A sublime display of pace bowling from Gbets Rocks opening bowler Achille Cloete set them up for a 27-run win over the North West Dragons in their CSA One-Day Cup match at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom on Friday.
Cloete tore into the Dragons top order, eventually ending with figures of 3-31 after 10 overs, but it was his incredible opening spell of seven overs with his figures 3-13 at that stage, that put the Dragons immediately behind the eight ball.
After the Rocks managed 251 for eight in their 50 overs, the Dragons' chase got off to a disastrous start as Cloete laid waste to their top order, as he reduced them to 8 for three after five overs.
It was an incredible first over as Cloete was on the money with every delivery and he was duly rewarded as he clean bowled Lesego Senokwane for a golden duck and trapped Shaylin Pillay LBW, with the Dragons on 0 for two.
Christopher Britz (1) then just couldn’t get a handle on Cloete in his 10-ball stay and eventually edged him to keeper Clyde Fortuin to leave the home side in deep trouble.
Opener Wesley Marshall (73) had watched the initial carnage from the other end, and he put away his usual attacking game to try and revive the innings with Senuran Muthusamy (15) as they combined for a 36-run fourth-wicket stand in 10.4 overs.
Muthusamy was then stumped by Fortuin off the bowling of Siyabonga Mahima and on 44 for four, the game was almost over.
Marshall however found a willing partner in Delano Potgieter (28) and they combined for a 64-run partnership, with Marshall slowly growing back into the game with some positive shots, as he moved past his half century.
But just after they took their side past the 100-run mark, Marshall was bowled by Ferisco Adams leaving them on 108 for five.
The Dragons then continued to lose regular wickets as Potgieter was caught by Adams off Michael Copeland, Nono Pongolo (11) was caught by Fortuin off Hardus Viljoen, while Viljoen bowled Khanya Cotani (20) as they slipped to 161 for eight.
Duan Jansen (26) and Eldred Hawken (32) then delayed the inevitable with an impressive 51-run ninth-wicket stand, before Viljoen and Adams cleaned them up to seal the win.
Earlier, a Stiaan van Zyl century, while sharing in a top 173-run third wicket partnership with Pieter Malan, and a six-wicket haul from Hawken lit up the Rocks' innings.
Opener Van Zyl carried his bat to end the innings unbeaten on 114 off 141 balls (9x4), Malan scored 98 off 110 balls (7x4; 1x6), and Hawken produced career-best figures of 6-46 to help his side fight back at the end.
It was a tough start to the innings for the Rocks as opening bowlers Hawken and Jansen made important early strikes to reduce the visitors to 27 for two in the 10th over.
Janneman Malan (7) was first to fall in the third over, caught by Pillay off of Hawken, before Jansen had Ruan Terblanche (2) caught by Senokwane, to leave the Rocks in a spot of bother.
However this brought Malan to the crease to join Van Zyl and they set about reviving the innings with a monster stand.
Malan proved to be the aggressor as he took charge, hitting his 13th ball for a six, and along with Van Zyl they took their side past the 100 and 150-run marks.
Both batsmen had brought up their half centuries along the way and having brought up the team's 200 and on the verge of his own century, Malan was then run out by some smart fielding from Senokwane, with the score 200 for three in the 44th over.
With the platform set, the Rocks were on target for a possible score of 270-plus if they could get in some big overs, but Hawken put paid to that with some superb death bowling, despite Van Zyl reaching his century.
Hawken twice picked up two wickets in two balls, first bowling Fortuin (12) with a fast yorker and then bowling Viljoen (1) with a fantastic slower ball.
He then had Copeland (1) caught in the deep by a diving Marshall, and then ended the innings with his second double strike, having Adams (8) caught by Jansen at long on and bowling Zakhele Qwabe for a first-ball duck.
NORTH WEST DRAGONS: Lesego Senokwane, Wesley Marshall, Shaylen Pillay, Christopher Britz, Senuran Muthusamy, Delano Potgieter, Khanya Cotani (wk), Duan Jansen, Nono Pongolo (capt), Eldred Hawken, Caleb Seleka
PAARL ROCKS: Pieter Malan (capt), Janneman Malan, Stiaan van Zyl, Ruan Terblanche, Clyde Fortuin, Michael Copeland, Ferisco Adams, Hardus Viljoen Siyabonga Mahima, Zakhele Qwabe, Achille Cloete