DAY 3: De Swardt bowls Dragons into a strong position

Ruan de Swardt registered his third first-class four-wicket haul as he helped the Renault Potchefstroom North-West Dragons stifle the DP World Lions' fightback on the third morning of their CSA 4-Day Series match at the JB Marks Oval on Saturday. At lunch, the Lions were on 172 for six.

The Lions trail the Dragons by 253 runs with four wickets in hand. They are replying to the Dragons' first-innings score of 425 for six declared. The Lions had Connor Esterhuizen (4*) and Bjorn Fortuin (10*) at the crease at lunch.

De Swardt finished day two on a high. He delivered a brilliant six-over spell that pinned the visitors on the back foot. The all-rounder bagged two wickets and conceded six runs in six overs. He dismissed Dominic Hendricks and Zubayr Hamza in his spell. De Swardt carried that form into the third day.

The 26-year-old bagged two more wickets in the morning session as he helped the Dragons pin the Lions down. He dismissed Khaya Fakude and Delano Potgieter in back-to-back overs as the home side consolidated their position in the match.

De Swardt was building on a brilliant start to the session by Migael Pretorius. The 29-year-old wrestled control of the match from the Lions with the dismissals of Joshua Richards and Wiaan Mulder. The pair had come out looking to bat the visitors back into the contest.

The Lions duo registered half-centuries in their quest. Richards faced 76 balls to register his 10th first-class half-ton and Mulder faced 85 deliveries to reach his 15th first-class 50. Richards and Mulder shared a 109-run third-wicket partnership that was looking more menacing with each run they added. Their dismissals opened the door into the visitors' lower order.

Ruan de Swardt was the Dragons' most successful bowler with four wickets for 21 runs in 15 overs. Migael Pretorius was the only other wicket-taker with two wickets for 75 runs in 18 overs.

DRAGONS: Janneman Malan, Matthew Kleinveldt, Lesiba Ngoepe, Raynard van Tonder, Wihan Lubbe (capt), Ruan de Swardt, Taheer Isaacs (wk), Migael Pretorius, Achille Cloete, Odirile Modimokoane, Jaydon Brooker.

DP WORLD LIONS: Joshua Richards, Dominic Hendricks (capt), Zubayr Hamza, Wiaan Mulder, Khaya Fakude, Connor Esterhuizen (wk), Delano Potgieter, Bjorn Fortuin, Codi Yusuf, Tshepo Moreki, Junaid Dawood.