A brilliant double-century stand between Dean Elgar and Grant Mokoena helped the Momentum Multiply Titans to a commanding 374 / 4 on day one of their Cricket South Africa (CSA) 4-Day Domestic Series encounter against the Six Gun Grill Western Province in Cape Town on Thursday.
Mokoena top-scored with his ninth First-Class century, ending on a 291-ball 154 (26 fours) while the Proteas Test captain Elgar warmed up for the upcoming summer of cricket with a 117 off 159 deliveries (18 fours) as the pair laid on the ideal platform for the visitors.
The match at the Six Gun Grill Newlands Cricket Stadium is one of seven enthralling four-day matchups that are taking place across Division One and Two in round three of South Africa’s premier red-ball competition which is also streamed live via SuperSport’s YouTube channel.
With both sides arriving at the ground in search of their maiden victory of the campaign, the Titans made a blistering start when batting first against a much-changed Western Province outfit that featured three debutants in Kieran Kenny, Daniel Smith, and Gavin Kaplan.
The Titans’ opening pair recorded an impressive 231 runs for the first wicket before youngster Yves Kamanzi (1 – 9) made the all-important breakthrough to dismiss Elgar before Mokoena and Neil Brand (48) added another 97 runs to the scoreboard.
Mokoena was finally sent back to the shed after bringing up his 150, with Kenny (2 – 71) nabbing his first of two career wickets in the longer format. Despite losing two more men at the crease, Sibonelo Makhanya (20*) and rising star, Jordan Hermann (18*) took the away side to 374 / 4 at stumps.
Log-leaders, the Imperial Lions continued their fine form in their home contest against the GbetsRocks, as Duanne Olivier (4 – 38) and Sisanda Magala (4 – 83) ripped through the away team’s batting order to bowl them out for 170, with Janneman Malan contributing with a crucial 54 off 79 balls (10 fours).
The Lions lost just one wicket in their first innings reply before the end of the day’s play and will resume on day two on 25 / 1.
In Potchefstroom, the Gbets Warriors ended the opening day of the match against the hosts, the North West Dragons on a comfortable 313 / 6 after Lesiba Ngoepe (88) shone with bat in hand while well-supported by opener Edward Moore (79), with Dragons’ Eldred Hawken managing to pick up two wickets for 56 runs, including the scalp of Ngoepe.
Meanwhile, in the day’s earlier start at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium, the home side, the Hollywoodbets Dolphins batted first and had Keegan Petersen (57 off 78 balls; 9 fours) and Khaya Zondo (48) to thank as they reached stumps on 197 / 6 against the ITEC Knights.
Knights’ fast bowler, Alfred Mothoa bagged three wickets for 31 runs to keep the Dolphins batters honest out in the middle.
The action continues through the weekend, with day two taking place on Friday, 18 November with the latest scores availablehere.
CSA Four-Day Domestic Series: Round 3 – Day 1 scores:
Division One:
Imperial Lions trail GbetsRocks by 145 runs
GbetsRocks: 170 / 10 after 51.1 overs; J. Malan 54 (79), S. van Zyl 42 (63); D. Olivier 4 – 38, S. Magala 4 – 83
Imperial Lions: 25 / 1 after 7.2 overs; J. Richards 18 (25), R. Hendricks 6 (19); K. Abbott 1 – 10, H. Viljoen 0 – 14
Gbets Warriors lead North West Dragons by 313 runs
Gbets Warriors: 313 / 6 after 102 overs; L. Ngoepe 88 (135), E. Moore 79 (147); E. Hawken 2 – 56, L. Zuma 1 – 46
North West Dragons: Yet to bat
Momentum Multiply Titans lead Six Gun Grill Western Province by 374 runs
Momentum Multiply Titans: 374 / 4 after 103 overs; G. Mokoena 154 (291), D. Elgar 117 (159), K. Kenny ( 2 – 71), Y. Kamanzi (1 – 34)
Six Gun Grill Western Province: Yet to bat
Hollywoodbets Dolphins lead ITEC Knights by 197 runs
Hollywoodbets Dolphins: 197 / 6 after 72 overs; K. Petersen 57 (78), K. Zondo 48 (98); A. Mothoa 3 – 31, P. Botha 1 – 14
ITEC Knights: Yet to bat
Division Two:
Limpopo Impalas lead Northern Cape Heat by 259 runs
Limpopo Impalas: 259 / 6 after 104 overs; B. Shiburi 80 (180), L. Kaestner 78 (188); A. Swanepoel 4 – 46, J. van Dyk 1 – 42
Northern Cape Heat: Yet to bat
Eastern Storm trail Six Gun Grill South Western Districts by 211 runs
Six Gun Grill South Western Districts: 242 / 10 after 83.4 overs; L. du Plooy 91 (232), S. Whitehead 66 (106); D. Posthumus 3 – 10, J. Snyman 3 – 40
Eastern Storm: 31 / 2 after 16 overs; G. Koopman 26* (53), M. Twala 3 (38); S. Whitehead 2 – 4, R. Meyer 0 – 12
Eastern Cape Iinyathi lead Hollywoodbets Tuskers by 290 runs
Eastern Cape Iinyathi: M. Marais 87 (119), J. Niemand 70 (220); M. Erlank 4 – 41, M. Khumalo 2 – 41
Hollywoodbets Tuskers: Yet to bat
Photo: Shaun Roy/BackpagePix
