Knights remain winless after promotion

With nine Proteas in the ranks, it should be no surprise that the Momentum Multiply Titans have been the dominant team in the expanded provincial T20 competition.

A batting unit led by Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis, along with the new acquisition Sinethemba Qeshile, has seen the Titans smash four of the 11 highest totals in the YesPlay Pro20, the tournament’s proper sponsored name.

Five of the six leading strike rates are by Titans batters, with Pretorius and Brevis tied on 21 for the most sixes.

Pretorius also set a new T20 World record, scoring 188 against the hapless Flexbrand Knights.

The Titans have secured their spot in the Super Eights phase — the portion of the competition where the top four teams from each pool will face each other to determine the semifinalists.

Also in Pool A, Western Province and Boland are well placed to secure second and third place, but there is a fight on for the last qualifying position.

Sunday’s match at the Tuks Oval in Tshwane between a CSA-Emerging team, which is made up of some national U-19 players and “bench” players that have been released from their provincial unions, will face the FlexBrand (Free State) Knights.

The Knights, who earned promotion to the first division last season, have been neither flexible nor on brand this season and have lost six of their seven matches this year — one in the first class series and all five in the Pro20 Cup.

The Emerging team are yet to win a match, though they earned two points after their clash with the KZN-Inland Tuskers was washed out.

Pool B is much tighter, with the HollywoodBets Dolphins holding a five-point lead over the DP World Lions. Grant Roelofson, Jason Smith and Bryce Parsons have been consistent contributors with the bat, while Prenalen Subrayen is the competition’s top wicket-taker with 10.

The Dolphins’s only defeat was by eight runs to the Lions in the second week.

For the Lions, a defeat to the North West at the Wanderers on October 2, where they failed to defend 206, is the only blemish on their record.

Much like their provincial neighbours, the Lions are stacked with international experience, though their bowling this season hasn’t been as good as they would like.

Bjorn Fortuin has brought the good form from the Proteas to his province, taking three wickets, but his economy rate of 5.25 is his standout category. Codi Yusuf has taken five wickets and Nqaba Peter four, but generally the Lions have lacked the consistency to build pressure.

Their batting is led by the veteran trio of Zubayr Hamza (137 runs), Rassie van der Dussen (121) and Reeza Hendricks (116).

They will face the second-division outfit Northern Heat at the Wanderers on Sunday.

The second division teams have largely struggled. Leaving aside the Knights, who have not played like a team from the top division, the South Western Districts Badgers are the only division 2 team which has beaten a division 1 team: a last ball triumph on October 10 against the North West Dragons. The Badgers are currently third in Pool B.