McKenzie sinks the Dolphins

The Lions made the Dolphins rue their decision to put them in as they amassed 448 for 8, before reducing the Dolphins to 132 for 3 at the close at Durban. Neil McKenzie batted five-and-a-half hours for his unbeaten 161, and although the Dolphins had glimpsed hope when the Lions slipped to 289 for 5, the tail gave McKenzie solid support. The Dolphins lost three wickets to Garnett Kruger, but Hashim Amla (50*) and Dale Benkenstein (25*) counterattacked well with 50 off the last ten overs of the day.

The Eagles paid dearly for failing to polish off the Titans' tail at Benoni, allowing Pierre de Bruyn to crack 125 not out as the last three wickets added 120. Johannes van der Wath was rewarded for his perseverance with 5 for 126. Things then went from bad to worse for the Eagles as they crumbled to 51 for 7, Dale Steyn grabbing four wickets, before Ryan McLaren (63) and van der Wath (51*) stopped the rot with an eighth-wicket stand of 117. McLaren fell in the penultimate over, leaving the Eagles 270 runs in arrears and facing an almost certain follow on.

Late wickets from Cape Cobras gave them the edge against the Warriors at Port Elizabeth after the Warriors had taken a 52-run first-innings lead. Five of the Cobras' top six made thirty but none went on to make a fifty, and they paid for failing to build on solid starts. Cobras declared nine down to give themselves extra time before stumps, and the decision proved a good one as Charl Willoughby and Monde Zondeki shared four wickets as the Warriors slipped to 38 for 4, a lead of only 90.