Lions v Titans Four-Day Series final first day abandoned due to wet Wanderers outfield

Day one of the Cricket South Africa Four-Day Series was abandoned without a ball bowled at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg on Thursday. 

With the final being a Jukskei Derby between two of the top teams in domestic cricket the Lions and Titans scheduled for five days, the anticipation for the fixture was through the roof all around the country. 

However, the persistent rain on the highveld affected yet another fixture as umpires Allahudien Paleker and Bongani Jele inspected the outfield throughout the opening day, and had to call stumps in the afternoon due to a wet outfield. 

The Lions are coming into the final cold, having had their fixture against the Free State Knights at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein washed out due to rain last week. 

On the other hand, the Titans have had plenty of cricket, and head into day two of the final with momentum.

Young Titans batters Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Dewald Brevis are in particularly good touch, having carried the middle order on their back in the round robin stage of the Four-Day Series. 

On the Lions side, quicks Cody Yusuf and Lutho Sipamla have had a good second half of the tournament, particularly at the Wanderers Stadium, with their new ball partnership yielding results for the Lions.

Play on day two is set to start at 9.30am on Friday, when the toss will be held, and it will be interesting to see whether Lions captain Dominic Hendricks and his Titans counterpart Neil Brand will decide to bowl first, or opt to bat due to the rain that has fallen in Johannnesburg this week.