Day1: Fortuin puts Lions in control against Boland

Bjorn Fortuin registered his 10th First-Class four-wicket haul in an inspired afternoon spell to help the DP World Lions restrict Goldrush Boland to 180-7 at stumps on day one of their CSA 4-Day Series encounter at Boland Park on Thursday.

The contest was halted at the tea break. The interval coincided with rain and the showers persisted until the umpires called stumps late in the afternoon.

Boland had Clyde Reeves-Fortuin (43*) and Glenton Stuurman (1*) at the crease.

Fortuin was outstanding with the ball for the Lions. The left-arm spinner finished the day with four wickets for 72 runs in 27 overs.

Four of those overs were maidens, the most sent down by a Lions bowler on day one.

Reeves-Fortuin, the Boland captain, won the toss and elected to bat first and his side waxed and waned to 180.

Fortuin was a big reason for that. The spinner took his first wicket shortly before lunch, upending Pieter Malan and Gavin Kaplan's 55-run second-wicket partnership.

Malan and Kaplan had steadied Boland's innings after the fall of Grant Roelofsen earlier in the morning.

Fortuin made his presence felt immediately after the lunch break with a three-wicket strike.

The 30-year-old conceded 17 runs in 5.5 overs as he overran Boland's middle order.

First, he undid Aviwe Mgijima with a brilliant delivery with his fourth delivery after the break.

The left-arm spinner didn't give Boland time to regroup and consolidate.

He denied Pieter Malan a 57th First-Class half-century in his second over after lunch.

Clyde Reeves-Fortuin and Michael Copeland attempted a rebuild but that effort only contributed 12 runs before Fortuin tore the partnership asunder.

Fortuin castled all three batters. None could read his deliveries well enough to protect their stumps.

Junaid Dawood chipped in with a brace of wickets. The first came in the morning when he accounted for Roelofsen, and the second came in the late afternoon when he lured Keith Dudgeon into a shot that found a fielder.

Nqaba Peter rounded off the wicket-takers with a single scalp.

BOLAND: Grant Roelofsen, Pieter Malan, Gavin Kaplan, Aviwe Mgijima, Michael Copeland, Clyde Reeves-Fortuin (wk)(capt), Shaun von Berg, Keith Dudgeon, Glenton Stuurman, Siya Mahima, Aphiwe Mnyaka

LIONS: Joshua Richards, Dominic Hendricks (capt), Zubayr Hamza, Mitch van Buuren, Connor Esterhuizen (wk), Wandile Makwetu, Delano Potgieter, Bjorn Fortuin, Lutho Sipamla, Nqaba Peter, Junaid Dawood