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Glamorgan continued their impressive recent form to complete back-to-back innings victories in the County Championship with a final-day win over Gloucestershire at the Swalec Stadium

20-May-2010
Scorecard
Glamorgan continued their impressive recent form to complete back-to-back innings victories in the County Championship with a final-day win over Gloucestershire at the Swalec Stadium.The Welsh county wrapped the clash up with 25 overs to spare when they bowled out Gloucestershire for only 162 to seal the win by an innings and four runs, coincidentally the same margin of victory they achieved over Northamptonshire last week.And the wins created some history as it was the first time Glamorgan have won two consecutive first-class games by an innings since they lifted the first of their three County Championship titles in 1948.It was Glamorgan’s fourth win in six outings, taking them to 97 points in the Division Two table. They took 23 points from the contest to six by Gloucestershire, who slipped to their third defeat of the summer.Gloucestershire resumed the final morning on 12 for 1 in their first innings, still 154 runs behind after Glamorgan had amassed an impressive 583 for 9 declared. Huw Waters set Glamorgan on their way when he struck in the fourth over of the day to have Jon Batty caught low down at first slip by Jim Allenby.Visiting captain Alex Gidman and Hamish Marshall set about a fightback in a 40-run partnership for the third wicket. But Allenby, who tops both Glamorgan’s batting and bowling averages, struck to have Marshall adjudged leg before to a ball that nip backed into the New Zealander.That left Gloucestershire in some trouble at 65 for 3, still 101 runs adrift, but they found themselves in more trouble when Gidman went lbw attempting to sweep Dean Cosker. James Franklin and Chris Taylor made it to lunch at 92 for 4, but shortly after the interval Cosker struck to remove Taylor, who was caught at short leg by Gareth Rees.After that the wickets fell at regular intervals and Gloucestershire were not helped when Stephen Snell was run out with a direct hit by Ben Wright, Glamorgan’s second innings hero, attempting a suicidal single.From 113 for 6 Gloucestershire soon slipped to 120 for 7 as Robert Croft trapped James Franklin leg before. It was a wicket that took Croft to 992 first-class wickets for Glamorgan and into fourth place in the club’s all-time list of wicket-takers, overtaking Malcolm Nash.There was some rearguard resistance from the Gloucestershire tail as Jon Lewis hit a flurry of fours and Gemaal Hussain struck Jamie Dalrymple for six. Dalrymple had his revenge with the next ball as Hussain went to a bat-pad catch by Wright. And just as Lewis and Anthony Ireland looked as if they may avoid a defeat by an innings, Ireland was run out by David Harrison.

Yorkshire won a pulsating Roses match by 17 runs with five balls to spare in
front of a 10,200 crowd at Headingley to lift them off the bottom of the Friends
Provident t20 North Division table

17-Jun-2010

ScorecardYorkshire won a pulsating Roses match by 17 runs with five balls to spare in
front of a 10,200 crowd at Headingley to lift them off the bottom of the Friends
Provident t20 North Division table.In an exciting match of fluctuating fortunes, the pendulum finally swung
Yorkshire’s way in the 18th over when paceman Steve Patterson picked up three
wickets in five balls as Lancashire made a desperate bid to get the 41 they
still required for victory with four wickets in hand.The first ball brought a single off a no-ball and was followed by four leg-byes
before Gareth Cross was caught on the boundary edge by a jubilant Tino Best. Mark Chilton was held on the mid-wicket boundary by Jacques Rudolph but captain Glen Chapple bravely hooked the next ball for six.But it was his last scoring shot because he then holed out to Richard Pyrah at
long-off to give Patterson career-best figures of 4 for 30. Lancashire entered the penultimate over on 128 for 9 and Sajid Mahmood defiantly lashed Best for six over mid-wicket but in the final over he struck
Pyrah straight to Herschelle Gibbs at long-off.Chasing a modest 156 target, Lancashire lost Tom Smith in the second over when
Patterson’s first ball rattled his off-stump but it was the quick-thinking
running out of Paul Horton by Gibbs 40 runs later that checked Lancashire’s
advance.As the batsman hesitated over a single, Gibbs ran in and knocked off the bails
with the ball in his hand before Horton could regain his ground. In a fine spell, Adil Rashid picked up the important wickets of Stephen Moore and Simon Katich and Lancashire were also pinned back by the accuracy of off-spinner Azeem Rafiq.Best was worryingly expensive for Yorkshire but he was the hero of the crowd
when fielding on the boundary edge where he took two catches and pulled off
several notable stops.After winning the toss, Yorkshire were guided towards a competitive total by
man of the match Anthony McGrath who stepped up the momentum near the end of the
innings to finish with a career-best 73 not out off 50 balls with five fours and
four sixes.It was the 19th over when McGrath launched an all-out assault on Chapple by
slamming him for 18 with two sixes, a four and a two. For much of the time, however, Lancashire were in control and they made a great start by getting rid of Gibbs and Rudolph in the first four overs. Smith’s first delivery stopped on Gibbs who patted back a gentle catch and fellow South African Rudolph was bowled by Mahmood attempting to steer to third
man.In between these dismissals, skipper Andrew Gale greeted Chapple by thumping
his third ball for six over square leg and into the West stand but when he had
made 34 off 30 deliveries with four other boundaries he skied Stephen Parry into
the hands of Moore.That left Yorkshire on 60 for 3 and astute bowling changes by Lancashire
prevented the home side from getting a substantial partnership going, McGrath
being forced into doing most of the scoring himself.Lancashire’s opening pair of bowlers, Nathan McCullum and Smith, were the most
economical, McCullum giving away only 19 runs in his four overs while Smith’s
three overs cost him 13 runs for two wickets.

Taunting from visibly drunk fans at the T Murugaser Stand got out of hand at the P Sara Oval, and the victim was Yuvraj Singh, India’s 12th man

Sidharth Monga at the P Sara Oval03-Aug-2010Taunting from visibly drunk fans at the T Murugaser Stand, which is situated just outside the Oval Taverners bar and right next to the players’ passage, got out of hand at the P Sara Oval, and the victim was Yuvraj Singh, India’s 12th man. Yuvraj was seen pointing out the disruptive members to authorities, and police had to intervene.At the end of the day’s play, when Yuvraj was coming back from his cooling-down exercise, the fans chanted: “We want water boy. Boy boy, water boy.” They also praised Suresh Raina for having taken Yuvraj’s place in the side. It all started when Yuvraj was carrying drinks for the team, and the fans, in what is the members’ stand at the ground, started heckling him with “water boy, water boy why ain’t you playing” chants. According to an eyewitness, a provocative gesture was shown to the player.”The crowd was trying to misbehave with the player,” Ranjib Biswal, India’s manager, said. “The police was asked to intervene and the situation was brought under control. Yuvi was not at fault, he didn’t try to provoke the crowd at all. I was sitting next to Yuvi when it happened and I can tell you they were trying to provoke the player.”Naturally, it’s a basic human tendency to react to situations when you are being repeatedly provoked but Yuvi was quite restrained,” Biswal said. “The police have taken the spectators out and we will definitely lodge a complaint.”Tony Perera, CEO of the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletics Club, which owns the P Sara Oval, said: “Tomorrow we are making a few adjustments but the fans will definitely come and see the teams play. We will take corrective and preventive measures tomorrow.”Taverners was built to add lustre to the club and not for fans to intoxicate and behave in a way that is detrimental to cricket. It’s very much a part of the place. Just a few people doesn’t mean the whole club should be held responsible. I am still looking into the details of who those people were. But necessary action will be taken tomorrow.”

Chris Moller is New Zealand Cricket’s new chairman following Alan Isaac’s promotion to the ICC vice-presidency

Cricinfo staff27-Aug-2010Chris Moller, who has been on the board since 2008, is New Zealand Cricket’s new chairman following Alan Isaac’s promotion to the ICC vice-presidency. Moller, a 56-year-old from Wellington, is a former chief executive of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and deputy chief executive of the dairy company Fonterra Co-operative.As well as his new chairman’s role, he will also be New Zealand’s delegate to the ICC. “I am determined to work closely with our players, administrators, volunteers and commercial partners to drive the game forward in New Zealand,” he said.Isaac was the joint Australia-New Zealand replacement candidate for the ICC role after the rejection of John Howard in June. He has vacated the local position after 20 years on his country’s board and will become the ICC’s president in 2012.Moller paid tribute to Isaac for his contribution to New Zealand Cricket. “Alan is held in high esteem throughout the cricketing world and his reputation as a hard-working, no-nonsense individual will be invaluable in his position as ICC vice-president.”

The former South African fast-bowling great will take charge of reigning
domestic champions the Mountaineers for at least the forthcoming season
which begins on September 6

Neil Manthorp12-Aug-2010Allan Donald has joined the rapidly growing list of former
internationals heading to Zimbabwe to help with the country’s attempts to
rebuild its international reputation and push for a return to Test cricket.The former South African fast-bowling great will take charge of reigning
domestic champions the Mountaineers for at least the forthcoming season
which begins on September 6.Donald has filled various roles as a bowling or assistant coach for Free
State, Warwickshire and England since his retirement from the game in 2003
but has been frustrated in recent months by his inability to secure a
full-time position. He held high hopes of landing the England bowling coach
position which was filled by Australian David Saker in April this year.”I have always wanted to move away from being a bowling specialist and
become more of a head coach, and this is exactly the sort of opportunity I’ve
been looking for,” Donald told Cricinfo.”Quite a few jobs I’ve applied for have asked for ‘at least two or three
years experience’ as a head coach. It’s the old chicken and egg story, how
do you get the job without the experience, and how do you get the experience
without a job! But now that’s behind me and I can’t wait to get started,”
Donald said.Steve Mangongo, who coached the Mountaineers to both the four-day Logan
Cup and Faithwear Metbank 50-over titles last year has relinquished the post
to concentrate on dual roles as national assistant to Zimbabwe coach Alan Butcher and a supervisory position at the national academy.Donald joins former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie (Midwest
Rhinos) and former England batsman Monte Lynch (Southern Rocks) as coach
in Zimbabwe’s domestic competitions while former Zimbabwean internationals
Alistair Campbell, Heath Streak, Grant Flower and Dave Houghton are all
involved at national level.”We are still putting the finishing touches to the contract but I
certainly want to do it for more than one year,” Donald said. “I don’t think
you can prove too much in one season. And it’s exciting to be part of
Zimbabwe cricket’s revival.”

Andrew Strauss admitted it had been a tough decision for England to agree to play the fourth one-day international following Sunday’s match-fixing allegations from Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the PCB

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's20-Sep-2010In the aftermath of their 38-run defeat at Lord’s, Andrew Strauss admitted it had been a tough decision for England to agree to play the fourth one-day international following Sunday’s match-fixing allegations from Ijaz Butt, the chairman of the PCB. Strauss, who top-scored for England with 68, was involved in meetings until the early hours of Monday morning before it was decided that the series would be concluded.”We were very absolutely outraged by the allegations yesterday,”
Strauss said. “We refute them completely and we were very disturbed
that someone would come out with those allegations without any proof
to back them up. When the allegations first surfaced there was a lot
of raw emotion around and we needed to let that subside. But we didn’t have a lot of time to do that. Once the emotion did subside, we as a group of players realised that the best option available to us was to play the game.”We went into this game fully determined to play as well as we could,” he added. “I think both sides understood their responsibilities to put on a good, clean game of cricket today.”That England lost the match to take the series to a decider at the
Rose Bowl didn’t help Strauss’s mood, but the issues stemming from the last 24 hours go far beyond the result of a cricket match. Before play Jonathan Trott and Wahab Riaz faced off in the Nursery Ground nets, a sign of the growing tension between the sides, but Strauss praised his side for the way the professional way they went about the match.”It was an isolated incident,” Strauss said. “It wasn’t an ideal start to the day from either side’s point of view. But the incident has been dealt with – and on the back of it, the players from both sides reacted very well. There was some chat, but I wasn’t there, so it’s hard for me to give you a ball-by-ball blow.”I’ve got to give a lot of credit to my players for the professional
manner they went about their business, and ultimately I’m very proud
of them from that point of view,” he added. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to the players from both sides for doing that. It’s just a fact of life, with a lot of emotion flying around things can get out of hand – and I’m very proud of the fact that didn’t happen.”Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, also played down the incident. “I
don’t know exactly what was said but there was a little confrontation between the two players. It was sorted before the game started. We started in a pleasant way and ended in a pleasant way.”However, there was no hiding from how seriously England are taking the allegations that have been thrown their way by Butt. It was the fact they came from somebody so high up in world cricket that proved most shocking for Strauss and his players and he confirmed legal action was being explored.”It was the chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board coming out with
these allegations and we as a group of players felt strongly that we
should, given that they were directed to us, that we should respond.
We are going to explore every avenue available to us to make sure our names aren’t sullied in this manner.”

India’s bowling in the last ten overs of ODIs remains a worry, India captain MS Dhoni has said

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2010India’s bowling in the last ten overs of ODIs remains a worry, India captain MS Dhoni has said. The hosts conceded 114 runs in the last ten overs in the second ODI in Visakhapatnam, including 84 in the last five as Cameron White and Michael Clarke propelled Australia to 289. The pace trio of Ashish Nehra, Praveen Kumar and the inexperienced Vinay Kumar was singled out for treatment.”The last ten overs have always been a big concern for us. It’s not a worry we have had (only) over the last two or three months. We have been bothered by the last ten overs for a long time now – one to one-and-a-half years,” Dhoni said. “We had done well in between but have not been really consistent. It’s still an area where we can definitely improve.””The end result can depend on those last five overs. If you give 20-25 extra runs, it becomes really difficult when you are chasing a total like 290-odd runs as you have to score at six an over right from the start. A few bowlers bowl a few good overs and the rate keeps mounting.”Dhoni also praised middle-order batsman Suresh Raina, whose quickfire half-century guided India home in Visakhapatnam and gave them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. “The important thing is the great rate at which he’s been scoring runs,” Dhoni said. “More often than not he scores at a brisk pace. He’s been like a floater for us, batting at no. 5 and 6 depending on the situation. He’s also a very good fielder.”India went in with four specialist bowlers in their previous game but the part-timers, Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina, stepped up and bowled economically. The availability of several part-time options in the team to fill the role of the fifth bowler, Dhoni said, was an advantage.”This side has Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina. Virat Kohli can also bowl a bit. If we are playing with four bowlers then Virat’s role becomes very important because you have to see if somebody has an off day and look at the next available bowler.”India had two debutants in the Vishakapatnam game, batsmen Saurabh Tiwary and Shikhar Dhawan, and Dhoni encouraged the youngsters in the team to play their natural game. “You have to play your brand of cricket. That’s what is important, especially for the youngsters. Till you (youngsters) cement your place in the side you should be playing (in similar fashion) because of which you are part of the side.”

A round-up of the second week of matches in the MTN40

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Nov-2010Two wins in three days saw the Lions stay the only unbeaten team in the MTN40. They beat the Dolphins by four wickets in a rain affected encounter in Potchefstroom on Wednesday night, and then beat the Cobras by 80 runs on Friday.The Dolphins innings was built on contrasting 69s – a quick one from Loots Bosman (69 off 36 balls) and a sedate one by captain Imraan Khan (69 off 89 balls). Ravi Bopara’s 37 (off 46 balls) helped the Dolphins to 243 for seven. Once again, the Lions relied on an allround effort from the bowlers, with wickets shared amongst six of the seven who ran in. Richard Cameron (2/25) was the only one to get two scalps, and Friedel de Wet (1/20) was the most economical. Paul Harris bowled his full eight overs and had a decent return (1/33) to bolster his bid for a World Cup call up.Stephen Cook (68 off 73 balls) and Alviro Petersen (37 off 26 balls) put on 61 for the first wicket as the Lions started well. The heavens opened with the Lions on 127 for three after 22 overs, and the target was revised to 189 off 30 overs. Robbie Frylinck’s big hitting (22 off 7 balls) ended the match with nine balls to spare.In Paarl, the Lions stepped up a gear to earn a bonus point from their win over the Cobras. The visitors’ innings was quickly in tatters as they found themselves on 36 for four in the 13th over. Monde Zondeki’s (2/37) double strike did the bulk of the early damage. Neil Mckenzie (56 off 100 balls) dug deep to rescue his men, and late bursts from Thami Tsolekile (38 off 39 balls) and Frylinck (32 off 14 balls) saw the Lions to 187 for seven.The total wasn’t a roaring one, but the Lions defended it with the venom that the Cobras lacked. The men from Cape Town were skittled out for 107 in 34.3 overs. Ethan O’ Reilly (2/12) started the rampage, but it was the Lions’ spinners who had the most success. Aaron Phangiso (3/34) and Harris (2/18) ripped through the Cobras middle and lower order to hand the Lions a big win.In Centurion, the Titans beat the Dolphins by 11 runs in a match that was settled by Duckworth/Lewis method. A lengthy rain delay after play had started shortened the match to 27 overs per team. The Titans batted first and notched up a solid 202 for seven thanks to swift contributions from Blake Snijman (68 off 51 balls), Jacques Rudolph (32 off 26 balls) and Farhaan Berhardien (38 off 23 balls). All the Dolphins bowlers were hit around the park at more than six runs an over.The Dolphins were off to a flier putting on 49 in six overs, for the loss of Loots Bosman (24 off 21 balls). Ahmed Amla’s 48 off 38 balls kept them in the game but Roelof van der Merwe (3/32) and Faf du Plessis (2/33) had other ideas. That gave the Titans their first win of the competition.In Friday’s final match, the Knights smacked the Warriors by 128 runs at Port Elizabeth, to record the highest winning margin in this season’s competition so far. The Knights made 199 for eight in their innings with Ryan Bailey’s 64 off 82 balls the top score. Makhaya Ntini (3/26) may have heard whispers asking why he had retired, as he bowled with all the buoyancy of a young man.The Warriors batting was toothless and they collapsed to 71 all out. The first four wickets fell with just two runs on the board. Ashwell Prince (27 off 64 balls) and an ill Davy Jacobs (12 off seven balls) were the only batsmen to reach double figures. All the Knights bowlers enjoyed impressive figures, with Johan van der Wath (3/15) and Ryan McLaren (3/19) the highest wicket-takers.The Warriors, who are defending the title, are still winless after losing their third match of the competition on Sunday. They went down to the Dolphins by 22 runs in Pietermaritzburg. The Dolphins innings was a blitzkrieg from two bats. Loots Bosman smashed 150 runs off 86 balls and was aided by Khan’s 114 off 111 balls. The two put on 253 for the first wicket in 30 overs and two balls – the highest in South African domestic cricket since the forty over format was launched last season. The Warriors bowlers incurred whiplash as the Dolphins amassed 311 for six.Kyle Abbott (4/36) drove home the Dolphins advantage by plucking the early wickets of Jacobs and Jon-Jon Smuts, but Justin Kreusch took the Warriors to the brink of a surprising win with bruising century. His 118 came off 86 balls, but he lacked enough support. Arno Jacobs (44 off 51 balls) provided him with some assistance, but in the end he lost too many partners. Ravi Bopara took five for 63 as the Warriors were dismissed for 289.In the week’s last match, the Titans beat the Knights by 54 runs in Benoni. The Titans put on 228 for eight. Despite being 24 for two in the fifth over, they rallied around Faf du Plessis (81 off 80 balls) and Rudolph (45 off 46 balls). Dean Elgar had the best return for the Knights with two for 27.Andre Nel (2/26) was back to his usual fearsome self as he inflicted early wounds on the Knights. He removed Morne (0) and Juandre van Wyk (1) in consecutive overs. At 26 for four, it looked like the Knights would fold, but Bailey (60 off 67 balls) and Elgar (63 off 65 balls) kept the Knights in the hunt, but it they couldn’t quite recover from their early setbacks. CJ de Villiers took two for 47 and Mario Olivier (2/20) mopped up the tail as the Titans earned a comfortable win. They lie top of Pool A with 9 points from three matches.Batsman of the week: For showing that his prowess with the bat has not waned, his claims for an international recall have not dimmed, and for providing sheer, bludgeoning entertainment, Loots Bosman and his murderous 150 off 86 balls gets the nod this week.Bowlers of the week: The Knights duo of Johan van der Wath and Ryan McLaren took six wickets between them to leave the Warriors reeling on 31 for six. They were instrumental in bowling the defending champions out for 71, and securing a massive 128 run win for the Knights.

It was all one way traffic at Pallekele Stadium as rain dominated proceedings on day three

The Bulletin by Andrew Fernando03-Dec-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Eager school children had to leave without watching a ball bowled•Associated Press

It was all one-way traffic at Pallekele Stadium as rain dominated proceedings on day three. An intense period of sustained drizzle, highlighted by two spectacular, heavy downpours meant that most of the players didn’t even arrive at the ground and the media twiddled their thumbs for much of the day.The inclement weather struck early, taking out any chance of a prompt start with a light shower that petered out into an extended period of drizzle at around 9 am. Hope of play in the first session was the next to go, falling prey to an expertly crafted ploy by the clouds over Pallekele, that tempted fans with a glimpse of blue sky before storming back with a devastating deluge at around 10:30 am. The rain wasn’t about to relent either, ensuring the covers remained firmly on with steady drizzle, before coming hard again at around 1pm to all but wash out the cricket on day three.Match referee Alan Hurst was forced to call off play just before 3pm but expect bad weather, which has been utterly ascendant during the tour so far, to put in another strong performance on Saturday.

The Titans welcome the Knights to the SuperSport Park like a spider inviting an insect into its web

Firdose Moonda09-Dec-2010The Titans welcome the Knights to the SuperSport Park like a spider inviting an insect into its web. The only difference is that the hosts aren’t being cryptic about their intention – there’s no mystery in their luring, they simply want to destroy.The hosts, on an eight-match unbeaten streak, welcome back two national players and the competition’s most economical bowler to their ranks. The Knights have lost more matches than they won in the group stages, had to do without their captain Boeta Dippenaar, who was ruled out with injury before the campaign even started and have only just found something resembling consistent form in the competition. It’s clear who the favourites will be in the MTN40 final in Centurion on Friday.The Titans have the armoury to do just that. AB de Villiers and Morne Morkel will be in the starting line-up and Ethy Mbhalati returns from a thigh injury. They have an embarrassment of talent and it will be interesting to see who gets left out. Andre Nel and Mario Olivier may have to make way for Morkel and Mbhalati, while Gulam Bodi is the likely candidate to be dropped for de Villiers.”It means a lot to everyone in this squad to play in the final,” Jacques Rudolph, captain of the Titans told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s going to be tough to leave anyone out because everybody is in really good form and that’s been our strength this season. In the eight matches we’ve won, we’ve had eight Man-of-the-Match performances from different players.”That has been the theme of Titans’ season. One of their men is always on hand to deliver. In the semi-final against the Lions, Roelof van der Merwe was that man, with both bat and ball. Faf du Plessis, who has recovered from a cracked rib, tops the run charts with 456 runs from nine matches, including back-to-back centuries. Henry Davids has performed well in the opener’s role, Rudolph lies fourth on the batting rankings and Farhaan Behardien, Heino Kuhn, David Wiese and Albie Morkel are on hand to provide power hitting if needed.The Titans work like a well-oiled machine and are already the most successful franchise in the country. The only thing weighing on their minds must be the high expectation that engulfs them. “There’s always pressure to win a trophy but we are confident in our ability.” Rudolph said.By contrast, the Knights have no such anxiety since they have already ticked the box that represented their goal for the tournament. “The aim was to get to the semi-final and now that we have gone one further we just want to try our best and see what happens from there,” Ryan McLaren said. “There’s no pressure to win a trophy, we’ve gone about our cricket in a relaxed fashion and allowed the guys to really express themselves.”That attitude hasn’t filled the Knights with delusions about the calibre of the side they are facing, one that beat them twice in the group stages. “The Titans are a really well balanced side and with a few of the national guys back they have a very formidable line-up but we’ve found form at the right time.”The Knights, along with their captain, Morne van Wyk, had an average group campaign. They lost four matches and if it wasn’t for the abysmal form of the Cobras may not have reached the knockout stage. Then, they almost stumbled while chasing of a modest 226 against the Dolphins in the first leg semi-final, before Johan van der Wath stepped up to win that match. van Wyk and his team were better in the second leg. The captain scored a century and the bowlers defended 215.Their most promising player has been left-arm bowler Jandre Coetzee. “He is our prodigy and has been part of the system for a while. He comes from Springbok (a small Northern Cape Town), so it’s quite a drive for him to get to us, but he really wants to play. He’s done well in the twenty-over form of the game and now he is proving himself in the forty-over format as well,” McLaren said.The Knights did not display much of their batting prowess in the semis but that doesn’t mean they don’t have any. Rilee Rossouw has been their most consistent performer, with two centuries in the competition so far and McLaren believes he is the man who can turn the game in their favour.It’s a classic case of the mighty against the underdogs, with the Titans displaying supreme confidence and the Knights dogged spirit ahead of the encounter. The only thing that may prevent it from becoming an epic battle is the weather. The Highveld has been hit by thunderstorms for the past two afternoons and is forecast to experience the same on Friday.