DAY 4: De Villiers hits brilliant double century as Warriors, Knights draw

Matthew de Villiers scored a memorable double-century in the drawn CSA 4-Day Series encounter between the Dafabet Warriors and the Knights at Dafabet St George's Park on Sunday.

Dane Piedt, the Knights' captain, won the toss and asked the Warriors to bat first.

Johan van Dyk led the Knights with the ball as they restricted the hosts to 171 runs.

The visitors replied with 191 runs that were powered by an Aaron Phangiso half-century.

De Villiers stepped up in the third innings with an impressive double century to lead the hosts to 349-5d.

The Knights scored 166-4 in the final innings.

De Villiers spent three sessions in the middle on the third day and was cramping as the match drew closer to stumps as he shepherded the Warriors to safety.

He needed a handful of deliveries on the fourth day to complete the milestone.

201 runs is now his career-best first-class score. The 24-year-old has needed a mere six matches to climb that summit.

He came into the match with three half-centuries under his belt and a high score of 94, which he scored on his debut.

The home side was in a pickle and in need of a substantial partnership when De Villiers arrived at the crease.

The Warriors were on 21-1, having lost Jordan Hermann early.

The No 3 batter shared four partnerships with Jiveshan Pillay, JP King, Sinethemba Qeshile, and Patrick Kruger.

The highest of the four was the 220-run third-wicket stand with King. It steered the Warriors to safety.

King, who was making his red-ball debut for the Warriors showed good temperament as he supported De Villiers.

The 22-year-old played well for his 64 from 132 deliveries. This is King's second first-class half-century.

The No 4 batter faced 110 balls to reach the milestone.

SWANEPOEL SHINES

De Villiers wasn't the only standout performer for the Warriors.

Beyers Swanepoel put on a clinic on how to operate the new ball.

The 26-year-old ran through the Knights' top six, dismissing five of them, in the visitors' reply to their 171.

He finished that innings with six wickets for 30 runs in 21 overs.

Swanepoel recorded match figures that read: eight wickets for 63 runs in 38 overs.

His new ball partner, CJ King, the younger brother of JP King, recorded new career-best bowling figures in a match.

He finished with five wickets for 68 runs.

Johan van Dyk was the most successful bowler for the Knights.

He finished with four wickets for 94 runs. All his wickets came in the first innings.

Tian van Vuuren also took four wickets across two innings, but conceded 131 runs.

Aaron Phangiso and Patrick Botha were outstanding with the bat for the visitors.

They both scored half-centuries. Phangiso's came in the first innings, 73 off 169 deliveries, while Botha's was in the second innings, 77 off 251 balls.

Botha and Cloete's 126-run fourth-wicket partnership saved the match for the Knights.

The duo stonewalled the Warriors' bowling attack effectively.

By the time they dismissed Botha, it was too little too late to clinch victory.

WARRIORS: Jivesham Pillay, Jordan Hermann, Matthew de Villiers, JP King, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Senuran Muthusamy (capt), Patrick Kruger, Andile Mogakane, Beyers Swanepoel, CJ King, Alfred Mothoa.

KNIGHTS: Jacques Snyman, Lesego Senokwane, Isaac Dikgale, Patrick Botha, Gihahn Cloete (wk), Dian Forrester, Tiaan van Vuuren, Aaron Phangiso, Dane Piedt (capt), Malusi Siboto, Johannes van Dyk