Titans cannot afford to lose again
The Titans' top order batsmen were bashed on Sunday in Kimberley with a brilliant bowling display by one of Pretoria's lost cricket sons.
The Titans fell back to third place on the log in the local Momentum One-Day Cup series after their hiding against the Knights on Sunday in Kimberley.
A devastating new-ball display by one of the Titans’ lost sons, Marchant de Lange, overshadowed twin century efforts as the Knights breathed new life into their Momentum One-Day Cup campaign with a brilliant, 111-run, bonus-point win over the Titans at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Sunday.
The fast bowler took three decisive wickets to eventually finish with 3/16 in seven overs as the hosts won by the biggest ever margin over their opponents.
There were also centuries in the game for David Miller and Albie Morkel – with the former amongst several Proteas players returning to domestic duty over the weekend.
De Lange’s effort had come after Miller marked his debut for the Knights in the competition by striking 104 from 100 balls as the home side made 302/8. The left-hander was well supported by captain, Pite van Biljon (90 off 76 balls) after they were put in to bat first when Morkel won the toss.
David Wiese was the pick of the Titans’ bowlers with 3/53.
De Lange then cut the visiting top-order to shreds as he claims the wickets of Aiden Markran (0), Jonathan Vandiar (4) and Heino Kuhn (1) to leave his former team on 8/3, before two run-outs saw them slip to 22/5. The former Proteas fast bowler was also involved in the run out of Farhaan Behardien (2). This performance of De Lange led to the situation that none of the Titans’ top order batsmen managed to get double figures on the scoreboard.
Morkel came in as number six batsman and then stepped up to record a dazzling century of his own as he made 117 from 84 balls. However, with De Lange’s spell leaving the Titans in tatters it needed something more than just a ton from the skipper to rescue them.
That did not come, however, as the Pretoria-based team were relentlessly dismissed for 191 in 37.2 overs.
This defeat means that the Titans now moved down to the third place on the log, after they started the weekend as leaders of the series.
With four games remaining for them and only seven points separating the log leaders (Dolphins, 19) and the last placed team (Cobras, 12), Morkel and his men cannot afford to lose another game. This coming Friday they will take on the Highveld Lions at the Wanderers in Johannesburg, while they will travel to Durban on Sunday to take on the Dolphins, who are the log leaders.
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