Parsons, dropped on two, punishes Titans as Dolphins claim crucial win

Though this year’s SA20 player auction is not set to be a very big one, even among the limited spots that will be available Bryce Parsons ensured he’ll be a strong candidate for selection.

The former SA under-19 captain struck a bruising 102 off 48 balls for the Hollywood Bets (KZN) Dolphins who beat the Momentum Multiply (Northerns) Titans by 30 runs on the DLS method in Centurion on Wednesday night. 

Parsons has yet to earn himself a contract in local cricket’s most popular competition and for many others like him the CSA T20 Challenge is the opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight for that tournament. 

This year’s auction is expected to be a small one with the six franchises likely to stick with the players they have, who are in the final year of their three-year contracts. The bigger auction will occur next year, and Parsons’ innings at SuperSport Park is likely to be locked away in the memory banks of the coaches in the SA20. 

It was a muscular display that was a continuation of the good form he has shown in the T20 Challenge this season, which has seen him make a match-winning half century against the Lions last week, which he followed a few days later with a 36-ball 47 against Boland. 

On Wednesday, Parsons received a helping hand from the Titans’ all-rounder Dayyan Galiem, who dropped him when he was on two in the third over off Lizaad Wiliams’ bowling. It was a poor miss with Galiem, who approached the ball from a bad angle, taking too long to do so, but then still having reached it, failed to grasp it. 

A brief rain delay followed which saw the match reduced to 14 overs-a-side, and perhaps that along with the life granted by Galiem, liberated Parsons. The Titans bowling was not of a good standard, as they bowled both sides of the wicket, and while variety is welcome in the shortest format, in terms of consistency, lines and lengths cannot be missed in the manner the Titans bowlers did. 

Parsons too easily found the boundary and having found his confidence, he then wasn’t afraid to use his crease to further apply pressure to the bowlers. 

In combination with the experienced JJ Smuts, Parsons shared a partnership of 156 runs for the second wicket, with Smuts, who’d shown patience early and eventually finished unbeaten on 61 off 33 balls in which he smashed eight fours and two sixes. The pair smashed 78 runs in the last four overs.

Parsons raised his bat after scoring the second century in this season’s T20 Challenge, following Rubin Hermann’s 102 against KZN Inland last week. Parsons hit eight fours and seven sixes.

Though Joshua van Heerden unleashed some excellent shotmaking in his innings of 56 off 35 balls, he received little support from the rest of the Titans top order, who succumbed to the scoreboard pressure. 

The Dolphins also dropped Van Heerden early in his innings, but Andile Simelane produced two outstanding pieces of fielding which showed the difference between the teams. His first came when he took a fine catch diving forward on the cover boundary to dismiss the in-form Rivaldo Moonsamy for two. Then he ran out Van Heerden with an electrifying throw from the boundary as well. 

There was some lusty hitting at the end from David Wiese, but it wasn’t enough as the Titans suffered their third loss in the competition. The Dolphins moved above Western Province into third place on the log.