Hermann leads Warriors' rebuilding effort

Jordan Hermann played a patient knock to steer the Dafabet Warriors to lunch with a score of 77/3 in their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Renault Potchefstroom North West Dragons at Dafabet St George's Park on Thursday.

The Warriors won the toss and elected to bat first. At the break, the home side had Hermann (41*) and Sinethemba Qeshile (26*) at the crease. Their partnership was worth 43 runs.

The pair joined forces in the 18th over after a flurry of wickets. The 22-year-old put his defensive abilities on display as he navigated a tricky morning session in the face of some good bowling from the Dragons.

Wihan Lubbe's bowlers could do no wrong in the morning session of day one, so much so that even half-volleys got them wickets.

Migael Pretorius set the tone with a brilliant delivery that got the edge of Jiveshan Pillay's bat in the first over. The former Titans opener, who moved to St George's Park last season, ended his 2023-24 first-class season on a sad note.

He was dismissed for a nine-ball duck in an innings where the Warriors scored a mammoth 517/3d. The 25-year-old would have come into the fixture hoping for a different fate, only for him to fall for a five-ball duck.

The home side seemed to struggle settling in and it wasn't long before Andile Mogakane fell trying to drive a Ruan de Swardt half-volley through the covers. Instead of piercing the field, he found Janneman Malan, who didn’t make a mistake with the catch.

Next to depart was Jean du Plessis, who was trapped lbw by Bamanye Xenxe. Du Plessis had only added four runs to the total.

Pretorius was the pick of the bowlers for the Dragons. He bowled nine overs in the morning session and conceded a mere 17 runs. De Swart, who sent down six overs for his wicket, was equally miserly, conceding 12 runs in his spell. The other wicket-taker, Xenxe, conceded 20 runs in his five overs.

WARRIORS: Jordan Hermann (capt), Jiveshan Pillay, Andile Mogakane, Jean du Plessis, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Matthew de Villiers, Patrick Kruger, Beyers Swanepoel, Duanne Olivier, Renaldo Meyer, Siya Simetu.

DRAGONS: Janneman Malan, Matthew Kleinveldt, Lesiba Ngoepe, Rubin Hermann, Wihan Lubbe (capt), Ruan de Swardt, Meeka-eel Prince (wk), Migael Pretorius, Bamanye Xenxe, Kerwin Mungroo, Achille Cloete.