Malusi Siboto picked up a five-for in the Warriors second innings to help the Lions to a nine-wicket victory in Port Elizabeth.
Siboto – the newest addition to the Lions’ bowling attack – was at his destructive best during the second innings against the Warriors at St. George’s Park and finished with figures of 5-54 from his 13 overs to help his team to victory on the final day of their 4-Day Franchise Series match.
The Warriors resumed their innings this morning on 42-3 after a disappointing day three on Wednesday – having allowed the Lions to post 470-6 before declaring, with Stephen Cook leading the run scorers with his monumental 188 off 310 balls, before promptly losing three quick wickets before the close of play.
Yaseen Vallie and Lesiba Ngoepe walked out this morning on 22 and four not out respectively with the Warriors still facing an 83-run deficit. Ngoepe (12 off 24 balls) didn’t last long as Siboto began his onslaught on the Warriors batting order, trapping the batsman LBW.
Sinethemba Qeshile continued where he left off from the first innings, adding a further 69 runs off 109 balls (including 12 fours) in addition to the half-century he scored in the first innings. His 75-run partnership with Vallie was the highlight of the Warriors innings as the pair accumulated runs quickly before Vallie lost his wicket on 52 off 62 balls (eight fours).
The breaking of the partnership sparked a middle-order collapse as Qeshile watched from the other end as Lions’ new-recruit Siboto (13-1-54-5) and the talented young Migael Pretorius (10.3-1-30-3) ripped through the Warriors batsmen, bowling them out for 182 runs, with just a slender 57-run lead.
Cook was unable to replicate his heroics from the first innings as he was the only wicket to fall in the Lions chase. Omphile Ramela (23 off 25 balls, five fours) and Dominic Hendricks (23 off 29 balls, four fours) guided the visitors to a nine-wicket victory on the final day with plenty of time to spare.
Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
