USA secured the Auty Cup for the first time in 26 years after defeating Canada by 23 runs in the series decider at King City

Peter Della Penna at King City15-Sep-2017USA celebrate after securing the Auty Cup for the first time since 1991 with a series win over Canada•Peter Della Penna

The left-arm spin duo of Nosthush Kenjige and Nisarg Patel took three wickets apiece in USA’s animated defense of 178 to rally their side past Canada by 23 runs. The win secured the Auty Cup for USA – for the first time in 26 years – with a 2-1 series victory at Maple Leaf Cricket Club.Canada were 77 for 3 in the 23rd over of the chase before USA roared back into the match behind Nisarg’s match-turning spell. Nisarg’s first blow was struck with the dismissal of Usman Limbada for 24, who fished at a wider ball and fended an edge behind to captain Ibrahim Khaleel. As Nisarg’s spell continued, the third-day pitch showed progressively more turn as well as variable bounce that was fully exploited.Nisarg continued to attack the stumps with a series of strong lbw shouts denied to the frustration of Khaleel, who received a series of warnings from the on-field umpires for excessive appealing and dissent after the not out decisions. Nisarg struck again in the 25th, bowling Mark Montfort for 19 with a good length ball that kept low. After two massive shouts for lbw on Navneet Dhaliwal were denied in the 27th off Nisarg, the bowler nabbed him leg before in the 29th to make it 94 for 6 on a ball that appeared to hit Dhaliwal very high and may have been going over the stumps.Kenjige plugged away at the opposite end refusing to let the pressure break. Having already nabbed Dhanuka Pathirana in his initial spell, Kenjige had the dangerous Rizwan Cheema caught slogging at long off for 17 before Shahid Ahmadzai mistimed a flick to midwicket to put USA two wickets away from the Auty Cup.Saad Bin Zafar, who produced an unbeaten 41 to get Canada over the line on Wednesday, inched Canada closer to the target. After Nisarg’s spell ended, Silva’s introduction into the attack for the first time broke Zafar’s resistance, poking outside off stump for another edge behind to wrap up a wicket maiden in the 41st. It meant Canada needed 32 from the last wicket pair of Nikhil Dutta and Cecil Pervez to retain the Auty Cup.Dutta went the aggressive route and drove Timil Patel’s legspin for six in the following over. However, he perished trying to repeat the shot in the 44th and was beaten in flight to be stumped for Khaleel’s fourth dismissal of the day to spark raucous celebrations from USA.Timil securing the final wicket was a fitting ending to the day after he helped set up a defendable target by top-scoring for the second day in a row. Entering at 73 for 6 in the 28th over in an almost carbon-copy situation as he had a day earlier, Timil maneuvered Canada’s spinners while compiling a top-score of 44 to help justify Khaleel’s decision at toss to bat first. Mrunal Patel played a key supporting role, scoring 31 in a 68-run seventh wicket stand before holing out to long-on in the 43rd over off Ahmadzai’s left-arm spin.With Timil looking comfortable against slow bowling, Dhaliwal was brought back for another spell of medium pace in the 44th but Timil carved him for two boundaries in a crucial 10-run over, to take USA past 150. He fell in the following over to Pervez for the eighth wicket at 153.Pervez struck with a pair of yorkers in the 49th for the last two wickets of Elmore Hutchinson and Ali Khan but not before Hutchinson struck a vital 20 off 15 balls to get USA to give USA a fighting chance. The second innings resembled a bare-knuckle brawl on a wearing pitch and by the end USA put Canada down on the mat in the cross-border rivalry series for the first time since 1991.

Liverpool officially kick off their 2023/24 Premier League campaign with a trip to face Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on the 13th of August and there could be a few new faces on show for the club.

Who have Liverpool signed this summer?

The Reds made their first addition of the summer transfer window last month as they signed Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister from Brighton & Hove Albion, in a deal that could eventually rise to £55m.

Jurgen Klopp followed that up with a swoop for RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai at the start of July. The Merseyside giants have reportedly splashed out a fee of £60m to secure the Hungary international's services.

There could also be a departure in that area of the pitch for Liverpool as it has been reported that Brazilian enforcer Fabinho is closing in on a move to Saudi Arabian side Al Ittihad, whilst Bayern Munich are also interested in signing him.

It has been claimed that the Reds could be in line to receive £40m for the former AS Monaco star, which could help towards funding a possible replacement before the end of the window.

Who could replace Fabinho at Liverpool?

Klopp could forget all about Fabinho by striking a deal to sign Fulham defensive midfielder Joao Palhinha ahead of next season, following his impressive debut season in England.

The Daily Mail reported in June that it could take as much as £90m to snap up the Portugal international and it was recently claimed that Liverpool have considered the Portugal international as an option to bolster their midfield, although it remains to be seen how much they would be willing to pay for him.

Signing the former Sporting titan could improve the German head coach's squad. Palhinha averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.00 across 35 Premier League starts last term, compared to the £40m-rated warrior's score of 6.87, and caught the eye with 5.5 tackles and interceptions per game.

His 4.2 tackles per match for the Cottagers was 1.8 more than any Liverpool player in any position managed throughout the campaign and 2.4 more than Fabinho's 1.8 per outing.

Palhinha, who was dubbed "Casemiro-esque" by journalist Zach Lowy, also won more duels per clash (8.0) than the Brazil international (3.5) and came out on top in a higher percentage of his duels (59% to 50%).

This suggests that the 28-year-old monster would be an upgrade in terms of his ability to win battles and regain possession for his side on a regular basis.

In fact, the Fulham colossus ranks in the top 1% of his positional peers across the Men's Big Five Leagues and European competitions for tackles made per 90 (4.26) over the last 365 days – three percentiles higher than Manchester United's Casemiro – which shows that he has been one of the best ball-winning midfielders at the top level since his arrival in England.

His instant adaptation to Premier League football was impressive and his form suggests that he could come in as a significant upgrade on Fabinho, based on the monstrous enforcer's average performance level and defensive contributions each game in comparison to the current Liverpool man.

Therefore, Klopp could forget about the Brazilian midfielder and sanction the move to Al Ittihad with no concerns about the state of his squad by signing Palhinha to fill that role within the team.

Wrexham striker Paul Mullin has lifted the lid on the squad's post-season trip to Las Vegas and how events weren't how they appeared in the tabloids.

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• Newspapers published shots from misleading angles
• Striker amazed by tabloid interest
• Squad discussed effect on partners

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The team were treated to a four-day trip to Sin City by owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney after clinching a historic return to the Football League after 15 years in the fifth tier. But there was a slight dampener on proceedings when photos appeared in the UK press appearing to show the squad partying with bikini-clad women.

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  WHAT PAUL MULLIN SAID

  Writing in his autobiography, Mullin explained: "That day we were off to another pool party, this time at the Marquee club. Initially the atmosphere was subdued. The had published a bunch of photos of the previous day’s pool party with a load of bikini-clad girls in the background.

  "There was nothing in any of it. Places like that obviously bring in girls as a way of promoting themselves. We hadn’t even spoken to them. There were other pictures of us messing about, throwing each other in the pool, stuff like that. We were just enjoying ourselves – a bunch of players celebrating a mad year – but somehow the pictures made it look like we were really pissed up and getting a bit out of hand.

  "We weren’t naive. We knew there’d be papers trying to get pictures, trying to catch us out, although it’s crazy when you think about it. We were a team from the National League celebrating promotion, not One Direction on a world tour.

  "The tabloid press is notorious but I’ll never understand an attitude where someone from a newspaper wants to create problems that don’t exist. We actually talked about it – how the girls in our lives had never signed up for any of the attention that follows us around. It must be so hard for them at times. OK, maybe when they got with a footballer they might have expected us to get somewhere one day, but not to have to see nonsense like that.

  "They didn’t think they’d be opening a newspaper and seeing their partners’ faces on a double-page spread of ‘exclusive’ pictures from a pool party in Las Vegas with all the suggestion that contained."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  If they didn't already know it, the Wrexham squad learned that life under Hollywood ownership had brought an entirely new level of exposure. But, as Mullin reveals, the dressing room at the Racecourse Ground seems to have its feet on the ground and well able to handle the less savoury elements of the club's remarkable rise.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Despite the unwanted long lenses of the tabloid press, the squad would love to do it all again next summer if they could clinch a second-consecutive promotion in what is shaping up to be quite the promotion battle in League Two as the crucial festive fixture period begins.

  Buy your copy of Paul Mullin's brilliant new autobiography My Wrexham Story on Amazon.

Karn Sharma finished with a match-haul of 8 for 120•BCCI

New Zealand A failed to learn from their mistakes in the first innings. Indecision in footwork against spin and relying on their pad as their first line of defense – against two quality spinners – resulted in a loss by an innings and 31 runs shortly after lunch on the third day of the first unofficial Test in Vijayawada.Karn Sharma, the legspinner, took four wickets to take his match tally to 8 for 120, thereby continuing his fine recent run that now includes two five-fors and two four-fors in his last three first-class matches. Shahbaz Nadeem also took four wickets with his loopy left-arm spin to finish with an eight-for in the match. Alarmingly for New Zealand A, their second-innings collapse from their overnight 64 for 2 to 142 all out had little to do with the pitch.Openers Jeet Raval and George Worker aside, none of the others topped 20. The only batsman who appeared to pick spin was Tim Seifert, the wicketkeeper, who was largely untroubled for 35 deliveries before perishing to a sharp Karn legbreak that beat his forward push to be lbw. Seifert also showed some spunk in the first innings to top score with 35. He was one of two positives – Ish Sodhi, who took a five-for, being the other – for the visitors.The procession started 15 minutes into play when Worker attempted an expansive sweep from outside off to a delivery that spun back in from the rough to deflect off his body and onto the stumps. Will Young was snuffed out at short leg and Tom Blundell, among those in the fray to replace Luke Ronchi as a frontline wicketkeeper in the national team, was lbw to an indipper from Shardul Thakur.With the cream of the batting line-up gone inside 11 overs to leave New Zealand A on 98 for 5, the lower order came out trying to slog the spinners out of the field. The execution, however, failed only to leave them with plenty of time to ponder and practice ahead of the second four-day game on September 30 at the same venue.

Gloucestershire’s website pronounced that Gareth Roderick was out for the season. With wickets falling at Bristol, it proved to be far from the case

ECB Reporters Network15-Sep-2017Not even a badly damaged finger could prevent Gareth Roderick from keeping Kent at bay on the final day of Gloucestershire’s Specsavers’ County Championship game in Bristol.The day began with Gloucestershire’s official website claiming Roderick would miss the remainder of the season after suffering a significant finger injury whilst keeping wicket on day three.However, when the host county found themselves in a spot of bother in mid-afternoon, Roderick reached for his pads, gloves and bat and duly held up Kent’s push for victory.By the time captain Phil Mustard declared, bringing the match to an earlier than scheduled end, Roderick was 78 not out, Gloucestershire were safe and Kent were left to wonder what might have been.It had been anything but a successful start to the day for Gloucestershire. Kent, desperate for early wickets, left an indelible mark on Gloucestershire’s top order, thanks to veteran all-rounder Darren Stevens. The 41-year-old sent back Chris Dent (41) with the very first ball of the day and then trapped captain Mustard lbw, three balls later. When James Bracey departed in the same manner, Gloucestershire were 91 for 3. With the news of Roderick’s likely no-show, that, effectively, was 91 for 4. Or so we thought.First innings batting hero Cameron Bancroft, and George Hankins, provided some respite and took the hosts to 146 before the latter edged Mitch Claydon to Sam Billings and though Bancroft and Jack Taylor survived to lunch and beyond, there was further trouble ahead.Bancroft departed for 72, at 186 for 5 and Taylor, who was dropped at second slip on 9, at 163 for 4, followed the Australian back to the pavilion a dozen runs later when Matt Coles had him caught behind by Billings for 27. It got worse, for Gloucestershire, before it improved, with Kieran Noema-Barnett, driving Stevens to mid off where sub fielder Imran Qayyun took a comfortable catch.From that juncture, the pressure fell on the shoulders of Roderick. With Josh Shaw providing solid support, the 26-year-old looked in precious little trouble or discomfort as Kent struggled for the break through.By the time Stevens helped himself to a fifth wicket in the innings, that of Shaw, for 2, Gloucestershire were just about home and dry at 249 for 8.Roderick passed his 50 off 76 balls, with eight fours, and continued to help himself before the players shook hands with 26 overs still remaining.

Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag will look to 'fast-track' youngster Kobbie Mainoo and will keep him around the first-team rather than sending him out on loan to continue his development, according to journalist Steve Bates.

Who is Kobbie Mainoo?

Mainoo is a talented 18-year-old midfielder for Manchester United who is steadily making a large impression at Old Trafford due to his displays in the engine room at underage levels.

Last term, combining his exploits in various elite development competitions and in the first-team, Mainoo racked up 20 appearances and registered two goals and two assists, as per Transfermarkt.

In the Red Devils' 1-0 victory over Lyon in a pre-season friendly earlier this week held at Murrayfield, Mainoo put in a strong performance and backed up the hype he has continued to build over the last few weeks.

Football analyst Statman Dave took to Twitter to share his positive impact on proceedings, stating: "Kobbie Mainoo’s game by numbers vs. Olympique Lyonnais: 94% pass accuracy 48 touches 2 blocks 2 interceptions 1/1 dribbles completed. Bright future."

According to The Manchester Evening News, Manchester United did consider loaning Mainoo out this campaign to continue his development; however, it is now understood that he will be kept in and around the first-team squad after impressing senior figures at the club.

The Stockport-born midfielder is capable of playing in a variety of central positions and will travel on Manchester United's tour of the USA after featuring in friendly victories over Leeds United in Oslo and against Lyon in Edinburgh.

Writing in his column for GIVEMESPORT, journalist Bates has issued an important update on the future of Mainoo at Manchester United.

Bates wrote: "AS soon as Manchester United signed Mason Mount, Erik ten Hag’s phone started ringing with clubs eyeing up a chance to grab one of his midfield stars. The clamour for one player was loudest – rising young academy star Kobbie Mainoo. But the multiple enquiries to take the 18-year-old star on loan met with an immediate and emphatic response from the Dutch boss – “No chance”.

"But ten Hag wants to oversee Mainoo’s development at the club’s Carrington training ground after tying the youngster to a new four-year deal last season."

What now for Manchester United?

Manchester United manager Ten Hag will be focusing all of his attention on preparing his side for the new season over the next few weeks and trying to secure key transfer targets.

Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana travelled to the Carrington training complex to complete his medical ahead of a £43 million move to Manchester United and is expected to be announced imminently, according to The Daily Mail.

The Red Devils are also in advanced talks with Atalanta over striker Rasmus Hojlund to iron out the structure of the fee they will pay for the Denmark international, who has already agreed personal terms with the Premier League giants, as per The Independent.

Talking on the ESPN YouTube channel, journalist Rob Dawson revealed that Manchester United's short-term signing Jonny Evans could end up penning a longer deal at the club, stating: “United privately are saying they are not ruling anything out with him. Possibly he could sign a longer deal for the coming season, spend a year at Old Trafford as a back-up for Varane and Martinez. If that were to happen it would cast a massive doubt on the future of Harry Maguire. If they were to bring Jonny Evans in, there really wouldn’t be a place for Harry Maguire.”

Sevilla have parted ways with their head coach Diego Alonso just 67 days after his appointment.

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Sevilla fire manager Diego AlonsoSacked after just 67 daysWon twice in their last 13 matchesWHAT HAPPENED?

After a series of poor results this season that saw Sevilla win just two out of their last 13 matches across all competitions, the club have decided to sack their manager Diego Alonso. The decision came in the aftermath of the club's humiliating 3-0 defeat at the hands of Getafe on Saturday where former Manchester United player Mason Greenwood scored and provided an assist.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT SEVILLA SAID

Just a few hours after the humiliating defeat, Sevilla officially announced the sacking of their manager in a statement that read: "We would like to communicate that Diego Alonso has been relieved of his duties as first team head coach. We thank him for his efforts and wish him the best for the future."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Since Alonso's appointment in October, Sevilla have won just twice in La Liga and currently find themselves near the relegation zone. They also crashed out of the Champions League group stage earlier this week, finishing last in their group. They failed to register a single win in their group.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR SEVILLA?

The Spanish club will announce Alonso's replacement in the next few days as they hope to turn things around under a new head coach. They will be next seen in action in La Liga on Tuesday against Granada.

The fast bowler has tweaked a problematic action with inputs from coach Ottis Gibson and is ‘champing’ to work his way back

Firdose Moonda08-Nov-2017Chris Morris’ search for speed caused the back injury that has sidelined him for the last four months. As a result, he has had to modify his action.Morris suffered a lower-back problem in England in August, which ruled him out of the fourth Test in Manchester and all action since. He expects to make a return midway through the Ram Slam, for the Titans, and when he does, it will not be at the expense of pace but with a smoother, better approach which the new coach Ottis Gibson has helped him with.”I’ve had a few tweaks in my action that Ottis has changed. I had to iron it out because it wasn’t good enough – simple as that,” Morris said at the Ram Slam launch in Johannesburg. “I think in striving for a bit of extra pace, there was some twisting in my action. I’ve got quite a bad kick-out with my left foot before I land. I was getting lazy and doing quite a lot of twisting, which caused a lot of pressure on my lower back and inevitably caused the injury.”A hallmark of Morris’ performances in England was his pace, particularly when Faf du Plessis gave him freedom to “be aggressive and bowl fast.” The directive paid off in the short term as Morris dismissed Joe Root and Alastair Cook in an impressive spell at Trent Bridge but caused a long-term concern.Though Morris did not break or tear anything, he suffered inflammation and strain in the muscles of the lower back. If left untreated, it could have caused a stress fracture. Part of the treatment was making the changes to his action that should keep Morris symptom-free, though he knows he may respond adversely at any time.”If I didn’t get injured I still would have had to change my action. In bowling, you like to work in straight lines, and I was working along the wrong lines. That’s where the injury came along,” he explained. “We can’t re-scan the same injury because we’d see the same thing the whole time. So we work on symptoms – if there is pain you stop, otherwise you play. I’ve got to trust the gym and rehab, all the things I’ve been doing behind the scenes since my injury happened.”Like Morris, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Wayne Parnell have also been doing undergoing intensive rehabilitation. Philander also had a lower back problem and returned to action in the first-class competition, with good results – he took five wickets and scored 80 for the Cobras. Steyn, Morkel and Parnell will all be back at some stage of the Ram Slam, which means that when the time comes for choosing a Test squad – first to face Zimbabwe in the inaugural four-day Test on Boxing Day and then to play India – there will be competition.Gibson has already flung the door open for Steyn, saying as long as the premier pacer thinks he can make it through a match, he will play. Morris cannot expect the same hospitality, given his relative inexperience especially at Test level. But he was encouraged by Gibson’s approach and is confident he can work his way back.”It’s always good to know that the coach is backing the guys who aren’t playing, especially with injuries because that’s part of the game,” Morris said. “If a youngster is better than me he must play, it’s as simple as that, but I’m always going to be fighting for my spot because playing for South Africa is what I want to do. If I never play for South Africa again it’s cool, but I’m going to give it my best shot. I’m obviously champing at the bit. It hurt me quite a lot to see the guys running around this morning and playing soccer, so I’ve got quite a lot of motivation.”Morris is particularly looking forward to working more with Gibson, whose experience with England he is hoping to draw on.”I’ve only had a week and a half with him and he’s been excellent. In England, he had the fortune of working with the best new-ball attack in the world in my opinion. If they’ve rubbed off on him, as a South African bowling attack we’re going to be richer for it,” Morris said. “He’s been doing this for a long time and has a lot of experience. It’s quite clear what our plans are going forward as a team. We’re in a happy space, and it’s quite exciting.”

To say that Lionel Messi has got off to a quick start to life at Inter Miami would be an understatement. Ever since scoring a last-minute free-kick to end his new side’s agonising winless run, the Argentine has not looked back, scoring in every game that he has played.Most recently, Messi continued his impressive form for Inter Miami by netting a brace against Orlando City, as his side came out 3-1 winners in the Leagues Cup. The two goals against Orlando City means that the Barcelona legend has scored five goals in just three games. If there was somehow any doubt that Messi would not dominate MLS, then that has quickly been shut down.We’re even seeing Messi’s fiery side for the first time since his Barcelona days. The Argentine got into his first confrontation in America, which carried on down the tunnel with Cesar Araujo taking the brunt of his anger.

Lionel Messi has heated exchange with Cesar Araujo

The incident initially started when Messi shoved Araujo off the ball. Reacting to the challenge, the Orlando City man made his mark on Messi with a fairly late challenge. Angered by the challenge, the Inter Miami star complained to the referee, asking for a yellow card.

The exchange didn’t stop there, either, as the two could be seen exchanging words down the tunnel, though neither player turned the exchange into something physical, merely going back and forth in what looked like a heated argument.

In the end, it was Messi who had the final word, scoring a brace as his side won 3-1. His close-range volley was particularly impressive, as he starred once more for his new side.

Even at 36, the Argentine’s passion for the game doesn’t look like dying down anytime soon. If anything, his move to Inter Miami has reignited the fire in his stomach to battle for every ball.

How many goals and assists has Lionel Messi got for Inter Miami?

Scoring five goals in three games so far, Messi has also formed quite the partnership with his teammates – particularly Robert Taylor, who he has assisted once.

So, as things stand, Messi has six goal involvements in just three games, making a rate of at least two goal involvements per game. Meanwhile, Inter Miami are yet to lose with the former Paris Saint-Germain player in the squad.

Speaking on the refereeing performance, Orlando coach Oscar Pareja was left frustrated, suggesting that Messi was given special treatment by officials. He said, via Goal: “Tonight was a circus. There was a second yellow on Messi [that wasn’t given]. I don’t care if he’s Messi.

“The penalty kick calls and others, they were ridiculous. We were very frustrated and tried to regain our composure. There were some circumstances in this game that shouldn’t happen.”

It’s certainly interesting to see Messi taking things so seriously in the US, when many may have expected him to be taking a far more relaxed approach to football now that he’s playing for a club outside of Europe for the first time in his career. No doubt, David Beckham and co will be delighted to have the World Cup winner apparently fully invested and ready to fight for the Inter Miami cause.

As his MLS career continues, there’s no doubt that Messi will continue to produce special, and perhaps fiery moments. You can see the highlights of his performance against Orlando City below:

A round-up of the games played in third week of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge, in which Cape Cobras got on to the points table, while Dolphins were hampered by the weather again

Firdose Moonda27-Nov-2017

Results Summary Cape Cobras got their first points when they beat Lions in a nail-biter in Paarl, though they may not have fancied their chances when they posted only 145 for 7. JP Duminy scored his second half-century in three matches to anchor the innings and the only other score of substance came from Hashim Amla, who made 42 off 35 balls. Kagiso Rabada was Lions’ best bowler, with 2 for 20 in his four overs. Despite a 51 from Lions’ opener Rassie van der Dussen, they were always behind the required run rate and needed 50 runs from the final five overs. Rory Kleinveldt took two wickets in three balls in the penultimate over and Lions could not muster the runs to crawl over the line.Lions’ weekend on the West Coast got worse when they also lost to Warriors at Newlands on Sunday, giving the Eastern-Cape side their first win of the campaign with a record chase. Lions posted 182 for 3, with Reeza Hendricks continuing to lead the line-up. After his century last week, Hendricks smashed 81 off 63 balls, and Lions may have considered themselves safe. However, Colin Ingram’s 89 off 48 balls, after being dropped on 13 by Rabada, meant that Warriors recovered from 13 for 2 to dominate Lions’ bowling. Beuran Hendricks and Wiaan Mulder conceded 89 runs between them in seven overs and Warriors won with six balls to spare to complete the highest successful chase in South Africa’s franchise twenty-over competition history.Later on Sunday, local team Cobras ended off a solid Sunday with a three-wicket win over Knights, thanks to strong performances from their veterans. Kleinveldt took 3 for 19 to stall Knights and remove their two internationals. Kleinveldt had Theunis de Bruyn caught behind, close to the halfway stage of Knights’ innings, after he scored 40 off 22 balls. They were 71 for 3 before David Miller plundered 50 off 37 balls but was dismissed in the penultimate over. Cobras’ chase started shakily. They were 54 for 3, with Richard Levi, Temba Bavuma and Amla all out.Duminy’s 67 off 44 balls, however, ensured that even a mid-innings wobble meant Cobras won with an over to spare.After a wash-out against Knights in Durban, rain prevented Dolphins from playing against Warriors at home on Wednesday. Their fortunes did not change when they moved upcountry. On Friday night, in Benoni, their match against the Titans was abandoned without even the toss, leaving them with only two completed games in the first half of the competition.International IncidentsAfter struggling for form through the year, being dropped and then retiring from Tests, Duminy appears to have found his rhythm. He struck a third half-century in the competition and is second on the top run-getters’ list, which can only bode well for South Africa’s limited-overs engagements later in the summer.Rabada picked up 3 for 25 against Warriors to leapfrog Lungi Ngidi on the wicket-charts. Rabada’s economy of 6.70 runs is only a fraction above Eddie Leie’s 6.68 among the top-ten wicket-takers in the competition so far and, impressively, the work Rabada is doing on his cutters seems to be paying off.Meanwhile, Bavuma appears to have hit a lean patch. He has three single-figure scores and nothing over 30 in his five matches so far.Domestic DreamersThough Lions did not have much to celebrate, Hendricks added another impressive score and has broken clear at the top of the batting charts, with more than 100 runs between him and his nearest competitor, Duminy. Hendricks has scored 319 runs from five matches and averages 106.33 with a strike-rate of 137.50 and is making a strong case to be considered as Ottis Gibson trials World Cup hopefuls.Beyond the BoundaryAn update from the Titans’ camp around the availability of their internationals grabbed headlines. Dale Steyn was rested and returned to Cape Town to continue with his rehabilitation, with a focus on bowling Test match spells, while there is good news from both Chris Morris and Morne Morkel. Morris’ return from a back injury is imminent while Morkel is said to be bowling at 80% after suffering a side strain against Bangladesh.