DAY 4: Simmonds puts Western Province on the front foot

Kyle Simmonds bagged three wickets in the post-lunch session to swing the momentum in favour of WSB Western Province in their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Dafabet Warriors on Sunday. The Warriors were on 178 for five at tea.

The Warriors need 183 runs to win with five wickets in hand. Western Province, who won the toss and elected to bat first, chalked a first-innings total of 464. The visitors replied with a first-innings tally of 266. The hosts extended their lead with a second-innings score of 162 for eight declared. The Warriors had Sinethemba Qeshile (6*) and Senuran Muthusamy (9*) in the middle at tea.

Simmonds bagged a trio of wickets to pin the visitors on the back foot after a promising start to their final innings. The Warriors looked solid with Jordan Hermann and Matthew Breetzke in the middle. The pair constructed an impressive 128-run third-wicket partnership that kept the visitors in the contest.

Simmonds unravelled that partnership with the dismissal of Breetzke. The Warriors captain fell after scoring a patient 53 off 144 deliveries. The 26-year-old faced 138 deliveries to register his 17th first-class half-century. It is also his second in the match. Breetzke scored an even-paced 52 in the first innings.

Simmonds followed that up with the dismissal of Matthew de Villiers a short while later. However, his big wicket of the session came 3.5 overs after De Villiers' dismissal. The spinner trapped Jordan Hermann lbw to earn Western Province their third wicket of the afternoon and the fifth of the innings.

Hermann was the mainstay of the Warriors innings. The left-hander was in the middle for four hours and 19 minutes as he battled to keep his side in the contest. The opener fell after scoring a magnificent 98 from 170 balls. This is his 12th first-class half-century. Hermann agonisingly fell two runs shy of his fifth first-class century.

This is the second time in three matches that the opener has fallen in the 90s. He fell for a brilliant 99 in the Warriors' first match. They played against the Renault Potchefstroom North West Dragons at Dafabet St George's Park.

At tea, Simmonds had three wickets for 52 runs in 22 overs. He was the only wicket-taker for Western Province in the afternoon session.

WESTERN PROVINCE: Tony de Zorzi, Edward Moore, Mohammed Vallie, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (wk), George Linde, Valentine Kitime, Kyle Simmonds, Beuran Hendricks (capt), Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Dane Paterson.

WARRIORS: Jordan Hermann, Jiveshan Pillay, Matthew Breetzke (capt), Matthew de Villiers, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Andile Mogakane, Senuran Muthusamy, Beyers Swanepoel, Duanne Olivier, Jason Raubenheimer, Siyabulela Plaatjie.