division two game in Polokwane. Off-spinner Aubrey Swanepoel took 7/56 in the home side’s first innings of 290. Northern Cape’s reply of 350 hinged on Rivaldo Moonsamy’s 101. Limpopo were dismissed for 185 with Swanepoel claiming 4/65 to complete a match haul of 11/121. The visitors chased 126 to win, and were only five runs away with three wickets in hand when the match ended.

KZN Inland and Border top the division two standings with 34.46 points each. Matches involving Limpopo and Mpumalanga are not first-class.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Knights, Warriors win, Migael Pretorius heads for Centurion

Raynard van Tonder’s 200 was his sixth century in 58 first-class innings, his fourth score of 150 or more, and his third double century.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

WHEN the latest round of first-class matches in South Africa started on Sunday, Migael Pretorius might not have been thinking too far beyond the next four days. When the round ended on Wednesday, he was probably trying not to think about making his Test debut against Sri Lanka at Centurion on December 26.

Fast bowler Pretorius was added to South Africa’s ranks on Wednesday in the absence of Kagiso Rabada, the victim of a lingering groin strain who CSA say has “not yet been medically cleared” to play in the Test series. With Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortjé, Beuran Hendricks and Glenton Stuurman also in the squad, Pretorius looks unlikely to crack the nod even if South Africa field an all-pace attack. But, having taken 20 wickets at 20.65 in five first-class matches this season, he has earned recognition.

Pretorius didn’t have too much to do with the Knights beating the Lions by nine wickets in Bloemfontein on Wednesday: he took 3/102 in the match. The tone of the contest was set in its opening hour, when Raynard van Tonder walked to the crease at the fall of the Knights’ first wicket. When he was dismissed more than seven-and-a-half hours of playing time later, Van Tonder had scored 200 — his sixth century in 58 first-class innings, his fourth score of 150 or more, and his third double century. Van Tonder hit 112 of his runs in fours and sixes, no mean feat on South Africa’s biggest ground in area terms.

But Ferisco Adams’ 96 was the Knights’ only other effort of more than 30 in a total of 472 in which the biggest partnership was the 111 shared by Van Tonder and Shaun von Berg, who faced 83 balls for his gritty 21. Leg spinner Von Berg increased his share of the spotlight by taking 5/93 in the Lions’ reply of 262, which would have been significantly smaller had Rassie van der Dussen not stood firm for an unbeaten 107.

The Lions followed on 210 runs behind, and this time opener Dominic Hendricks kept their heads above water until he was last out for 98. But, with Von Berg sharing the new ball and taking 4/68 — completing a match haul of 9/161 — left-arm fast bowler Duan Jansen claiming 4/44 on his franchise debut, and the visitors losing their last eight wickets for 85 runs, the Knights needed only 18 to win. They got there in six overs.

The Warriors beat the Cobras by 80 runs at St George’s Park despite the visitors taking a lead of 61 into the second innings. That happened because the Warriors crashed to 194 all out in two sessions with Rudi Second’s 55 — all but nine of them in boundaries — their only highlight and George Linde taking 4/52. Kyle Verreynne hit 80 of his 97 in fours to help the Cobras reply with 255. Marco Jansen and Jon-Jon Smuts took three wickets each.

There were more runs left in Second’s bat, 114 of them, and Yaseen Vallie’s 57 — and the 167 they put on for the third wicket — seemed to have established the Warriors’ dominance. But Vallie and Second were dismissed by consecutive deliveries, the start of a slide that would net eight wickets for 90 runs with Calvin Savage taking 4/81. The Cobras chased 265 to win but were dismissed for 184 with Smuts snapping up 3/47. Opener Janneman Malan, who scored 65, was the only Cobras batter to reach 20.

The other match of the round, between the Titans and the Dolphins at Centurion, was called off after the first day because one of the Dolphins’ players was confirmed to have contracted Covid-19. By then, Aiden Markram and Dean Elgar had scored half-centuries in the Titans’ first innings of 269/9, and Ruan de Swardt and Keshav Maharaj had taken 4/41 and 3/48.

Negative tests for Covid permitting, Markram and Elgar will open the batting for South Africa against Sri Lanka, while Maharaj is the only specialist spinner in the squad. Ngidi, Sarel Erwee and Keegan Petersen, who were involved in the match but didn’t get the chance to show what form they’re in, are also in the mix for the Test series.

Of the other players in the Test squad whose performances aren’t mentioned above, Beuran Hendricks took 1/77, Wiaan Mulder scored 26 and claimed 2/68, and Stuurman took 4/101 and made 30. CSA said Quinton de Kock and Anrich Nortjé were rested for this week’s matches while Faf du Plessis was granted time off to be with his family before South Africa’s busy summer resumes.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Another dud for Elgar, another ton for Markram

The Warriors’ 436 is the highest fourth innings in SA franchise first-class history, but they lost.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

NOT long ago, death, taxes and Dean Elgar opening the batting for South Africa’s Test team were life’s unshakeable certainties. Perhaps it’s time to revisit that truth. Death and taxes remain with us, but, reassuringly, Elgar is proving himself human.

Elgar was dismissed for nine in his only innings for the Titans in their drawn match against the Cobras at Centurion, which ended on Thursday. That followed Elgar’s efforts of 20 and six in the previous round of the four-day competition, which came after he made 66 and nought, and 101 and 58.

So there is no question that he will be in the XI — perhaps even as captain — when South Africa take on Sri Lanka at Centurion on December 26 in the first of two Tests. But, to make the most of that opportunity, he will want to return to big runs when the Titans host the Dolphins on December 13.

Elgar’s opening partner for the Centurion-based side won’t be as anxious. Aiden Markram scored 113 against the Cobras to complete a hattrick of hundreds — he made 149 and 121 against the Warriors last week. The last player to take guard at the top of the Test order with Elgar, Pieter Malan, made 125 for the Cobras. Victor Mpitsang, South Africa’s convenor of selectors, should ensure he has enough headache remedies to hand.

Neil Brand made 115 in a stand of 178 with Markram, and Calvin Savage’s 5/77 was the only five-wicket haul claimed in a match that was called off at tea on the fourth day. The Cobras were 236 ahead with five wickets in hand in the third innings.

At St George’s Park, the Warriors fell 76 runs short of hauling in a mammoth target of 513. Rudi Second kept the home side in the game with his 171, but, having reached 291/5, they lost their last five wickets for 145 runs with Sisanda Magala and Delano Potgieter sharing six.

Ryan Rickleton, Wesley Marshall and Wiaan Mulder stood firm for the Lions in the first innings with their scores of 72, 145 and 91. No-one else reached 30 in an innings of 389 in which Basheer Walters took 5/61. The Warriors were shot out for 118 inside 48 overs in reply, with Magala’s 3/37 leading the attack.

Rickleton made 59 and Mulder a 109-ball 100 not out before the Lions declared their second innings closed and the Warriors set about their unlikely chase, which was ended before tea on Thursday. It won’t make the home side feel better that their total of 436 was the highest for the fourth innings in South African franchise history.

The best bowling of the round was seen at Kingsmead, where Daryn Dupavilion took 7/38 and 4/66: match figures of 11/104. That condemned the Knights to totals of 116 — after they chose to bat first, no less — and 213, and helped the Dolphins win by five wickets. The Dolphins weren’t convincing themselves in a first innings of 253 in which Grant Roelofsen’s 73 shone out. Chasing only 77 to win, they crashed to 62/5 in the second dig with Shaun von Berg striking twice in an over before Keegan Petersen and Mangaliso Mosehle took them home.

After four rounds, the Titans are clear frontrunners in Pool A, where they have a lead of 25.38 points over the Cobras, who are 1.2 ahead of the Warriors. But only 3.52 separates the Dolphins, Lions and Knights, in that order, in Pool B.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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All for Markram, none for De Bruyn

First win for the Lions, Cobras the only team without a win after three rounds.

TELFORD VICE | Cape Town

AIDEN Markram and Theunis de Bruyn had the most contrasting experiences possible for the Titans against the Warriors in franchise first-class matches this week.

Sisanda Magala claimed the only five-wicket haul of the round for the Lions, whose victory over the Knights was sealed by a record stand by Joshua Richards and Dominic Hendricks.

Khaya Zondo scored a century for the Dolphins in their draw against the Cobras, which is now the only winless team in the competition.

Opener Markram scored 149 and 121 in Centurion, marking the first time in his first-class career of 69 matches that he has made centuries in both innings. He was the only Titans player to reach 50 in totals of 320 and 289. Teammate De Bruyn, who batted at Nos. 3 and 4, suffered his first pair in his 71st first-class game. Marco Jansen took match figures of 7/135 for the Warriors.

Yaseen Vallie’s 80, Sinethemba Qeshile’s 97 and half-centuries by Matthew Breetzke and Lesiba Ngoepe earned the Warriors a first-innings lead of 72. It chased 218 to win, and got there with three wickets standing thanks to Vallie’s 55 and sturdy 30s by Rudi Second and Ngoepe.

At the Wanderers, Magala took 6/60 in the Knights’ first innings of 300, in which no other bowler claimed more than two wickets. The Lions crashed to 47/5 in reply and were dismissed 98 runs behind with Mbulelo Budaza, Migael Pretorius and Gerald Coetzee sharing eight wickets.

Wiaan Mulder and Delano Potgieter claimed seven wickets between them in the Knights’ second innings of 235. That set the Lions a sizeable target of 334, which Richards and Hendricks — who scored nought and six in the first innings — whittled down patiently in their opening partnership of 256. Richards’ 136 was his first franchise century, and the partnership is the biggest for the first wicket for the Lions. The previous record, 226 by Stephen Cook and Reeza Hendricks against the Cobras in 2017/18, was set in Potchefstroom, a featherbed compared to the Wanderers’ lively surface. The Lions lost 4/33 after the openers were dismissed, but won by four wickets.

The Dolphins declared in both innings at Kingsmead, where Zondo made 105, Senuran Muthusamy 79 and Marques Ackerman 66 for the home side before the Cobras were dismissed 77 behind — Tony de Zorzi made 58 — with Muthusamy taking 4/58. Scores of 56 by each member of the Dolphins’ top order, Sarel Erwee, Muthusamy and Keegan Petersen, built the lead to 294 when the declaration came. The Cobras had slipped to 155/6 — key batter Zubayr Hamza fell first ball — when the draw was agreed. Muthusamy completed a solid allround performance by taking 4/56, giving him match figures of 8/114.

The Titans and the Knights have now won two matches each, while the Lions celebrated success for the first time. The Warriors is the only side to have lost two games, and the Cobras the only team with two draws.

First published by Cricbuzz.

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Second chance for Klaasen

TELFORD VICE in London

HEINRICH Klaasen has been given what might be called a Second chance — courtesy of Rudi.

Wicketkeeper-batter Klaasen played the most recent of his 23 white-ball games for South Africa’s men’s teams in February, and was not involved in the World Cup.

But on Saturday he was called up for the Test series in India in October.

Klaasen replaces Rudi Second, who was ruled out with what a Cricket South Africa (CSA) release described only as “an injury while practising with the South Africa A side that will require immediate surgery”.

“Klaasen is part of the one-day squad for the South Africa A tour and he will now be added to the squad in Second’s place for the four-day series that will assist his preparation for the Proteas Test series,” the release quoted CSA acting director of cricket Corrie van Zyl as saying.

Second was one of three uncapped players named in the original Test squad, while Klaasen has yet to make his Test debut.

South Africa A will play five one-day matches and two four-day games against their Indian counterparts between August 29 and September 20.

The senior side take on India on September 15 in the first of three T20s, with the three-match Test series scheduled to end on October 23.

First published by TMG Digital.

De Kock to captain in India T20s, but no Morris or Steyn

“Nope.” – Chris Morris’ reply when asked if he had retired or signed a Kolpak contract.

TMG Digital

TELFORD VICE in London

QUINTON de Kock is easily cast as cricket’s unlikeliest captain, an opinion he will have the chance to change in South Africa’s men’s T20 series in India in September.

De Kock led South Africa in two one-day internationals in Sri Lanka in August last year, and his team lost both.

But Cricket South Africa (CSA) have put him in charge of next month’s T20 rubber, which won’t feature Faf du Plessis — previously the all-format captain — with Rassie van der Dussen as his deputy.

Du Plessis said in July, after a disappointing World Cup, that he would consider his future in the white-ball formats.

“The T20 series gives us the last chance to have a look at our leadership and batting options as the next edition of the men’s T20 World Cup [in Australia in October and November next year] is now little more than a year away, which is why we have gone with an inexperienced leadership group,” a release on Tuesday quoted CSA’s acting director of cricket, Corrie van Zyl, as saying.

“This is our last chance to do this before we settle on an established squad.

“I would like to stress that Faf du Plessis remains an important part of our plans for white-ball cricket.”

The release also revealed the squad for the three Tests that will follow the T20s.

Neither group included Chris Morris, who the release said “did not make himself available for selection”.

That sparked thoughts that the fast bowler, one of his team’s better performers at the World Cup, had retired or signed a Kolpak deal.

Asked on Tuesday for a reason, Morris said he was “just unavailable”.

Had he taken either of the above options?

“Nope.”

Dale Steyn, who hung up his Test whites last Monday but is still on board for the short, sharp stuff, was also excluded.

“They obviously lost my number in the reshuffling of coaching staff,” Steyn wrote on his Twitter account.

Temba Bavuma was named as Test vice-captain, while Van der Dussen — another World Cup standout — on Monday inherited Kolpakian Duanne Olivier’s CSA contract.

That would seem to be instructive about CSA’s thinking on the leadership in years to come.

Fast bowler Anrich Nortjé, left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy and wicketkeeper-batter Rudi Second have earned places in the Test squad for the first time.

Bavuma, spinning alrounder Bjorn Fortuin and Nortjé are also in their first T20 squad.

Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn and Lungi Ngidi weren’t part of the discussion for the T20s as they will be busy with South Africa A’s concurrent four-day series in India.

Keshav Maharaj is the first-choice Test spinner, but he will have Muthsamy and off-spinner Dane Piedt — who played the most recent of his seven Tests in August 2016 — for company in the squad.

“We feel we have covered all the options for the conditions we are likely to encounter on the sub-continent with Muthusamy and Dane Piedt, who was far and away the leading wicket-taker in our [franchise] four-day competition [claiming 54 at 27.74, 20 more than second-placed Dane Paterson], providing the back-up to Keshav Maharaj,” the release quoted CSA’s acting director of cricket, Corrie van Zyl, as saying.

Zubayr Hamza, who made 41 and nought against Pakistan on a challenging Wanderers pitch in January in his only Test, will try to fill the vast vacancy left by Hashim Amla, who retired on Thursday.

The selected squads reflect the ravages South Africa have endured due to retirements and Kolpak defections.

Five of the 15 picked for the Tests against Sri Lanka in February were not part of Tuesday’s squad, and only six of the 14 who did duty in the last two of the three T20s against the Lankans in March will go to India.

Of the 17 who were part of South Africa’s last Test series in India, in November 2015, when the home side won 3-0, only six will make the return journey.

Squads:

Test: Faf du Plessis (captain), Temba Bavuma, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortjé, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second.

T20: Quinton de Kock (captain), Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortjé, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts.