Nineteen-year-old Dean Elgar recorded his highest first-class score and his maiden century for the Eagles on Saturday. His 155 not out helped them reach 336/5 on the third day of their match against the Titans at Goodyear Park in Bloemfontein before bad light and rain forced them from the field.
The gritty former SA Schools captain endured some nasty bowling from the Titans, but he showed great determination by keeping the scoreboard ticking.
Elgar, who struck 24 fours in his innings, had narrowly missed out on a century in his debut match when he was left stranded on 97 not out against the Dolphins.
Boeta Dippenaar (54) was caught behind the wicket by Heino Kuhn off Albie Morkel’s bowling. Dippenaar and Elgar shared a much-needed 124-run partnership for the second wicket for the home side.
Pierre Joubert got rid of Ryan Bailey with the batsman not opening his account. He had faced 23 balls before Pierre de Bruyn caught him off Joubert’s bowling.
Joubert bowled very well for the visitors from the north. He bagged four wickets for 59 runs, also capturing the wickets of Jacques Rudolph, Morne van Wyk and Nicky Boje (11).
Eagles in-form batsman Morne van Wyk missed out on yet another half-century when he was trapped leg before wicket by Joubert with his score on 46.
Ryan McLaren (0*) was to continue the Eagles innings with Elgar on Sunday morning.
Warriors-Lions match delayed
Rain and bad light also interfered with play on the third day of the Supersport match between the Warriors and the Lions at Buffalo Park in East London on Saturday.
The start of play was delayed by about 20 minutes due to overnight rain. About five minutes before the scheduled lunch interval there was a shower of light rain and two hours’ playing time was lost. A late tea was taken and immediately after tea, the rain stopped but the light deteriorated further, preventing the Warriors from starting their second innings for about another hour.
In between showers, Lions skipper Neil McKenzie took his overnight score of 49 not out to 94 before he was clean-bowled by the Warriors’ most impressive bowler, Mario Olivier, who finished the innings with figures of 5-67, his first five-wicket haul in first-class cricket.
McKenzie batted slowly and carefully, spending 378 minutes at the crease and facing 226 balls while hitting 10 fours and a six. He and Friedel de Wet added 57 for the eighth wicket, the only partnership of any substance on Saturday, and the Lions, 168-4 overnight, were eventually dismissed for 260 in their first innings, only 36 behind the Warriors’ first innings of 296 compiled on Friday.
Olivier bowled well in a number of short spells, beating the bat time and time again, and fully deserved his figures. His previous best was 4-60 for the Warriors against the Eagles earlier this season.
Only one over was bowled in the Warriors’ second innings before bad light drove the players from the field for the last time.
With so much time lost, it appeared as if the match was heading for a draw.
Anyone’s game
Any hope the Dolphins may have entertained of forcing the Cape Cobras to follow-on in their do or die ”wooden spoon” four-day Supersport Series cricket match at the Oval in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday were dissipated by a magnificent, 111-run stand for the eighth wicket by Cobras late-order batsmen Rory Kleinveldt and Vernon Philander.
Coming together at 131 for seven, they batted through until after lunch before both were dismissed in the same manner by fast-bowler Sadie Mhlongo who had them caught by Dale Benkenstein at slip.
Mhlongo then bowled Monde Zondeki (14) for a three-wicket haul in three overs and ended the Cobras first innings at 267, which left them trailing the Dolphins, who scored 392, by 125 runs.
But by tea the Dolphins had suffered something of a similar fate with fast-bowler Charl Willoughby snapping up their first three second-innings wickets for three runs in five overs — and he was far from finished for the day. Two more followed as the Dolphins slumped into reverse gear and they struggled through to 83 for six off 36,5 overs.
Willoughby was heading for his best figures ever with five for 16 off no more than a dozen overs.
The Dolphins are 208 ahead with four second wickets intact. Their hopes of toppling the men from the Cape and avoiding bottom place in the Supersport Series after being champions for the past couple of years will depend on the seventh-wicket partnership between Jon Kent, one of the first-innings heroes, and Johann Louw. Kent was 27 not out and Louw was on four.
Philander made 63 and Kleinveldt was dismissed for 62. Between them they hit the Dolphins bowlers for 17 fours and three sixes. Mhlongo (three for 46 off 16 overs) and Johann Louw (three for 23 off 8,3 overs) were the pick of the Dolphins bowlers, although Ugasen Govender with two for 36 was worthy of mention as they toiled in heatwave conditions.
Leg-spinner Tyrone Pillay sent down 36 overs of which 14 were maidens, but he got slogged for 105 runs in claiming two scalps. — Sapa