DAY 1: No play possible on day one at Mangaung Oval

Rain had the final say on the first day of the CSA 4-Day Series match between the Knights and the DP World Lions at Mangaung Oval on Thursday. Inclement weather made play impossible.

This is the second week in a row that the Lions find themselves in a situation where they lose at least a day's worth of play. Last week they lost two days of play in their encounter against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins at the DP World Wanderers.

Sixth-placed Knights host log leaders Lions. The Dane Piedt-captained side started their season brightly with a 169-run victory over Goldrush Boland in Paarl. However, the Bloemfontein side hasn't been able to register a victory since then. They drew two and lost two of their next four games.

Patrick Botha and Aaron Phangiso scored half-centuries to help them side-step a potential loss to the Dafabet Warriors in their previous encounter. The Knights need their top order to show up and provide hosts with a solid platform to build from.

The Lions, on the other hand, have one foot in the final. They are the only team with points north of 100 and are yet to lose this season. The Russell Domingo-coached unit will guarantee themselves a home final if they beat the Knights. They come into the match on the back of a draw against the Hollywoodbets Dolphins last week.

The encounter was severely truncated by persistent rain. The Lions and the Dolphins only managed to play through 147.2 overs in four days. Joshua Richards scored a brilliant unbeaten 130 and Zubayr Hamza notched up 62 not out in the encounter. Codi Yusuf showed what he could do with the ball with a four-wicket haul, he finished with 4/54.

KNIGHTS: TBA

LIONS: TBA