Tiaan van Vuuren claimed back-to-back five-wicket hauls as South Africa A (SA ‘A’) secured an eight-wicket victory against England Lions inside three days in the second unofficial test at The Kent Country Cricket Ground to seal a 2-0 series win.
The 24-year-old paceman returned career-best figures of 6-52 for a match haul of 11 wickets, as the visitors bowled the Lions out for 158 to set themselves a modest target of 74.
Van Vuuren tore through the hosts' lower order, claiming four of England’s remaining five wickets within the first hour of the day's play after they resumed on 134-5.
He picked up his first scalp in just the third over of the morning when Rehan Ahmed (44) mistimed a shot to Tony de Zorzi at mid-wicket.
Overnight batter Ekansh Singh was next to fall, caught behind for 30.
Dane Paterson (3-50) bagged this third of the innings by removing Liam Patterson-White (9).
Van Vuuren then quickly wrapped up the innings, getting Eddie Jack (0) caught behind before trapping Naavya Sharma (0) lbw in what turned out to be the final over of the innings.
WARRIORS ON THE ROAD
Though SA ‘A’ experienced an early wobble in their chase, losing openers de Zorzi (0) and Lesego Senokwane (8) inside the first five overs with the score on 20-2, Jordan Hermann (32*) and Zubayr Hamza (28*) steadied the innings to comfortably chase down the target in 12.2 overs.
With this result, SA ‘A’ extended their impressive record on the road to five wins from their last six first-class matches, a run which includes a 2-0 series win over the West Indies and a 1-1 drawn series against India.
SA ‘A’ head coach Wandile Gwavu said: “We’re very pleased to have won the second match and, with it, the series. Looking back on the two matches, different players stood up at key moments, especially when we found ourselves under pressure, which was really encouraging to see.
“That stands us in good stead heading into the white-ball series, but also proves that we have depth and quality players within our system.
"Our objectives haven’t changed; when we play, we play to win and, at the same time, gather as much information and learn as much as possible from playing in different conditions.”
Attention now turns to the white-ball leg of the tour, with the sides set to contest a three-match one-day series starting on Friday, 5 June in Leicester.
SOUTH AFRICA A FOUR-DAY SQUAD AGAINST ENGLAND LIONS
Marques Ackerman (captain, Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Ottneil Baartman (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Tony de Zorzi (WSB Western Province), Bjorn Fortuin (DP World Lions), Zubayr Hamza (DP World Lions), Jordan Hermann (Dafabet Warriors), Rubin Hermann (North West Dragons), Nqobani Mokoena (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Dane Paterson (WSB Western Province), Sinethemba Qeshile (Dafabet Warriors), Lesego Senokwane (Momentum Multiply Titans), Jason Smith (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Prenelan Subrayen (Hollywoodbets Dolphins), Tiaan van Vuuren (Flexbrand Knights), and Codi Yusuf (DP World Lions).
RESULTS
Four-Day Series
South Africa A beat England Lions by 8 wickets - Arundel Castle Cricket Club Ground, Arundel
South Africa A beat England Lions by 8 wickets - The Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham