DAY 1: Dolphins, Lions and Boland opt to bat

DOLPHINS ELECT TO BAT FIRST

The Hollywoodbets Dolphins won the toss and chose to bat first in their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Knights at the Mangaung Oval at Bloemfontein on Thursday.

Third-placed Knights started their season strongly. They came out swinging, registering a 169-run victory over Goldrush Boland. The victory was built on half-centuries from Aaron Phangiso and Dian Forrester, and a Johannes van Dyk five-wicket haul.

However, the Knights' results have been heading in the wrong direction since that victory. They drew their second match, which was a Lesego Senokwane double century. Then Dane Piedt and Matthew Pollard's four-wicket hauls failed to secure a positive result for them when they crossed swords with the Multiply Titans. A victory over the last-placed Dolphins will set them back on track. However, that is easier said than done.

Quinton Friend's side is warming into the series. The Durban side is one of the two teams with two matches under their belt. Goldrush Boland is the other team with only two matches. However, unlike Boland, they are yet to register a win.

They suffered a 51-run loss at the hand of WSB Western Province in their season opener. They then turned things around against the Titans and registered a draw, courtesy of half-centuries from Sarel Erwee and Jason Smith. The Erwee-captained side will be looking to improve on their effort against the Titans and register their first victory of the season.

KNIGHTS:

Jacques Snyman, Lesego Senokwane, Gihahn Cloete (wk), Patrick Botha, Dian Forrester, Aubrey Swanepoel, Aaron Phangiso, Tiaan van Vuuren, Matthew Pollard, Dane Piedt (capt), Malusi Siboto.

DOLPHINS:

Sarel Erwee (capt), Tshepang Dithole (wk), Slade van Staden, Bryce Parsons, Jason Smith, Romashan Pillay, Jon-Jon Smuts, Andile Simelane, Prenelan Subrayen, Daryn Dupavillon, Okuhle Cele.

LIONS OPT TO BAT FIRST

The DP World Lions won the toss and chose to bat first in their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Dafabet Warriors at the DP World Wanderers on Thursday.

The Lions are one of the two unbeaten sides in the four-day tournament. The other one is the Renault Potchefstroom North West Dragons, who have a hat-trick of draws. Unlike the Dragons, the Lions only have a single draw and two victories to their name.

Their draw was against the Dragons, which came on the back of a victory over the Multiply Titans. Bjorn Fortuin showed his abilities with the bat in both matches with centuries in both matches.

They come into this match on the back of a well-rounded performance from both the bowlers and batting side. Codi Yusuf registered fourth first-class five-wicket haul, and Lutho Sipamla and Tshepo Moreki bagged four-wicket hauls. With the bat, Dominic Hendricks scored an unbeaten 161, while Muhammad Manack and Delano Potgieter chalked half-centuries.

The Warriors are still on the hunt for their first victory of the season. They have two draws and a loss in the tournament. Their top order has been going well, Jordan Hermann has two half-centuries and a ton to his name, while Matthew Breetzke, Sinethemba Qeshile and Matthew de Villiers have multiple half-centuries in the campaign. They have been let down by their bowling, which hasn't been as incisive as they would like. Duanne Olivier and Beyers Swanepoel have had little support.

LIONS:

Joshua Richards, Dominic Hendricks (capt), Muhammad Manack, Zubayr Hamza, Connor Esterhuizen (wk), Delano Potgieter, Bjorn Fortuin, Codi Yusuf, Tshepo Moreki, Lutho Sipamla, Kwena Maphaka.

WARRIORS:

Jordan Hermann, Diego Rosier, Matthew Breetzke (capt), Matthew de Villiers, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Patrick Kruger, Andile Mogakane, Beyers Swanepoel, Christopher King, Duanne Olivier, Siya Plaatjie.

BOLAND ELECTS TO BAT FIRST

Goldrush Boland won the toss and chose to bat first in their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Renault Potchefstroom North West Dragons at the JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom, on Thursday.

The Dragons are one of two unbeaten teams in the season. The DP World Lions are the other unbeaten side. However, unlike the Lions who have two victories to their name, the Dragons have a hat-trick of draws. They have shown their resilience in encounters by rallying from behind to force draws in their contests.

Their batters have not been able to convert 50s into three figures. Multiple batters from their top six have half-centuries, most of them with more than one 50 to their name. However, only one, Raynard van Tonder has a century. Craig Alexander will hope that his batters can score big and put the game beyond their opposition.

Boland is one of the two sides that has only played two matches in the tournament. They lost the first match, against the Knights, by 169 runs. However, they bounced back to register a comprehensive innings and 11-run victory over the Dafabet Warriors.

Boland's batters needed to only bat once against the Warriors in a dominant display. Pieter Malan, Grant Roelofsen and Aviwe Mgijima carved brilliant centuries as Justin Ontong's outfit cruised to 500 runs, the highest innings score of the season, so far. Shaun von Berg complimented their collective effort with an eight-wicket haul in the Warriors' first innings. Aya Gqamane bagged a four-wicket haul in the Warriors' second innings.

KNIGHTS:

Janneman Malan, Matthew Kleinveldt, Lesiba Ngoepe, Raynard van Tonder, Wihan Lubbe (capt), Ruan de Swardt, Taheer Isaacs (wk), Caleb Seleka, Kerwin Mungroo, Achille Cloete, Gideon Peters.

BOLAND:

Grant Roelofsen, Pieter Malan, Gavin Kaplan, Aviwe Mgijima, Clyde Fortuin (capt)(wk), Michael Copeland, Shaun von Berg, Keith Dudgeon, Ayabulela Gqamane, Jevano Baron, Glenton Stuurman.