Behardien back to kickstart Titans
CRUNCH-TIME: SUNFOIL SERIES HEADS TO BUSINESS END
It’s been nearly five months since Farhaan Behardien played a Sunfoil Series match, but the veteran batsman has now been tasked with leading the Titans, currently at the top of the log, to the title as they look to seal the deal in their last three games.
The Titans go to East London to play the Warriors in what could be the most pivotal match of the campaign today, given the propensity of the Eastern Cape venues to produce results – two of the three wins in this season’s four-day competition have been recorded there in the last two rounds.
With the Titans just 11.72 points ahead of the Warriors, the home team’s late charge could see a drastic change in the momentum of the competition this weekend.
Joining captain Behardien back in the ranks for the four-day campaign will be spinner Tabraiz Shamsi and all-rounder Chris Morris, who will be making his first Sunfoil Series appearance of the season.
Shamsi’s participation may depend on whether the Buffalo Park pitch justifies the use of two frontline spinners in himself and leggie Shaun von Berg.
“There’s still three games to go and we’ve had a chat about this being the start of the chance to win another trophy.
“But we’re going to look at the situation one game at a time, for now it’s all about day one to try and set up something. There’s no looking beyond that,” coach Mark Boucher said.
This weekend is also a big one for the Knights and the Dolphins, who sandwich the Warriors on the log in second and fourth position respectively but are both very much in the title hunt.
The Knights host the Highveld Lions in Kimberley and hopefully this time they will be more inclined to push for a victory, while the Dolphins will be hosting the Cape Cobras in Pietermaritzburg, where the weather can be rather unsettled at this time of year.