Titans, Dragons off the mark as 1st class series gets 2026-27 season underway

The Domestic Cricket South Africa 2026/27 season is well underway with the red ball competitions getting off to a blistering start in different parts of the country.

Division 1 matches saw four match-ups with defending champions DP World Lions taking on Defabet Boland at DP World Wanderers stadium in Johannesburg, Momentum Multiply Titans hosting Hollywoodbets Dolphins at SuperSport Park in Centurion, YesPlay Newlands Cape Town saw YesPlay WP Cobras clash with Defabet Warriors, while newly promoted Flexbrands Knights entertained North West Dragons at Grey College in Bloemfontein.

The Titans drew first blood at home with a commanding innings and 60-run victory over the Dolphins, signalling their intentions for the season ahead early on.

The visitors won the toss on Day 1 on Thursday and elected to bat, posting 157 first innings total as the returning Grant Roelofsen top scored with 65 runs. They were bowled out inside 46 overs with Marco Jansen, Dayyaan Galiem, and new signing Bayers Swanepoel all shone with the ball to record 3 wickets each.

In response the home team looked wobbly early on but eventually found their feet, before Donovan Ferreira’s massive 163 knock propelled them to a daunting 421 total. Chasing 254 in the second innings then proved a tall order for the Dolphins with a regular fall of wickets condemning them to their first loss of the season despite Khaya Zondo’s half century.

South of the Jukskei the Lions elected to bat first and made good use of the conditions at home as test Captain, Temba Bavuma’s 91, Mitchell van Buuren’s 52, and Ryan Rickelton’s 49 helped them post 314 to start things off.

Boland were not to be outdone with Lehan Botha notching up 170 to get his team to 348 and a lead of 34 going into the second innings. But it was JJ Basson’s 7 wickets for just 62 runs on his first-class debut that stole the show with the ball for the SA Under-19 star. Day 3 belonged to Rickelton with the bat as he posted his 19th first class century to end on 113* at the close of play.

He was eventually dismissed on 127 in the morning session on the final day as his team eventually declared on 312/8. While Ruan Terblanche got a half century and Basson added 4 wickets to his match haul, they eventually ran out of time as the match was drawn.

The Cobras won the toss in their clash and sent the Warriors in to bat. While Oliver Whitehead recorded his maiden first class 5-for for the hosts, half centuries from Sibonelo Makhanya, Patrick Kruger, and captain Senuran Muthusamy took the away side to 347 in their first innings. An underwhelming display with the willow then saw the Cobras fall short with only 143 on the board for the loss of 10 wickets.

Muthusamy opted to bat again, declaring on 96/4 to set the four-time champions a target of 300 for the win. In their chase they put up 110/1 on Day 4 before rain interrupted proceedings. Eventually they ended on 145 as another round 1 match ended in a stalemate.

The last of the Division 1 matches in the City of Roses saw the Dragons bat first with Diego Rosier and Meeka-eel Prince scoring 71 and 64 respectively to get them to 251 all out.

Gihahn Cloete got to triple figures with his 118 but the hosts still ended the first innings with a 23-run deficit, as both Daryn Dupavillon and Onke Nyaku recorded 4-fors.

Rosier responded with a century of his own for another big score, asking the Knights for 367 to win on the last day. They only managed to chip away 232 of that target as the visitors emerged victorious by 135 runs.

Round 1 of matches then wraps up with the North West Dragons and Momentum Multiply Titans and leading the way in Pool A and Pool B respectively.

The second round gets underway on Thursday September 17 with the Knights hosting the Lions, Boland taking on the Dragons, the Titans away to the Warriors, and the Cobras facing the Dolphins.