DP World Lions finish tie-first in the CSA Four-Day Series

A CSA Four-Day Series campaign that saw the DP World Lions ascend to great heights in terms of performance sadly did not end with the team claiming the trophy outright as the weather condemned the final to a draw, forcing #ThePrideOfJozi to share the trophy with the Momentum Multiply Titans.

It was a final that the Lions dominated, as they produced outstanding cricket in the first innings to force the Titans to follow on. Unfortunately, those first innings were only completed midway through the fourth day due to no play being possible on the first day-and-a-half due to a wet outfield. Much time was also lost due to bad light, with play not being able to go past 5pm on the first three days on which there was action.

Despite a valiant effort by the Lions bowlers, the Titans were able to bat through to 5.13pm on the fifth and final day to secure the draw. They were only 81 runs ahead after being bowled out for 371 but there was not enough time left in the shortened match for #ThePrideOfJozi to chase that down.

There has been so much rain lately in Johannesburg that it was little surprise that the outfield of the DP Wanderers Stadium, with the water table so high, was saturated and it took longer than usual to dry up due to the overcast weather.

When play did eventually get underway at 1pm on the second day, the Lions won the toss and elected to bat first. They executed their game-plan of trying to bat once and batting big to perfection.

A great century by Zubayr Hamza and valuable contributions by the other batsmen saw the Lions' total rise all the way to 413/7 before they declared.

Partnerships are always important in any walk of life, and vital as they appertain to cricket. And openers Josh Richards and skipper Dominic Hendricks (15) saw off the new ball, before Richards (38) and Hamza added 52 for the second wicket.

Hamza and a fiery Mitchell van Buuren then doubled the score as they took the Lions to 160/2 when bad light stopped play.

Van Buuren and Hamza extended their partnership to 109 on the third morning, before Van Buuren departed for 73, an attacking innings which saw his team into a position of dominance.

Connor Esterhuizen scored 31 as another 66 runs were added for the fourth wicket and Hamza eventually departed for 103, having added 40 for the fifth wicket with Wandile Makwetu (26) to take the Lions to 295/5. Hamza has been in free-flowing form this whole season but in the final, he reined himself in a bit, ensuring he batted deep - for five-and-three-quarter hours - to really fortify his team's position. When the elegant Test cricketer did play his strokes though - he collected 15 boundaries - they were typically pleasing to the eye as he celebrated his 100th first-class match with his 18th century.

All-rounders Delano Potgieter (48*) and Bjorn Fortuin (62) then provided the strong finish as they added 108 in less than two hours.

That allowed the Lions to declare at 4pm and the bowlers then responded with outstanding intensity and accuracy to reduce the Titans to 17/3 when bad light brought stumps just before 5pm.

That quality of execution continued in the morning as the bowlers hardly ever strayed and made an easy-paced pitch look treacherous. Lutho Sipamla provided a magnificent finish to the third day as he dismissed Neil Brand and Dewald Brevis with successive deliveries, Makwetu snatching a superb catch in the slips for the second wicket.

Spinner Fortuin, brought on to bowl because of bad light, bowled Josh van Heerden with his first ball and then also claimed the opening wicket on the fourth day, removing stubborn nightwatchman Junior Dala.

The left-arm spinner also removed the in-form Rivaldo Moonsamy and with Tshepo Moreki bowling Keegan Petersen for 50 with an in-ducking guided missile, the Titans had crashed to 98/6. Codi Yusuf had bowled brilliantly with the new ball, his first five overs costing just six runs and then received his reward for his disciplined fire, taking the last four wickets to finish with 4/46, bowling the Titans out for 123.

Fortuin finished with 3/27 in 12 overs, while Sipamla had 2/31 in 12.

With a day-and-a-half left and #ThePrideOfJozi leading by 290 runs, there was no question the follow-on would be enforced.

Sipamla again quizzed the batsmen hard with his seaming skills, removing Brand and Brevis again, while Fortuin also claimed Van Heerden for the second time in the match as the Titans reached 118/3 when bad light stopped play shortly after 4.30pm.

By the fifth morning, with the sun shining gloriously, the pitch was at its best for batting, it effectively being the third afternoon of actual action on the surface. The Lions had to work hard to solve this particular crossword puzzle. Their one breakthrough in the morning session came via a clever plan with medium-pacer Potgieter firing a delivery down leg and wicketkeeper Esterhuizen pulling off an outstanding stumping as Petersen (75) over-balanced.

But former Central Gauteng Lions Schools player Lhuan-dre Pretorius scored an exceptional century as the Titans were able to cross into positive territory, erasing the deficit shortly before tea.

Fortuin kept on toiling away though, bowling 48 overs and it was he who eventually removed Pretorius, trapping him lbw on the sweep and Moonsamy (79).

Moreki and even part-time leg-spinner Van Buuren chipped in with wickets but with the Titans bowled out with five overs remaining, the word from the umpires was that the light was too bad for pace bowlers to bowl and the Titans unsurprisingly declined to use spin.

While the Lions will probably be annoyed they could not quite get the outright win in a final they dominated, they can still be immensely proud of how they never allowed negativity to creep into their camp despite the difficult circumstances and a gruelling final day on which they never gave up until the bitter end. Topping the log and hosting the final was also testament to the elevated standards and skills they brought to the red-ball competition.