Lions to face Dolphins in Over-40s T20 final

The Dolphins and Lions will square off in the final of the Veterans Cricket Association of SA Over-40s IPT T20 final at the Gelvandale Cricket Club on Saturday (2pm) after clinching the top spots in their respective pools in Nelson Mandela Bay on Tuesday.

Hosts Eastern Province will play off for the bronze medal against the Eastern Storm in the early game at the Gelvandale club on Saturday (9.30am).

The Dolphins clinched their final berth by wiping the floor with Boland at the Heatherbank Cricket Club.

Boland batted first and posted a paltry 60 for nine in their 20 overs, with Stephan Joubert (3/9) and Ryan Reeves (3/5) the leading Dolphins bowlers.

The Dolphins rattled off the target in only 4.3 overs to record a nine-wicket win, Ashley Lombard top-scoring with 27 not out.

The Lions were involved in a humdinger, playing to a tie in their final pool fixture against Border.

The Eastern Cape side took first strike, making 178/4, with the competition’s leading run-scorer Brett Els clubbing 54 and Andre Cronje 56 not out.

The Lions then sneaked in, squaring the match at 178/8 off the last ball of their innings.

Eastern Province produced a fine performance with the ball, restricting the Titans to 90 in 17.3 overs.

Former Warriors left-arm seamer Brent Kops led the way with three for 12, while Dewald van Rooyen assisted, taking two for 12.

Van Rooyen completed a good match by making an unbeaten 25 in the chase after Nevin Nel had contributed 27 at the top of the order.

The five-wicket win was enough to get them into the running for a third-place finish.

The tournament reverts to 45 overs from Wednesday, with the champion of that format due to be decided on Friday.

Day three’s summarised T20 results were:

Eastern Storm vs Western Province, Despatch Oval

WP 143/6 in 20 overs (Michael van der Merwe 25, Werner Moolman 21, Jaco Castle 31, Heath du Plooy 22, Muhammad Sohail Imran 24no). Eastern Storm 147/4 in 17.2 overs (Enock Makamo 54, Johan Fourie 22no; Jaco Castle 2/22). Eastern Storm won by six wickets

Border vs Lions, Daniel Pienaar HTS

Border 178/4 in 20 overs (Brett Els 54, Andre Cronje 56no, Scott Roebert 21; Eddie Taute 2/37). Lions 178/8 in 20 overs (Sonnyboy Letshele 32, Eddie Tuate 31no; Jason McLeod 3/25). Match tied.

Eastern Province vs Titans, Gelvandale CC

Titans 90 in 17.3 overs (Quintus Eksteen 24, Roger Dowman 28; Dewald van Rooyen 2/12, Brent Kops 3/13, Nathan Jones 4/9). EP 91/5 in 14.5 overs (Nevin Nel 27, Dewald van Rooyen 25no; Piet Botha 3/13). EP won by five wickets

Boland vs Dolphins, Heatherbank CC

Boland 60/9 in 20 overs (Reinhardt Strydom 22; Stephan Joubert 3/9, Ryan Reeves 3/5). Dolphins 62/1 in 4.3 overs (Deepak Arnold 21, Ashley Lombard 27no). Dolphins won by nine wickets.

Wednesday's 45-over fixtures are (all matches start at 9.30am):

Lions vs Border (Heatherbank CC)

Titans vs Western Province (Daniel Pienaar HTS)

Eastern Province vs Boland (Gelvandale CC)

Dolphins vs Eastern Storm (Despatch CC)