Knights elect to bat first in Bloem

The Knights won the toss and elected to bat first in their CSA One-Day Cup encounter against Goldrush Boland at the Mangaung Oval on Wednesday afternoon.

Boland lead the head-to-head record 2 - 0. The two sides met in March and December 2022 and Boland defeated the Knights by four wickets and 85 runs.

Log leaders Boland have had a great start to the season. They won their first two matches at Boland Park, where they successfully defended totals against the Momentum Multiply Titans and the Hollywoodbets Dolphins. Their bowling attack dismissed both teams for 110 and 174 runs respectively.

No batting line-up has reached the 200-run mark against them. The Dafabet Warriors came close with a 198-run total at St George's Park over the weekend. The Justin Ontong-coached side have relied on their top order for most of their runs. Against the Warriors, their top three failed to get going, the middle order faltered, and they were bailed out by their lower order.

They carry the confidence of their first away match to Bloemfontein. They will arrive at the Mangaung Oval braced for a tough encounter. Their hosts come into the tie on the back of a comprehensive victory over the defending One-Day Challenge champions, WSB Western Province.

The Dane Piedt-captained outfit batted first and scored 311. The total was built on the back of a brilliant unbeaten 113 from Dian Forrester. He was supported by Patrick Botha, Malusi Siboto, and Tiaan van Vuuren. The trio contributed a combined 124 runs to the total.

Knights: Jacques Snyman, Lesego Senokwane, Dominic Hendricks (wk), Patrick Botha, Seth Fledermaus, Dian Forrester, Tiaan van Vuuren, Aaron Phangiso, Dane Piedt (capt), Malusi Siboto, Johannes van Dyk.

Boland: Grant Roelofsen, Blayde Cappell, Gavin Kaplan, Aviwe Mgijima, Clyde Reeves-Fortuin (capt)(wk), Shaun von Berg, Aya Gqamane, Keith Dudgeon, Imraan Manack, Akhona Mnyaka.