Times Media
TELFORD VICE, Cape Town
TUMBLEWEEDS could stop play when Morne van Wyk faces Lonwabo Tsotsobe in the shootout at the Kingsmead corral on Wednesday.
The big picture is that the Dolphins will host the Lions in a One-Day Cup match. The smaller but more compelling picture is the prospect of a duel between two of the stellar performers in the competition’s opening round of matches.
Van Wyk’s undefeated 121 at Centurion on Friday guided the Dolphins to the 301 they needed - in 42 overs - to beat the Titans by five wickets with five balls unbowled.
In Potchefstroom on Sunday, Tsotsobe took 5/44 - three of them amid a crash of five wickets that fell for 30 runs in 37 balls - to head the Warriors off at the pass and bowl the Lions to a 20-run win.
Van Wyk’s century was his 21st in his 207th list A innings. He has scored all but one of his hundreds as an opener, and his team have won 16 of those 21 games with another washed out.
He has made an undefeated century 12 times, seven of them in the cause of victory. However, in eight other matches Van Wyk has been dismissed with a ton to his name and his team have still won.
Four times, he has opened, scored a century and finished on the losing side - three times despite him not having been dismissed.
None of which meant much to the Dolphins captain on Tuesday. “I didn’t even really know how many hundreds I had, so the rest is a mystery to me,” Van Wyk said.
But he had a good idea of what it takes to accomplish what he called “a very difficult thing to do”.
“You can go seasons without getting it right,” Van Wyk said. “You have to deal with the new ball, take risks, and then carry your bat and get the job done.”
Tsotsobe has an even more dramatic impact on his teams’ fortunes. Sunday’s feat was only his second five-wicket haul in list A cricket, but he has taken at least four wickets in an innings 13 times - and his team have won 12 of those games.
What price the Dolphins and the Lions delivering a contest worthy of players of the ability of Van Wyk and Tsotsobe today?
“Cricket is a game of two halves; you are never out of it,” Van Wyk said. “You need two batting units to perform very well, and I’m sure the bowlers will also want to have their say.”
Van Wyk was satisfied that Friday’s win had taken the edge off his side losing all four of their Champions League T20 games in India last month.
“It put India into perspective - we’re still a good team,” he said.
But today he will have to find a way to win without Kyle Abbott and Imran Tahir, who played on Friday but are now part of SA’s one-day squad in New Zealand. David Miller, who did not play against the Titans, is out of the mix for the same reason.
The Lions have lost Quinton de Kock and Aaron Phangiso to the national cause. On the upside, Alviro Petersen, Eddie Leie and Chris Morris are back from injury lay-offs.
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