Benjamin van Rensburg recorded his career-best bowling figures in an innings as he helped Northern Cape Heat restrict Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers to a total of 125 runs on day two of their CSA Four-Day Series Division two match at Recreation Ground, Oudtshoorn, on Friday.
The Badgers' 125 runs came in reply to Northern Cape Heat's first innings score of 274. At stumps, Northern Cape Heat was on 68 for the loss of one wicket in their second innings. Northern Cape Heat leads the Badgers by 217 runs with nine wickets in hand. At stumps, Northern Cape Heat had lost the wicket of Ernest Kemm (30) and had Victor Mahlangu (32) and Jason Oakes (5) at the crease.
Coming into this match, Van Rensburg had career-best bowling figures in an innings that read: 4-29. While van Rensburg did not improve by bagging a maiden five-wicket haul, he did better by conceding fewer runs for his second four-wicket haul. He took four wickets for 22 runs.
Benjamin van Rensburg had the ball on a string as he tormented the Badgers' batting lineup. In the face of an onslaught from Van Rensburg and his captain Ernest Kemm, the Badgers simply rolled over and died.
The Badgers' shining stars in their loss in the previous match, Blayde Capell (2) and Jhedli van Briesies (0) were unable to navigate Benjamin van Rensburg's medium pacers. After the duo's dismissal, the Badgers found themselves in trouble, floundering on seven for the loss of two wickets after 5.5 overs. Their problems were compounded by the dismissal of Andre Malan (0) three overs later.
After 8.5 overs, the Badgers were 12 for three, the Badgers needed Matthew Christensen and Onke Nyaku (8) to mount a robust fourth-wicket partnership to stabilise the innings. That did not happen. The one thing they did was to see the Badgers through to the lunch interval. And almost immediately after the break, Christensen found himself welcoming his fifth partner inside 21 overs. The Badgers still had not passed the 50-run mark and they were four wickets down.
When Nyaku was dismissed, the Badgers were on 42 for four. His dismissal was followed by another flurry of wickets. The Badgers lost three more wickets in 7.1 overs for seven runs. Christensen, the only batter holding firm looked like he was going to run out of partners before he scored 40 runs.
The Badgers batted through 27.3 overs and lost seven wickets to reach 50 runs.
Christensen eventually succumbed to the pressure after watching wickets tumble around him for the better part of 41 overs. The 26-year-old was six runs short of his 14th first-class half-century when he was trapped lbw by Ernest Kemm.
Marcello Piedt and Basheeru-Deen Walters, the Badgers' number 10 and 11 batters, showed better application than the entire batting lineup, save for Matthew Christensen. They were the only other batters to score double figures, they saw the Badgers past 100 runs and shared the Badgers' highest partnership. Piedt and Walters' partnership was worth 45 runs.
Benjamin van Rensburg and Ernest Kemm were outstanding with the ball for Northern Cape Heat. Both bowlers bagged four wickets each. Van Rensburg registered his second four-wicket haul by taking four wickets for 22 runs in 13 overs. Those figures are now his career-best bowling figures in an innings. Ernest Kemm's four-wicket haul came at a cost of 30 runs in 14.2 overs.
Earlier in the day, Romano Terblanche had picked up from where he left off on day one. His patient approach was unchanged as he paced his innings.
Terblanche was on the cusp of a 21st first-class half-century when he ran out of partners. The 36-year-old resumed his innings in the same way he had left it the previous day. At stumps, the left-hander was on 25 and in the company of Northern Cape Heat's number 11 batter, Kagiso Mohale.
While Terblanche did his best to farm the strike, Mohale did his best to defend his wicket. Mohale scored only four runs from the 35 deliveries that he faced. Unfortunately for Terblanche, Mohale failed to hold on beyond that point. Terblanche was left stranded on 47 from 101.
Basheeru-Deen Walters was Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers' most successful bowler. The pacer took three wickets for 34 runs in 22.4 overs. Sean Whitehead also took three wickets from his 30 overs, but he conceded runs at a higher economy rate.
VAN ZYL INSPIRES EASTERN STORM FIGHTBACK ON DAY TWO
Nico van Zyl led a lower-order fight-back and scored a fantastic half-century to lead Eastern Storm to a score of 368 for nine on the second day of their CSA Four-Day Series Division two match against Mpumalanga Rhinos at Willowmoore Park.
Mpumalanga Rhinos scored 304 runs in their first innings. With 368 runs on the board, Eastern Storm leads the Rhinos by 64 runs with one wicket in hand.
Van Zyl rolled up his sleeves and did what every other batter who came in after Mark Pearse failed to do. Though Pearse was not in the same belligerent mood he was in on day one, the 25-year-old opener managed to add 26 more runs from 32 deliveries as he brought up his second first-class century. His 113-run knock featured 17 fours and two sixes from 94 deliveries.
After his dismissal, no other batter seemed capable of scoring significant runs. That was until Eastern Storm's number 11 batter, Nico van Zyl, came to the crease. The 23-year-old looked less like a number 11 and more like a No 5 batter as he stroked 12 fours on his way to an unbeaten 71 off 82 deliveries. Play at Willowmoore Park was stopped due to bad light and Van Zyl was in the company of Neo Felane (35*).
On the morning of day two, Visser found the going difficult and was unable to add to his overnight score. His partner, Mark Pearse was a little watchful, compared to his intent on day one. The opener faced 18 deliveries for the 13 runs he needed to bring up his second first-class century. Following his century, Pearse's innings lasted for 14 more deliveries, a period in which he added 13 more runs. He was dismissed by Kieran Kenny for 113 from 94 balls.
Following Pearse's dismissal, Eastern Storm looked bereft. They lost three wickets in 6.2 overs for 20 runs. Lindokuhle Pawuli accounted for Kabelo Sekhukhune (25), while Jon Hinrichsen proved to be too much of a handful for Danie Rossouw (12) and Mykyle Pillay (14).
The procession of wickets continued when Divan Posthumus became Jon Hinrichsen's fourth victim 7.3 overs after Pillay's dismissal. Posthumus had only contributed nine runs to the total when he departed and was replaced by Amaan Khan. Khan arrived at the crease playing with positive intent. The 19-year-old nudged his first-class average a little higher by scoring a new career-best score of 18 runs.
Eastern Storm's wicketkeeper and former Proteas player, Mangaliso Mosehle, did not fare any better than Khan. The 32-year-old scored one run less than Khan when his innings came to an end at the hands of Hinrichsen. Hinrichsen registered his maiden five-wicket haul with Mosehle's wicket.
Eastern Storm were on 262 when their ninth wicket fell, and it looked like they were on course to be bowled out for less than 300. However, tailenders Neo Felane and Nico van Zyl had other ideas. The number 10 and 11 batters' lower-order resistance had added 106 runs to the total at stumps. That did not only pull them up to the 300-run mark but also ensured a 64-run lead.
Van Zyl faced 55 deliveries to bring up his maiden first-class half-century. The 23-year-old brought up the milestone in style, with a booming drive for four past the fielder stationed at deep cover.
Jon Hinrichsen was the pick of the bowlers for Mpumalanga Rhinos on day two. The 23-year-old medium pacer bagged his maiden first-class five-wicket haul with figures of 5-73 runs in 24 overs.
HOBSON AND STEENKAMP SHINE FOR IMPALAS
Thomas Hobson and Louren Steenkamp's half-centuries helped Limpopo Impalas put up a score of 305 on the second day of their CSA Four-Day Series Division two match against Eastern Cape Iinyathi at Buffalo Park, East London.
The Impalas' score was in reply to Eastern Cape Iinyathi's first innings score of 245. Eastern Cape Iinyathi, who began their second innings late on day two, had lost a single wicket for eight runs at stumps. Joshua van Heerden (2) and Nonelela Yikha (2) were at the crease at the close of play.
Eastern Cape Iinyathi trail the Impalas by 52 runs with nine wickets in hand.
Hobson and Steenkamp were the only Impalas batters to hit sixes in the innings. Hobson's half-century of 77 runs from 169 balls featured nine fours and a single six, and Steenkamp's 63 from 91 also featured nine fours and a single six.
Thomas Kaber spun webs with his left-arm wrist-spin and was the reason why Liam Peters only contributed a resilient 21 off 67 during the course of a 45-run opening partnership with Ludwig Kaestner (22). Kaestner did not last long following Peters' dismissal. The 22-year-old opener was drawn out of his crease by Kaber to give Mncedisi Malika an easy stumping. Kaestner's stay was a mere 6.3 overs longer than Peters'.
Thomas Hobson and Morne Venter rolled up their sleeves and set about rebuilding the Impalas' innings. They went about the task with purpose. During the course of their 106-run partnership, Hobson brought up his second first-class half-century. The 28-year-old faced 113 deliveries and hit five fours and a single six on his way to the milestone. Venter would consider himself unlucky to have missed out on a third first-class half-century by four runs. His 46-run knock featured five fours.
Louren Steenkamp made his intentions clear when he arrived at the crease and creamed back-to-back boundaries off the first two deliveries he faced. Steenkamp was going to cash in on anything short and wide. The 25-year-old neatly slotted into the gap left by Venter's dismissal and built a 56-run partnership with Hobson. Their partnership was broken when Hobson was dismissed after scoring a new career-best score of 77 runs.
Steenkamp needed 73 deliveries, from which he hit seven fours and a single six, to reach his second first-class half-century. Though Steenkamp was playing well, the batters who came after Hobson were not. In fact, the Impalas suffered a middle-order collapse following Hobson's dismissal. They lost three wickets for 18 runs in a space of eight overs. Ruan Haasbroek (7), Nyiko Shikwambana (0) and Sizwe Masondo (2), simply failed to get going.
Steenkamp's well-paced innings came to an end 2.2 overs after Masondo's dismissal. He retreated to the dressing room after scoring an important 63 off 91 deliveries. With Steenkamp gone, it suddenly looked possible that Eastern Cape Iinyathi could restrict the visitors to a first innings score below 300 runs.
However, Sithembile Langa (20) and Zakhele Qwabe (13) had other ideas. The No 9 and 10 batters put together an impressive 40-run ninth-wicket partnership that saw the Impalas past the 300-run mark.
Thomas Kaber was Eastern Cape Iinyathi's best bowler in the innings. The 30-year-old bagged his 11th five-wicket haul with figures of six wickets for 121 runs in 33 overs. Jade de Klerk pitched in with three wickets for 51 runs in 24 overs.