Rain and bad light, but Dolphins are happy
DURBAN: With all three Sunfoil Series games across the country ending in draws, it was the Dolphins who took most out of their stalemate with the Knights in Kimberley as they overtook the Titans at the top of the log.
Runs were the order of the day at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley, as the teams eventually shook hands and called it a day, when the Dolphins reached 538/7 declared chasing the Knights’ first innings declaration of 487/7.
A day was lost back on Thursday which eventually forced the draw, but it was again the hero of last week, Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who gave the Dolphins the bonus points as he reached a doubled ton, eventually caught out for 203.
Opener Senuran Muthusamy also got close to a double-century as he fell for 181, backing up his all-round credentials with five wickets in his last two games. Calvin Savage was the only other batsman to make a real impact in the high-scoring innings, as he remained 58 not out when the declaration came.
Hands were also shook between the Lions and Titans as the men from Pretoria relinquished their log lead at Tea when it became clear that a draw was the only outcome in the match at Willowmoore Park in Benoni.
The Lions broke the 300-run mark in both their innings as they opened the game up with a target of 347, thanks in part to an agonizing 99 runs from Nicky van den Bergh.
The Titans replied with 251, with plenty batsmen making a start, but no one kicking on. The Lions then extended their lead when they reached 308/6 in the second innings setting a massive target of 404. When the Titans reached 143/2 yesterday, a gentleman’s agreement was reached as a draw seemed inevitable.
At Buffalo Park, weather also had its say in forcing the third draw of the weekend as the Cobras and Warriors ended without a winner. More than half the game was lost to poor weather, as well as bad light, including Saturday which was wasted thanks to a wet outfield.
The Cobras started the match with a first innings score of 291, thanks to a determined display from Andrew Puttick who reached 85.
The Warriors almost reached that target in their first innings in a weather-affected batting display where they reached 260.
But when bad light again started to play havoc on the last day of the game, and the Cobras’ second innings, the game was then declared a draw as the Cape side sat on 71/3.