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Day 2: See-saw day sees Province finish on top

rugby29 February 2024 16:31| © MWP
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Western Province finished a see-saw second day in charge of their CSA 4-Day Series final against the DP World Lions at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Eight wickets fell in a dramatic final session as Province collapsed from a commanding position of 286 for five to 312 all out, losing their last five wickets for 26 runs as they gained a relatively modest first-innings advantage of 87 when they must have hoped for more.

But that disappointment was substantially ameliorated by the close after Mthiwekhaya Nabe and Dane Paterson removed both Lions openers, Dominic Hendricks and Joshua Richards, for just 10 runs in the eight overs that remained.

This means that the Lions are still 77 behind with eight wickets in hand going into Friday’s third day of the five-day match.

Hendricks was brilliantly caught by Daniel Smith at first slip after the left-hander drove loosely at Nabe, before Richards edged an excellent delivery from Paterson that seamed away from him.

Zubayr Hamza was accompanied by nightwatchman Tshepo Moreki at the close.

Earlier, the Western Province top-order produced three half-centuries and a 45 but nobody was able to anchor the innings with a century.

If they had Province might have hoped to have batted their opponents out of the match.

But the Lions fought tigerishly to get back into the conversation and none more so than Moreki who captured his first five-wicket haul in his 96th first-class match.

He came into this game with the unlikely record of having taken more wickets (194) than anyone in first-class cricket who had never taken a five-for.

He certainly erased that mark with excellent figures of 18.3-0-65-5, an outstanding achievement in a match where his effort was needed the most.

ANOTHER FIFTY FOR DE ZORZI

Western Province started the day on their overnight total of 49 without loss in reply to the Lions’ first-innings of 225.

The home team adopted a strategy of bowling short to Edward Moore, a tactic that quickly paid off as Moore, who was hit on the helmet once and looked uneasy handling the barrage, hooked too early at a short one from Moreki.

The ball hit the back of his bat and looped up to Wiaan Mulder at second slip. Moore departed for 45 in 56 balls, including eight fours, most of them struck the previous evening when the Lions’ bowling had been loose.

He and fellow opener Tony de Zorzi had added 72 in 94 balls for the opening wicket.

De Zorzi, restrained on Wednesday evening, looked completely in command on the second morning, pulling, driving and cutting with security as he reached his 16th first-class 50.

He and Yaseen Vallie added 46 for the second wicket before Vallie clipped Delano Potgieter off his toes, failed to keep the ball down, and was nicely caught diving to his right at backward square leg by Joshua Richards.

Despite these wickets, the Province batsmen maintained a good rate of more than four to the over – scoring 98 runs in 24 overs in the session.

The key scalp for the Lions in the morning was De Zorzi who fell just before lunch when he was stuck on the crease as he nicked a superb delivery from Moreki that just left him a touch, easy pickings for wicketkeeper Ryan Rickelton.

De Zorzi struck eight fours in his 69-ball 51.

Kyle Verreynne’s dismissal, leg before to Moreki – the only wicket to fall in the afternoon – set up a fifth-wicket partnership of 87 between Gavin Kaplan and Daniel Smith, a record for the wicket for Province this season, with both men toning down their aggressive instincts in favour of a more solid approach, knowing there was plenty of time left in the game.

That partnership ended shortly after tea when Kaplan (60 in 117 balls) was bowled through the gate by Delano Potgieter.

But, at 245 for five, Province could still hope for a significant lead. But they crumbled after that with some soft dismissals, not least Smith’s extravagant stroke that led to him being trapped leg before by Bjorn Fortuin for 60 (117 balls).

Still, a lead of 87 was not to be sneezed at on a pitch that still offered something to the bowlers, and this was underlined in the final stanza as Province left the field jubilant after pocketing the Lions’ openers.

LIONS: Joshua Richards, Dominic Hendricks (capt), Zubayr Hamza, Temba Bavuma, Ryan Rickelton (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Delano Potgieter, Bjorn Fortuin, Codi Yusuf, Malusi Siboto, Tshepo Moreki

WESTERN PROVINCE: Tony de Zorzi, Edward Moore, Yaseen Vallie, Gavin Kaplan, Kyle Verreynne (capt, wk), Daniel Smith, Mihlali Mpongwana, Kyle Simmonds, Beuran Hendricks, Dane Paterson, Mthiwekhaya Nabe


Report Day 1

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