Cobras show they do have venom

The Cape Cobras on Thursday proved that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Now they need to make sure that light is not an oncoming train.

By dismissing the Dolphins for 210 after tea on the first day of their SuperSport Series match at Newlands, they suggested they were enjoying their best day of the season so far.

When bad light forced the close with the home side on 34/1, that suggestion had hardened into something like fact.

Charl Langeveldt and Monde Zondeki shared six wickets, while Rory Kleinveldt and Justin Kemp split the four remaining scalps.

Spinner Con de Lange was given just one over, but he could hardly complain in the afterglow of a sparkling performance by the fast bowlers.

For the first time this summer, the Cobras' seam attack kept the pressure on their opposition at both ends and for significant periods.

Their reward was a Dolphins innings that fizzled and flopped. Indeed, without Doug Watson to lean on at No 5 the visitors would have been dismissed some way short of 200.

Watson, the stalwart opener, was shifted down the order to inject some experience into the Dolphins' belly. That has been proved a canny decision.

Besides opener Imraan Khan's 89-ball 23 and Daryn Smit's defiant 65, scored off 89 balls with nine fours, and odd scraps of runs in the middle order, Watson's 47, an innings of more than three hours, was all that enabled the visitors to keep their heads above water.

They won the toss and batted, and promptly lost four wickets in the first session on a pitch that held hints of green, but was far from difficult.

The biggest cheer of the session went up when a delivery from Langeveldt took the edge of Hashim Amla's bat and lodged in the hands of Ashwell Prince at third slip. To remove one of the dangermen of the summer for just seven was worth shouting about.

Johnathan Vandiar and Watson slowed the game down after lunch during their partnership of 50, which was ended when Langeveldt had Vandiar caught behind for 21.

Kleinveldt and Langeveldt claimed two more wickets before tea, which arrived with the Dolphins wobbling on 147/7.

Watson and Smit proved tenacious, but then the former edged Zondeki to wicketkeeper Ryan Canning. Yusuf Abdullah was trapped plumb in front by Zondeki's next ball.

Quinton Friend dealt with the hat trick ball and scored 13 not out in a stubborn stand of 49 for the last wicket.

De Lange was an early casualty in the Cobras' reply, but there was no shifting Andrew Puttick (18 not out) and Henry Davids (5 not out).

- Fifteen wickets fell in Centurion, where the Warriors wobbled to the close on 94/5 in reply to the Titans' 136.

Sinethemba Mjekula took 4/29 and Lonwabo Tsotsobe 4/48, while Martin van Jaarsveld held the hosts' innings together with 84, which featured 13 fours and a six.

Imran Tahir kept the Warriors in the game with his haul of 3/34.

- Bad light ended play 14 overs early in Johannesburg with the Highveld Lions on 2/0 after having dismissed the Diamond Eagles for 177.

Heinrich le Roux took a career-best 6/29 to send the Eagles packing. Boeta Dippenaar's 66 spared the visitors further embarrassment.