Viljoen blitz sinks Titans

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, Cape Town

HARDUS Viljoen blitzed the Lions to a convincing victory over the Titans at the Wanderers on Sunday in the opening round of this season’s first-class franchise matches.

Viljoen took 7/32 with Chris Morris picking up 3/38 as the Lions clinched victory by 190 runs.

Only five of the Titans’ 20 wickets escaped the clutches of Viljoen and Morris - had match figures of 8/81 while Morris banked 7/76.

The match was effectively decided on Saturday when the Titans, who had been set a target of 360, lurched to stumps on 50/4. They were dismissed for 169 in the fifth over after lunch on Sunday.

Viljoen took all the wickets that stood at the start of Sunday’s play. He sparked the slide with the last ball of the morning’s first over by having Theunis de Bruyn spectacularly caught behind by Quinton de Kock diving to his left to take a high catch. In the space of the 50 balls he bowled on Sunday, Viljoen took 6/25.

Farhaan Behardien and Mangaliso Mosehle held up the Lions’ progress for 20 overs with a stand of 81 for the Titans’ seventh wicket, the biggest of the innings.

Behardien stood firm until the end for his gritty 71 not out. He batted for almost three hours, faced 114 balls and hit 12 fours.

But the first win of the domestic season belongs to the Knights, who beat the Warriors with a day to spare in Bloemfontein on Saturday.

An hour into what became the last day’s play, the home side were dismissed for 327 with Simon Harmer taking 4/89 and Basheeru-Deen Walters bagging 3/87.

The last man out was Rudi Second, who scored 113 - the only century in the two matches - in more than six-and-a-half hours at the crease.

All of which left the Warriors to score 331 to win. Instead, they were dismissed for 202, handing the Knights victory by 128 runs.

Werner Coetsee claimed 3/47 with Quinton Friend and Corne Dry sharing four wickets. Dry earned match figures of 7/78.

Wayne Parnell did not bat in the Warriors’ second innings having injured a shoulder while bowling. Team management said he would have the problem fully assessed today, but they did not expect him to be out of action for longer than 10 days.

That would put Parnell out of contention for the Warriors’ match against the Titans in Benoni on Thursday, but not for SA’s tour to New Zealand and Australia later next month.

The squads for the three ODIs in New Zealand and the three T20s and five ODIs in Australia will be named in Durban on Tuesday.