Leus du Plooy led the way with an unbeaten 93 and Yaseen Valli contributed 86 from 181 deliveries (10x4) as South Western Districts replied to Northern Cape’s first-innings 351 all out with 378 for seven on the second day of their CSA 4-day Franchise Series Division Two match at the Diamond Oval in Kimberley on Friday.
Du Plooy faced just 132 balls and struck 15 boundaries as he helped his side to a narrow 27-run lead on a near-perfect batting surface which has shown no signs of wear-and-tear.
Former SA under-19 left hander, Valli, added 137 with Blayde Capell (67) for the first wicket having resumed on 35 without loss at the start of play. Capell was moderately the more aggressive of the two requiring 112 balls for his runs and hitting 12 boundaries.
Valli’s dismissal, lbw to NC captain Aubrey Swanepoel, triggered a collapse of three wickets for the addition of just one run from 191 for two to 192 for five as Beyers Swanepoel dismissed SWD captain Jean du Plessis (1) and Jhedli van Briesies (0) with consecutive deliveries .
But Du Plooy and another former SA under-19 all rounder, Sean Whitehead (54) steadied the innings with a stand of 93 for the sixth wicket and Pheko Moletsane (53 from 80 balls, 8x4, 1x6) added exactly the same number for the seventh wicket with Du Plooy to take the home side into the lead.
NC batter Evan Jones dominated the first day with his unbeaten 157 from just 128 balls (18x4, 8x6) to lead his side to an unlikely total of 351 having been reduced to 156 for six with seamer Renaldo Meyer returning excellent figures of 5-55 from his 16.2 overs.
