Sinethemba Qeshile played a patient innings as he secured a draw for the Dafabet Warriors in their CSA 4-Day Series match against WSB Western Province.
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 162/8d. The Warriors scored 231/8 as they batted out the overs on day four to save the match.
Qeshile produced an outstanding rearguard effort as he battled to save the match for his side. The wicketkeeper farmed the strike in his two partnerships with Duanne Olivier and Siya Plaatjie as he steered the Warriors to a positive result. He stonewalled the Western Province bowling attack, scoring only 30 runs off 173 deliveries.
Qeshile's fightback was built on the platform Jordan Hermann and Matthew Breetzke laid earlier in the day. Hermann shared a 128-run third-wicket partnership that kept the Warriors in the contest. Hermann 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.
Breetzke 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.
Kyle Simmonds almost secured victory for Western Province with his outstanding bowling. The spinner bagged back-to-back four-wicket hauls in the match. He bagged four wickets for 64 runs in 34.1 overs in the Warriors' first-innings and finished the second innings with four wickets for 66 runs in 40 overs. He had the best bowling figures in the match with eight wickets for 130 runs. The spinner now has 16 first-class four-wicket hauls.
Western Province registered an imposing first-innings total thanks to centuries from Eddie Moore (127) and George Linde (152). The pair resurrected Western Province's innings with an outstanding 191-run sixth-wicket partnership. When they joined forces, the hosts were on 33/5, the bulk of their top order blown away by Duanne Olivier and Beyers Swanepoel in the first 15 overs of the match.
Moore faced 171 deliveries to reach his 18th first-class century. The opener's innings was 221 balls long and he was dismissed after scoring 127 runs. Linde, who is enjoying a purple patch with the bat, top-scored for Western Province with 157 from 245 deliveries. This is the 32-year-old's sixth first-class century. Linde faced 185 deliveries to reach the milestone. The allrounder came into this match with a career-best first-class score of 148. He outdid that as he helped Western Province take control of the match.
After Moore's dismissal, Linde shared a 119-run seventh-wicket partnership with Kyle Simmonds. Simmonds played a brilliant knock to register his sixth first-class half-century. Simmonds faced 66 balls to reach the 50-run mark. He was dismissed for a brisk 68 off 78 balls.
The Warriors' top-order struggled to get going in their reply. Only one batter in their top five passed the 40-run mark. Matthew Breetzke held the Warriors' innings together with great panache. The Warriors captain registered his 16th first-class half-century in the period. He faced 88 deliveries to reach the milestone.
Senuran Muthusamy and Beyers Swanepoel edged the visitors closer to Western Province's total with an 80-run partnership. They chalked valiant half-centuries, Muthusamy with 55 off 150 and Swanepoel with an unbeaten 65 off 106. Muthusamy's half-century was his 30th in first-class cricket. He faced 136 deliveries to reach the milestone. Swanepoel, on the other hand, needed 80 deliveries to reach his eighth first-class half-century.
George Linde continued his good run of form with the bat with a half-century in Western Province's second innings. The allrounder scored an 86-ball 57 to extend Western Province's lead over the visitors. He faced 75 deliveries to reach the milestone. This is his eighth first-class half-century. The 32-year-old scored the most runs in the match, with 209 runs in two innings.
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.