Warriors and Titans tussle

Titans all-rounder Chris Morris (above) and Warriors opener Ed Moore were the stars of the first day of their four-day domestic series match at SuperSport Park in Centurion yesterday.

Left-handed Moore batted for 345 minutes and faced 203 balls and carried his bat with a superbly-controlled 116 not out and steered the Warriors to a very useful 307 all out, after they had won the toss and elected to bat first on a green-looking pitch that provided good bounce and some movement for the pace bowlers.

The Titans bowling effort was generally messy, apart from a good burst after lunch, which the Warriors took on 118/2, and the home side were very grateful for the outstanding efforts of fast bowler Morris. The Proteas star bowled with good pace and excellent control. His reward was 6/66 in 18 overs, his sixth five-wicket haul in franchise cricket and his first against the Warriors.

The Titans then had to face an awkward nine overs before bad light stopped play, and lost the wicket of Dean Elgar, trapped lbw for one by off-spinner Simon Harmer’s first delivery, before Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi took them to 24/1.

A measure of how poor the Titans bowling was, the Warriors, despite testing conditions, scored at a consistent rate of 4.2 runs per over. While Moore dug in well in the morning session, Yaseen Valli showed his talent with a quickfire 52 off just 55 balls.

Moore, who was 38 not out after 29 overs at lunch, then played with more freedom in the afternoon, sharing partnerships which were a rich dividends-payer as they helped push the Warriors to a very competitive score.