Maharaj spectre looms for Titans

Ken Borland

The Titans bowlers were neither economical enough nor penetrative enough as the Dolphins built up a significant lead on the third day of their Four-Day Franchise Series match in Centurion yesterday.

The Dolphins, who were trailing by 39 runs on the first innings, resumed on 12 without loss in their second innings yesterday morning and closed on 294/7 when the light deteriorated at SuperSport Park with 21 overs still to be bowled on the penultimate day.

That means the visitors are leading by 255 runs with three wickets remaining, a sizeable lead on a pitch that is showing inconsistent bounce.

One of those wickets belongs to Calvin Savage, the tall all-rounder who backed up his key burst with the second new ball on the second day by scoring a composed 51 not out on Friday.

He and Vaughn van Jaarsveld, who reined in his usual attacking instincts to score 67, provided the bulk of the Dolphins’ runs on another tough day of cricket.

Pacemen Alfred Mothoa and Junior Dala conceded 4.25 and 5.54 runs per over respectively, and with Chris Morris bowling just 13 overs, Eldred Hawken was the only seam bowler to consistently threaten, taking 1/33 in 15 tidy overs.

The Titans’ chief weapon was leg-spinner Shaun von Berg, who picked up three wickets and bowled 21 overs for 64 runs.

His success is an interesting development for the Dolphins because they boast South Africa’s No 1 first-class spinner in Keshav Maharaj.

He will relish bowling on the last day with what is already a considerable number of runs to defend.