The much-anticipated match between the Titans and Western Province got underway at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday, and had all the entertainment that was expected.
At the front of it all, without any surprises, was the 18-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius, who blasted his second first-class century to help the Titans post 225 all out on day one.
Pretorius, batting at No 5 in the longer format despite being an opener in limited-overs cricket, hit 103 off 157 balls (13×4, 1×6) as he put up a 94-run partnership with Rivaldo Moonsamy for the fifth wicket after the Titans were 70/4.
Moonsamy (45) played an important hand, but the bounce that the lanky Mihlali Mpongwana extracted from the wicket proved too much as the right-arm seamer returned 4/24.
WP opening bowler Jody Lawrence was consistent right from the start, and was rewarded for his efforts, returning 3/49, while Mthiwekhaya Nabe walked away with 2/39.
In reply, Western Province openers Tony de Zorzi (46) and Daniel Smith (33) held their ground against the home team’s quicks.
De Zorzi was particularly aggressive, punishing any bad balls from the hosts, while Smith was happy to rotate the strike to the Proteas left-hander.
The pair were bundled out just before the close of play as Western Province finished on 86/2.
In Gqeberha, the Warriors and the Knights began their fight to stay in the First Division. Under pressure, the Warriors were bundled out for 171, thanks to Knights seamer Johan van Dyk, who returned sparkling figures of 4/48.
Former Warriors all-rounder and now Knights player Tiaan van Vuuren made his presence felt in his return to St George’s Park, returning figures of 2/47. while captain Dane Piedt also took two wickets.
Jiveshan Pillay (49) and JP King (43) scored the bulk of the runs for the hosts.
In reply, the Knights reached stumps on 65/5, after Beyers Swanepoel’s 4/16 stole the show in Gqeberha.
At Kingsmead Stadium in Durban, the Dolphins hosted the North West Dragons as they pushed for a second trophy of the season, having won the One-Day Cup last week.
The hosts made early inroads on the visitors’ batting line-up, with fast bowlers Okuhle Cele (1/43) and Daryn Dupavillon (2/48), along with spinner Keshav Maharaj doing the damage, leaving the Dragons on 27/3 in the first 10 overs.
Raynard van Tonder (54) and Wihan Lubbe (59) were stubborn despite the early pressure as the pair combined for an impressive 110-run partnership.
Captain Prenelan Subrayen (3/84) accounted for the two batters, bringing the Dolphins back into the game.
With the two spinners, Subrayen and Maharaj (1/76), bowling 62.3 overs on day one, Ruan de Swardt (58 not out) and Rubin Hermann (65) steadied the ship as the visitors ended the opening day with a decent 276/7.
In Paarl, the contest between Boland and the Lions saw only 64 overs bowled on the opening day due to rain, with the hosts finishing on 180/7.
Pieter Malan (43) and Clyde Fortuin (45 not out) played important hands as spinners Bjorn Fortuin (4/72), Junaid Dawood (2/41) and Nqaba Peter (1/17) dominated day one.
