One win from 15 matches is the stat that will force the hand of the Sunfoil teams when the series resumes on Thursday.

The Titans were the only team to come away with a win from the first round of five matches last year, and all teams with aspirations know that they cannot fall too far behind in the early stages of the second session.

The Titans meet the Cobras in Benoni, the Knights face the Dolphins in Bloemfontein and the Warriors take on the Highveld Lions in East London.

The 14 draws were pinned on unresponsive wickets, lethargic bowlers and dodgy Kookaburra balls, but the teams know they are going to have to make things happen.

The Titans have amassed 79.68 points, 10 more than the Knights (68.70). But the competition is extremely tight with the bottom-placed Lions on 56.38 points.

Mark Boucher’s team, who have won the Ram Slam and topped the table in the One-Day Cup, continue to stand out despite the draw on their resources by national call-ups: Heinrich Klaasen being the latest to join the Proteas. In the first half of the season, they used 21 players.

In a review of the season, coach Boucher said: ‘It wasn’t ideal, but as it happens, opportunities were presented to others and for us there were openings for guys like Corbin Bosch and Migael Pretorius, so those guys stepped in and came through with flying colours.

‘I’m pleased with the depth, and hopefully we can get more settled.’

Boucher is predicting a more exciting second half of the season.

‘I think once the competition starts to break up a bit with some wins, then you’ll start to see riskier cricket being played because there are so many points for a win. We can expect things to be more exciting in the second half; there’ll be more rolling of the dice.’

Photo: Sydney Mahlangu/BackpagePix