EAST LONDON – The Warriors’ interest in the 2018/19 4-Day Domestic Series title race came to a premature end on Thursday after the final day of their clash against the Dolphins was hit by the weather in East London.
Only 1.3 of overs were sent down early on the final morning, before the players went off for nearly three hours due to bad light.
When they returned, just 30 more overs were possible as the match was ended by rain.
It meant the Eastern Cape franchise had to settle for a draw, one that left them an unassailable 40-plus points behind the top two – the Cape Cobras (171.46) and the Highveld Lions (168.32), who will now contend for the title in next week’s closing set of games.
The final outcome would have been disappointing for both teams after the match was finely poised heading into day four.
The Warriors resumed on 163/9, but after the initial delay, they declared on the same score, leaving the visitors a target of 275 for victory.
And the KwaZulu-Natal side made a wonderful effort to try and hunt down that score by reaching 171/5 when the rain arrived.
This was thanks to a blistering 77 off 71 balls (13x4, 1x6) by rookie Marques Ackerman, with Sibonelo Makhanya contributing an unbeaten 41 off 42 deliveries.
Basheer Walters (2/35) and Glenton Stuurman (2/48) managed two wickets each, but their efforts were in vain as the hosts were forced to settle for a draw.