Warriors elect to bat first, rain delays Dolphins-Boland contest

The Dafabet Warriors won the toss and chose to bat first in their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Multiply Titans at Dafabet St George's Park on Thursday.

The Warriors have been basement dwellers for much of the red ball series. Robbie Petersen's side hasn't been able to register a win in their four previous encounters. They have two losses and two draws to their name. The draws came against the Renault Potchefstroom North West Dragons and WSB Western Province at St George's Park and Newlands. In both instances, their batters did a stellar job, however, their bowlers lacked incisiveness.

They lost to the DP World Lions and Goldrush Boland. Again, their bowlers failed to rein in the opposition in both instances. Boland scored the first 500-run score of the series against them, a total the Warriors failed to chase down in two innings. Against the Lions, they lost their frontline bowler, Beyers Swanepoel to concussion after he was struck on the head in the first innings. They struggled without their most successful bowler this season.

They will be hoping for a change in fortunes against sixth-placed Titans. The Titans have eased into the swing of things. They lost their series opener against the Lions. Corbin Bosch's all-round heroics were not sufficient to save the match for them in that encounter.

Dewald Brevis scored an incredible century when they went up against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins. The 20-year-old's ton propelled them to a total that helped them remove any possibility of losing the tie. The encounter galvanised them and they went on to win their next tie against the Knights. Neil Brand, Keegan Petersen, Corbin Bosch and Matthew Boast scored half-centuries as they registered their first win of the season.

WARRIORS: Jordan Hermann, Diego Rosier, Jean du Plessis, Matthew de Villiers, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Senuran Muthusamy (capt), Patrick Kruger, Beyers Swanepoel, Duanne Olivier, Alfred Mothoa, Siya Plaatjie.

TITANS: Neil Brand (capt), Joshua van Heerden, Keegan Petersen, Dewald Brevis, Sibz Makhanya, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rivaldo Moonsamy (wk), Dayyaan Galiem, Merrick Brett, Junior Dala, Tsepo Ndwandwa.

RAIN DELAYS DOLPHINS-BOLAND CONTEST

Rain has delayed the toss and start of the contest between the Hollywoodbets Dolphins and Goldrush Boland at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on Thursday.

The Dolphins have had all three results in their first three outings. They lost their season opener against WSB Western Province, despite valiant showings from Romashan Pillay, who recorded a maiden first-class half-century, and Prenelan Subrayen, who bagged seven wickets in an innings. They improved on that showing with a draw against the Multiply Titans. Sarel Erwee and Jason Smith stood tall with the bat, scoring half-tons.

Tshepang Dithole, Slade van Staden and Bryce Parsons scored brilliant centuries when they went up against the Knights. Their collective effort meant that Quinton Friend's side only needed to bat once as they romped to a victory by an innings and 16 runs. Okuhle Cele bagged a four-wicket haul, while Subrayen registered his second five-wicket haul of the season.

The Dolphins will be looking to maintain that standard when they go up against Justin Ontong's outfit. Like the Dolphins, they have had all three results, but not in the same order. Boland lost their opening fixture against the Knights. Clyde Fortuin and Gavin Kaplan scored half-centuries in vain in the contest.

The Clyde Fortuin side did a 360-degree turn when they crossed swords with the Dafabet Warriors. Pieter Malan, Grant Roelofsen and Aviwe Mgijima scored centuries in a dominant display of batting. Shaun von Berg bagged eight wickets and Aya Gqamane registered a four-wicket haul as they overran the Warriors. However, they were held to a stalemate by the Renault Potchefstroom North West Dragons in their third match.

Ontong's side will want to return to winning ways against a Dolphins side in need of a victory.