Half-centuries from Divan van Wyk and Sarel Erwee helped the Dolphins set up a final-day victory push in their Sunfoil Series clash against the Warriors at Buffalo Park on Saturday.
Van Wyk hit 58 and Erwee scored 64 not out as the Dolphins went to stumps on a shortened day on 257 for eight, giving them an overall lead of 356.
The visitors will now have the opportunity to push for the 10 wickets required for victory on day four, although Simon Harmer will be hoping that they bat on in the morning.
Harmer claimed figures of 5 for 100 to go with the 4 for 85 he took in the second innings, so should the Dolphins keep batting on Sunday morning, the off-spinner will fancy his chances of picking up what would be the second 10-wicket match haul of his career.
The Dolphins resumed on 34 for one in their second innings, and added 57 before Van Wyk was dismissed by Harmer after a 78-ball innings.
After Andrew Birch had first-innings centurion Cody Chetty caught by Ashwell Prince, Harmer got involved again as he denied Khaya Zondo (49) a half-century, and then trapped Morne van Wyk lbw for a brisk 41.
Harmer also picked up the wickets of Robbie Frylinck and Craig Alexander, but Erwee stood firm on his Sunfoil Series debut to make the Dolphins lead a comfortable one.
Just 62 overs were possible on the day because of bad light, which stopped play shortly after the tea break, and the Dolphins will be hoping for fewer interruptions on the final day.
KLEINVELDT AND PUTTICK SET UP DOMINANT COBRAS
The Cape Cobras will go into day four of their Sunfoil Series encounter against The Titans needing eight more wickets for victory after a dominant third day at Boland Park.
The Cobras’ ability to speed the game up significantly on the third day owed plenty to Rory Kleinveldt, who took 7 for 34 as the Titans lost their last six first-innings wickets for just 12 runs.
With the tourists bowled out for 198, the Cobras piled on 212 for two declared in 57 overs thanks to Andrew Puttick’s century, and then had the Titans 62 for two at stumps.
An eventful day began with the Titans on 183 for four in their first innings, and saw Graeme van Burren run out for 85 in the second over of the day.
However, it was Kleinveldt’s spell with the second new ball that made the impact, as he picked up the wickets of Mangaliso Mosehle and Shaun von Berg in the 81st over, and Juan de Villiers and Vincent Moore in the 83rd.
When Roelof van der Merwe was trapped lbw four overs later, Kleinveldt had taken 5 for 4 in a four-over spell that gave the Cobras a 231-run lead on first innings.
Although De Villiers had Omphile Ramela caught behind early in the second innings, Puttick put on 176 for the second wicket with Stiaan van Zyl (86) to give the home side a massive lead.
Once Puttick brought up his third ton of the Sunfoil Series campaign, Cobras captain Justin Ontong called his batsmen in to set the Titans a target of 444.
Dane Piedt then picked up the wickets of Francois le Clus and Henry Davids in the remaining 22 overs in the day, to give the Cobras a good chance of picking up a fourth win out of seven games.
James Buttler
As the editor of World Cricket Badger he is intent on building the website to give quality coverage of the domestic game around the world.
He is also the presenter of the Cricket Badger Radio Show on Radio Yorkshire every Tuesday evening between 7-9pm UK time.
James was the full-time Media Manager at Yorkshire County Cricket Club between 2007 and 2010.
James is a published author, a writer/video contributor to many cricket publications and a complete cricket badger!
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