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Cristiano Ronaldo has reached another personal milestone – hitting his first goal in the AFC Champions League – with the Portuguese still “winning”.

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Iconic forward still going strong at 38On target in the AFC Champions LeagueRemains a prolific presence in the Middle EastWHAT HAPPENED?

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner was in continental action with Al-Nassr on Monday as they took on Tajik club Istiklol. Ronaldo helped to turn that game around after seeing his side trail 1-0 at half-time, with the all-time great netting a delightful chip just past the hour mark.

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Ronaldo has now recorded 17 goals through just 16 appearances in the 2023-24 campaign. The evergreen frontman is showing no sign of slowing down at 38 years of age and remains as determined as ever to get his hands on more trophies.

WHAT THEY SAID

He is now up and running in the AFC Champions League, as another entry is added to his remarkable record book, and his exploits continue to inspire an Al-Nassr side that has claimed six successive victories in all competitions. Ronaldo has posted on social media: “Good game from everyone on the team! Happy to have scored my 1st #ACL champions league goal! We keep winning!”

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WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Ronaldo has already bettered his goal return from last season – when he found the target on 14 occasions – and is closing in on a standing inside the top five of Al-Nassr’s all-time leading goalscorers, despite having been on their books for less than 12 months.

Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have been hailed for leveraging their Hollywood status to "amazing" effect at Wrexham.

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American duo invested in Wrexham in 2021Overseen the club's return to the Football LeagueFinance guru expects celebrity ownership models to continueWHAT HAPPENED?

The American actors completed a £2 million takeover at Wrexham in February 2021, at which point the club were still competing in the National League. Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have taken a hands-on approach at SToK Racecourse, silencing critics that claimed their move into football was merely a gimmick, and it reaped rewards in 2022-23 as Wrexham secured promotion back to the Football League after a 15-year absence.

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Celebrity owners are becoming more and more common as a result of Wrexham's success, with NFL legend Tom Brady the latest man to try his hand in English football as a co-owner at Championship club Birmingham City. Dr Christina Philippou, a Principal Lecturer in accounting, economics and finance at the Faculty of Business and Law, believes the trend will continue because of the huge impact celebrities can have when it comes to the commercial interests of football clubs.

WHAT DR CHRISTINA PHILIPPOU SAID

"It's a matter of a sporting celebrity bringing in money," Dr Philippou told . "Wrexham have a touch of Hollywood glamour, and the owners have been able to do amazing things by selling the story along with their on-pitch and community efforts. Leveraging that status sells and helps the commercial side, which in turn helps the on-pitch fortunes as the owners are able to input some of that money into the club."

She added: "Sports have a global reach now due to the likes of social media. All sorts of things have changed since those days, but being able to leverage celebrities is a big thing in terms of the commercial and broadcasting side of things. The [Lionel] Messi effect at Inter Miami had a massive impact on match-day prospects. There's a reason for celebrities to be there, and I think it will continue. The generations coming through now are even more savvy when it comes to influencers and who the big stars are. That culture is definitely growing, and moving with those would make sense from a commercial side. I don't think it's something we'll stop seeing anytime soon."

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DID YOU KNOW?

Wrexham's growth has also been helped by the success of the Disney Plus docuseries tracking their rise under Reynolds and McElhenney. 'Welcome to Wrexham' was recently renewed for a third season, but Dr Philippou has warned that continued progress on the pitch is the only way to guarantee that interest levels remain high. "There may not be a compelling story to tell if Wrexham had stayed outside the Football League. It would get harder and harder to sell the story," she said. "There is a link between results and general interest. We see that across every level. Match-day interest is never as high after a team gets relegated. Social media content certainly plays its part when it comes to the commercial side, sponsorship deals, and broadcasting. If you can prove online interest in your club and demonstrate true engagement, then sponsors will come calling, and that only helps the club. Sunderland Till I Die sold too, but for different reasons! There have been a couple of documentaries made during great or terrible seasons. The problem is not being able to tell. A few of the NFL All or Nothing documentaries have been made as the chosen club has had an average season, and they never sell particularly well as it makes for less interesting viewing."

Wrexham have been handed a timely injury boost, with Phil Parkinson saying that George Evans and James Jones are expected to “play again this season”.

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Evans & Jones have picked up knocksSet to undergo further scansWill rejoin top-three push at some stageWHAT HAPPENED?

Evans picked up a glute problem in the Red Dragons’ 2-1 win over Sutton United, while Jones limped out of a 1-0 victory against Notts County with a hamstring complaint. Both issues are more serious than first thought, with spells on the treatment table needing to be taken in.

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No timescale is being put on the recovery of either midfielder, despite the lack of numbers that Parkinson now boasts in his engine room. They will not be rushed back into action, but the hope is that neither has been seen for the last time in 2023-24.

WHAT PARKINSON SAID

Parkinson has said when delivering a fitness update on Evans and Jones ahead of Wrexham’s midweek trip to Forest Green Rovers: "I expect them to play again this season but they are facing longer term injuries than we first thought. We will get them both rescanned and we will know clearer when we have got those second scans."

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Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

Wrexham have 13 games left to take in this season, meaning that the clock is ticking for all of those currently stuck on the sidelines. Parkinson intends to make the most of those still at his disposal, with the plan being to line up another automatic promotion party for co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

ESPNcricinfo looks ahead to the final Twenty20 International between West Indies and England – the final match for both sides before World Twenty20 in Bangladesh

The Preview by David Hopps12-Mar-20140:00

Ian Bell could use the final T20 match in Bridgetown as an unexpected audition for World Twenty20

Match FactsMarch 13, Bridgetown
Start time 1400 local (1800GMT)Big PictureThere could hardly be a greater gulf in expectations as West Indies and England meet for the last time before they head to Bangladesh for World Twenty20. West Indies have done enough to encourage expectations that they can put up a powerful defence of the trophy they won in similar conditions in Sri Lanka 17 months ago, whereas England’s chances are held to be as poor as those of the football team heading for their own World Cup in Brazil in a few months’ time.England, after five successive T20 defeats, could turn to an unlikely saviour. Ian Bell has not played a Twenty20 international since January 2011, but expectations are high that he will take part in England’s final warm-up match, even if his coach, Ashley Giles, has warned that he is not quite ready after being with the squad for only a few days.England have been overcome by West Indies’ greater weight of stroke in their defeats in the first two matches of this three-match series, and Bell, a slight figure with no penchant for six-hitting, is not about to change that, but he is regarded as one of England’s most skilful players of spin, and that talent is in short supply.We must wait to see whether Bell, called up to replace the injured Joe Root, can make good use of his experience — almost 100 Tests and approaching 150 ODIs – in the shortest format, but for all his ability, his inclusion after being ignored so long seems to illustrate England’s desperation for any sort of stability at the top of the order rather than a conviction that they have alighted on a new super-powered approach.Form guide(completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WWWLL
England LLLLL Watch out forThere is an ebullience about Darren Sammy, West Indies’ captain, which wins approval from the neutral supporter. His unbeaten 30 from nine balls at Kensington Oval on Tuesday settled the second T20 and barring a reversal of fortune in the final encounter has ensured that he will lead the squad in Bangladesh in hearty frame of mind. If his batting can be potent, his bowling is vulnerable and his fielding inconsistent but West Indies have responded to his leadership in this form of the game.Alex Hales has rarely found form during the English winter•AFPWhat are we to make of the form of Alex Hales as he prepares for Bangladesh? Hales has had a disappointing six months, his rating for a time as the No 1 Twenty20 batsman in the world is hard to credit, and it is far from certain that Chittagong’s slow turners will suit him. He showed hints of a return to form on Tuesday, but if England are to regain confidence in their top order, his resurgence would be the easiest way to achieve it.Team newsWith the series already won, it would be a surprise if West Indies gambled on the fitness of Sunil Narine for the final match. Far better to rest him for the matches that matter. Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher are still awaiting a chance in the top order and, as well as the top five have played, there must be a temptation to rest Dwayne Smith and give one of them some match time.West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Lendl Simmons, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Krishmar Santokie, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Samuel BadreeMoeen Ali did not bowl in the second match and did not cover himself in glory with the bat; he seems the obvious man to stand down if England give Ian Bell a run. That switch might also lead England to strengthen their bowling by substituting Ben Stokes for the struggling Luke Wright. It is only conjecture, but now that the series is lost, why not give Chris Jordan a first international appearance in his native island? It would seem churlish not to.England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Michael Lumb, 3 Ian Bell, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Ravi Bopara, 7 Ben Stokes, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 James Tredwell, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Stephen ParryPitch and conditionsMore of the same: a decent pitch for T20, with a hint of turn and uneven bounce, and boundaries that seem to shrink when West Indies are batting.Quotes”We’d be naive and stupid to think that probably every team we come up againstis not going to open up with spin against us.”
“He has been sitting on the sidelines but everytime he gets an opportunity he takes it. He’s given the selectors a headache.”

Yorkshire won the Roses clash against the odds courtesy of the volcanic batting of Aaron Finch, whose 55-ball 88 help the White Rose steal victory

Paul Edwards at Old Trafford06-Jun-2014
ScorecardRich Pyrah celebrates his winning six•PA PhotosRarely able to take a trick in the County Championship this season, Lancashire have utilised force and finesse to make difficult contracts in the NatWest T20 Blast. That they failed to maintain that fine record in the first short-form Roses match this season can be explained by the volcanic batting of Aaron Finch, whose 55-ball 88 kept his side in the hunt to score at a demanding nine-an-over and also by the apparent tardiness of Lancashire’s bowlers, who were penalised six runs for a slow over rate.The umpires’ sanction was imposed at the end of the nineteenth over and it left Yorkshire needing just nine runs to win the game instead of 15 they would otherwise have required. Richard Pyrah then deposited the otherwise excellent Kabir Ali’s third delivery over the cover boundary to seal a five-wicket victory.Home skipper Paul Horton was left citing his own generosity in allowing Finch and Alex Lees time to change gloves, but he also paid proper tribute to the quality of the Australian opener as “the best T20 batsman in the world”.Few of the 16,000 sell-out crowd who watched Finch’s thunderous innings on Friday would dispute Horton’s judgement. Even the partisans whose chants recalled the glory days of Lancashire’s one-day history applauded the glorious Jessopian ferocity of the sixes which the Victorian struck off Jordan Clark’s final over. The first of these hit tested the topmost window of The Point, Lancashire’s nearly new hospitality facility; the second disappeared between the same building and Old Trafford’s new scoreboard and bounced away towards Altrincham.Yet remarkably, Finch also showed great patience, particularly during his 99-run second-wicket stand with Alex Lees. He defended the many good balls bowled by the Lancashire attack and bided his time on occasions. For all that he hit eight fours and five sixes, he displayed considerable nous in judging what was required, albeit that his dismissal – caught at short-third man by Junaid Khan off Tom Smith – seemed to leave Lancashire as favourites. The umpires may have then helped Yorkshire in their quest to score 36 runs off 17 balls but this was still about as good a game as the T20 format can produce.Lancashire’s innings was a curious cricketing sandwich. Inspired principally by Smith’s wonderfully clean hitting, the home side racked up 65 runs in the Powerplay overs, only to find their progress stalled by the slow bowlers Azeem Rafiq and Adil Rashid.A mere 15 came off the first four overs bowled by the Yorkshire spinners and that brief spell of control for the visitors included the loss of Smith’s wicket when Lyth, leaping on the long-off boundary palmed a booming straight drive back to Finch, who had raced across from long-on to assist matters. Even when one accepts that such dismissals have become almost routine in the rapidly developing world of T20, Lyth’s athleticism and quickness of mind still made one catch breath.Still well placed at 80 for 2 halfway through the innings, Lancashire maintained that rate of progress. The batsman responsible for that creditable progress was the frequently maligned Horton. In cricket’s endearingly bizarre argot, TV commentators and spectators have criticised Lancashire’s T20 skipper for plinking, clothing or smearing the ball, so awry seemed his timing on occasions. Yet when he was bowled in the final over by Olly Robinson, thus giving the 20-year-old Yorkshireman his maiden senior wicket, Horton had crafted his way to 60 off 45 balls and had once again produced a valuable innings in a format which, one might think, is scarcely suited to his accumulative diligence.Assisted by brief innings from Jos Buttler and the undefeated Steven Croft, Horton had guided his side to a very competitive 179, leaving Yorkshire as slightly second favourites. Rashid and Rafiq had been the best of Gale’s bowlers, both spinners varying their pace and making good use of the long boundaries prepared with Stephen Parry and Arron Lilley in mind. But Finch can take such plans and tear them up, so sharp is his eye and so explosive his power. On this balmy Manchester evening, the Australian did exactly that. It was wonderful stuff.

Darren Sammy has been added to the West Indies squad for the five ODIs against South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Dec-2014Darren Sammy has been added to the West Indies squad for the five ODIs against South Africa.He, along with Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard, had been excluded by the WICB when they had announced a 14-member side earlier in the week which had led to severe criticism.Michael Holding, the former West Indies fast bowler, wrote that the board was punishing the players without looking into its own faults and agreed with Ralph Thorne, who had been appointed the players’ counsel to negotiate the contracts dispute that lead to West Indies pulling out of the India tour in October, that the three players were being victimised.Sammy is currently in Australia playing for Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League. The ODI series is set to begin on January 16 in in Durban.

Matt Prior accepted that the England side was struggling for form but said that he was counting on the side’s ability to fight its way out of a corner in the third Ashes Test, which starts in Perth on Friday

George Dobell in Perth11-Dec-20130:00

Prior banks on England fightback

Had Matt Prior talked through a cigar and worn a Homburg hat, he could hardly have appeared more Churchillian.Leading the call to arms from England’s grim position in the series, Prior did not quite promise to fight Mitchell Johnson and co on the beaches and the landing grounds and in the fields and streets, but the overriding impression was pretty much the same. England have suffered their Dunkirk defeat at Adelaide; now is the time for their ‘finest hour’ in Perth. Well, Alastair Cook did call the Ashes something of a war.”This isn’t the time for mincing words,” Prior said. “It’s not the time for ‘positive this’ and ‘positive that.'”Sometimes you have to look at yourself straight in the mirror and know where you’re at as an individual and from a team point of view.”It’s all well and good me sitting here talking and going on about fight and hunger and everything. But the only way we’re going to show fight and hunger is out on that cricket pitch. With batsmen getting big hundreds, bowlers taking wickets and fielders diving on every ball. It doesn’t matter what other people want to see. That’s what we want to see in the dressing room. And that’s what we expect. We’ve got to go and do it.”The form book offers little encouragement for England. Quite the opposite, really. Not only have England been thrashed in the first two Tests of this series, but their record at Perth is awful: they have won there only once in their history – against an Australian side weakened by World Series Cricket – and they have lost all six of their most recent Tests there stretching back over two decades.Prior knows all this. He knows the form of England’s batsman has not been good enough, he knows the fielding has been substandard and he knows that Australia are playing with a confidence that will be hard to repress.But, in an odd way, he and the rest of the England camp have concluded that the best method of dealing with their predicament is to embrace it and accept that if they can turn the series around from here, it will be the greatest achievement of their careers.Matt Prior: “You expect to perform at a certain standard and I haven’t been doing that”•PA Photos”It doesn’t get any harder than this,” Prior admitted. “We’re two down in an Ashes series coming to Perth.”It’s been a very tough time for this team. Two-nil down is quite obviously not where we want to be. Not just two down but we’ve not played the sort of cricket we want to play. We haven’t won here for however many years.”But quite frankly that excites me. Records are there to be broken. There is a huge amount of hunger in this dressing room to turn this around.”We can absolutely, 100 percent, turn this around. When we get to this place we come out fighting. You have no option. You can sit there and sulk, moan, whinge and make excuses but you will just get beaten. You have to get rid of all that and fight.”Prior accepted his own form has been poor – before the second innings in Adelaide, he had not made a 50 in 16 Tests innings and had suffered three ducks in his previous five completed innings – but defended the record of England’s bowlers amid calls for changes in Perth.”It’s very hard to criticise our bowlers,” he said. “When they’ve come in fresh to an innings, they’ve bowled brilliantly. In the first innings in Brisbane, we could have done better, but to bowl Australia out for 295 on a very good wicket was a fantastic result. Then in Adelaide on the first day, we bowled fantastically well.”The problem is when you’re only batting for 50 overs in your first innings, the guys have to strap their boots on again straightaway. They’ve just done 100 overs and then have to go again. You’re not giving them enough opportunity to rest and come back strong.”You can look at different things from the bowling point of view but the first thing to address is to make sure we bat time and give the guys the opportunity to rest and recover to come in hard again. We know we’ve got the skill to take 20 wickets.”It’s very fair to say that I’ve not scored enough runs. You expect to perform at a certain standard and I haven’t been doing that. No one hurts more than me. You fight your battles, have your good and bad times but you have to stay positive and keep your belief.”I’ve done that. I’ve got one fifty. It’s not turned anything around. I start on nought again going into the first innings. I’ve got a nice bit of rhythm again and fingers crossed I can use that as a bit of a springboard for the rest of the series.”It’s a strange one because everyone talks about playing for your place, but the only thing I’m interested in is performing for the team. Helping us win or save games. If I’m not doing that, that’s what hurts me more. If I’m not the best player to play for England, that’s up to the selectors and I can’t worry about it.”Prior, at least, is certain to play in Perth. While England have admitted change is inevitable, it seems probable that Tim Bresnan, the seamer, replacing Monty Panesar, the left-arm spinner, will be the only difference in the team beaten in Adelaide. The chances of Panesar ousting Graeme Swann as first-choice spinner are vastly reduced by the contrast in the pair’s fielding in the second Test – Swann took an exceptional catch; Panesar was some way below the required standard. While England could go without a specialist spinner at all – Joe Root could provide variation – it seems that, in the heat of Perth and on a pitch offering some bounce, Swann could still have a role to play.Meanwhile the England management have confirmed they will not be adding any of the England Performance Programme squad to the Test party.

[ad_pod ]Crystal Palace failed to hold onto their half-time lead on Wednesday night as Southampton came back via James Ward-Prowse – despite the Eagles’ numerous opportunities in front of goal, their finishing was once again lacklustre and they paid the price.Wilfried Zaha was a menace throughout and fired his side in front in the first half, but lost his head late on and was sent off for sarcastically applauding the referee after being booked – a gesture for which he will be reprimanded by the FA.Despite the big striker having scored against Spurs in the FA Cup last weekend, Roy Hodgson elected not to start Connor Wickham and instead gave the nod to Jordan Ayew – the Ghanaian worked hard but never looked too threatening, as has been the theme throughout the season.The Saints equalised with 13 minutes of regulation time remaining, at which point Hodgson may have felt it necessary to bring on a fresh pair of legs up front – instead, the former England boss stuck with Ayew until the final whistle and one can’t help but feel that, had Wickham or Christian Benteke been on the field, the Croydon outfit could have secured all three points.Negative substitutions and tactics have been a point of controversy for Palace this season and this surely isn’t the first time the Selhurst Park faithful felt that Hodgson’s game management was poor.The 71-year-old’s post-match comments did nothing but make it worse – here’s how the Palace fans reacted on Twitter…

Glamorgan completed an eight-wicket win that left their hosts winless and put them top of the Midlands/Wales/West Group

Jon Culley in Rugby06-Jul-2013
ScorecardMichael Hogan bowled a miserly spell as Warwickshire were restricted to an unthreatening total•Getty ImagesIf there is an air of old money about Rugby School it is hardly surprising. It was founded in the 16th century in accordance with the will of Lawrence Sheriff, who was Queen Elizabeth’s grocer and was keen to do something worthwhile with his fortune for the boys of his home town. Its playing field, The Close, is better known for the legend of William Webb Ellis and the original rules of Rugby Football, but there is evidence that cricket has been played there for at least two centuries. But not like this.The first FLt20 fixture on the ground was also the first match between county sides above 2nd XI level (Warwickshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire have all used the rather fine square with its circle of lime trees). Warwickshire rather hoped the change of scenery would somehow spark a change of luck in what is becoming a woeful season but only found a new place in which to lose to Glamorgan. They were beaten in Cardiff on Wednesday and at Edgbaston in their final T20 of last summer; in fact, they have lost their last four T20 matches, three of them to the Welshmen.It did not help that they were without two of their regular top-order, with William Porterfield away with Ireland and Jim Troughton injured, but despite a bright enough opening, with 11 runs off the second over, they managed only 29 in the Powerplay and lost three wickets in the process, a position from which a recovery was always going to be difficult.Only Chris Woakes and Rikki Clarke threatened to dominate Glamorgan’s bowlers but Woakes, after hitting 25 in as many balls, fell to a clever piece of bowling from Jim Allenby, who held one back a little to draw a return catch, and Clarke brought about his own downfall, turning back after attempting a ludicrously risky single to short extra cover. Steffan Piolet’s 20 off 12 balls ended with a catch at long-on off Michael Hogan, who delivered a miserly spell that brought him three wickets for 11 off four overs.One or two batsmen departed looking ruefully at the pitch, which aside from being a little on the slow side was blameless. It is a good square, in essence, and were Warwickshire of a mind to take a Championship game away from Edgbaston, you could imagine this being a wonderful festival venue.Glamorgan’s mood was decidedly festive after they had completed an eight-wicket win with 14 balls to spare, the highlight of which was Mark Wallace’s unbeaten 69 off 52 balls. Given a flying start when Allenby took three boundaries off Clarke’s opening over, the second of the innings, Glamorgan were 50 for 1 after six overs and cruising thereafter. The irrepressible Murray Goodwin wrapped things up with a six off Laurie Evans and the tiny pavilion soon had a small choir of Welsh supporters, already in good voice from cheering on the Lions, gathering by the steps. Glamorgan’s players, to their credit, emerged to accept handshakes and even a friendly dousing with beer.Victory gave Glamorgan four T20 wins in a row for the first time, including that win at Edgbaston last year, and they top the group. Warwickshire, bottom of their YB40 section and next to bottom in Division One of the Championship, look a forlorn group at present. “We are putting ourselves out of games before we even get into them,” Dougie Brown, their director of cricket, lamented. “In the three T20 games we have played, we have lost the Powerplay massively and from there you are always going to struggle.”

A round-up of the Ram Slam T20 matches played on January 5, 2014

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Jan-2014Kyle Abbott and Daryn Smit built on Vaughn van Jaarsveld’s counterattacking half-century to help Dolphins edge Titans by eight runs in the opening match of the Ram Slam T20 Challenge at Newlands.Dolphins batted first, but started rather abjectly as both openers were back in the hut by the end of the second over. Cody Chetty and David Miller followed the pair soon after as Dolphins struggled at 37 for 4 after eight overs. Van Jaarsveld, batting at No.4, joined forces with Khaya Zondo as the duo built a match-turning partnership of 117 off 72 balls to take Dolphins to a sizable 154 for 4. Van Jaarsveld produced his best T20 innings, scoring 82 off 56 balls, while Zondo chipped in with an unbeaten 33-ball 41. Their stand was also the best for the fifth wicket in South African domestic T20 cricket.Facing a stiff chase, Titans didn’t start too well and they continually lost wickets throughout the innings. They were at 23 for 3 at one point, with Abbott getting two of the batsmen caught behind. Smit also chipped in with two wickets as Titans were veering off course. David Wiese entered at 64 for 5 when Faf du Plessis departed, and clubbed 42 off 24 balls, a knock which included four fours and two sixes. However, his hitting exploits were not able to get Titans close, as they ended up falling just eight runs short as their overs came to an end.A spirited display by Warriors, led by Ryan Bailey and Simon Harmer, ensured they got off to a winning start in the Ram Slam T20 Challenge despite posting a middling total against Lions at Newlands.Bailey and Harmer got together in the 10th over after double strikes from Chris Morris and Aaron Phangiso had left Warriors reeling at 53 for 6. They took a bit of time early on, and the method was vindicated when they clattered off 53 runs in the final four overs. Bailey muscled five fours and two sixes en route to a match-winning T20 half-century, while Harmer contributed a 26-ball 38 to take Warriors to an unlikely 140 at the end of 20 overs.An opening partnership of 42 in a little under eight overs had set Lions on course to overhaul the 141-run target, but left-arm spinner JJ Smuts usurped the momentum with three wickets in as many overs. Further trouble lay ahead when the search for a quick single caused a fatal misunderstanding between Alviro Petersen and Gulam Bodi. Both batsmen were stuck at the same end and Davy Jacobs had time to remedy a fumble, amble to the non-strikers,’ and gently tip the bails off to cap a slump that left Lions at to 74 for 6.Morris swung his bat with a bit of success but the cameo did not last and neither did the Lions tail as they were dismissed well short of the target.Cobras fast bowler Beuran Hendricks took a career best 6 for 26 to lead his team to a nine-run victory against Knights. Chasing 154, Knights were given a solid start by opener Reeza Hendricks, who went on to make 60 off 45 balls. The chase fell away after him, though, with none of his team-mates passing 20. They went from 94 for 2 to 144 for 9, with Beuran Hendricks taking three wickets in four balls, having had 14 to defend in the final over.After choosing to bat, Cobras had recovered from losing Richard Levi for a duck through a 67-run stand for the second wicket between South African internationals. Hashim Amla was unbeaten on a half-century, while Graeme Smith made 47. Their run-rate picked up after 15 overs, when they were 93 for 4, and Cobras took 60 off the last five overs to post 153. Amla went from 27 off 30 balls to an unbeaten 59 off 43 deliveries.