Bruising in Benoni, pondering in Potch

Times Media TELFORD VICE, Cape Town CRUISING for a bruising comes standard with mag wheels and slap chips in Benoni. Not so in Potchefstroom, which is positively cerebral by comparison. Aptly so, because the thinking cricket aficionado’s attention will be fixed on Potch from Thursday while the fighting folk will be attuned to events in Benoni. The winners of last weekend’s opening round of fixtures in this season’s franchise first-class competition, the Lions and the Knights, go head-to-head in Potch. Some 156km up the N12, the losers, the Titans and the Warriors, battle it out in Benoni. Notable batting featured in both the Lions’ and the Knights’ early success, but in different ways. “It’s the first time in a long time that we have batted out a whole day,” Lions coach Geoff Toyana said yesterday of his team’s performance on day one against the Titans, when they reached stumps on 271/5. The Knights, meanwhile, seemed to start batting only after the Warriors had reduced them to 32/8 in the first innings. Then Corne Dry and Quinton Friend each scored 51, and the total grew to 140 before the Bloem boys were dismissed. “The biggest problem was that we found it difficult to bowl the tail out,” Warriors coach Piet Botha acknowledged on Wednesday. “So we’ll have to pay more attention to Nos. 9, 10 and 11.” Toyana knew his bowlers would have their work cut out trying to keep the Knights on the hook this weekend. “Their tail is the best in the country; they don’t give their wickets away easily,” he said. “We will need to be patient, but we are a disciplined side.” The Lions reckon they have an ace up their sleeve in the tall and slender shape of Aaron Phangiso, who Toyana said would be in the XI on Thursday. The left-arm spinner has played more one-day internationals and T20s for SA - 15 - than franchise first-class matches - 10 - has bowled significantly more deliveries on the international stage than he has in four-day matches for the Lions and the Titans - 713 versus 486 - and has never taken more than one wicket in a first-class innings at franchise level. So what he makes of this opportunity will be keenly watched, especially with Imran Tahir’s star on the wane in SA’s test team and Dane Piedt having injured a shoulder in the Champions League T20. The Knights will have to make do without Rilee Rossouw and Pite van Biljon. Rossouw is strapping on nappies rather than pads after becoming a father on Tuesday, while Van Biljon has injured an ankle. Wayne Parnell will be missing from the Warriors’ line-up with a shoulder problem, a fact that did not sit well with Botha: “He’s our only national player at the moment, and we simply can’t replace someone of his calibre. He’s bowling quickly and he fulfills an allrounder’s role.” Curiously, the Titans are considering whether to pick their appointed captain, Henry Davids, who did not play last week - ostensibly because of a finger injury. “The two of us together wanted to make a decision based on performance,” Titans coach Rob Walter was quoted as saying in a Cricket SA release. “Now that we might consider a slight change in tactical personnel, Henry comes back into the picture.”