Roelofsen leads the charge as Boland takes control

Grant Roelofsen registered his 12th first-class half-century as he steered Goldrush Boland to a score of 90 without loss of wickets at lunch on day one of their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Dafabet Warriors at Boland Park, Paarl, on Thursday.

The hosts, who won the toss and elected to bat first, made the best use of the morning conditions, refusing to let the Warriors bowlers tie them down. At lunch, Boland had Roelofsen (52*) and Malan (36*) at the crease.

The duo came out looking more positive than they did in the opening match of the season, where they lost to the Knights. Their opening pair handed the initiative to the hosts withs an impressive 90-run first-wicket stand. Their partnership laid a solid platform for the home side to build on in the post-lunch session. Last week, the pair's highest stand was 53 runs and both batters were dismissed in their 20s. The duo

Roelofsen looked in fine form, needing only 99 deliveries to register his 12th half-century. He also marked a milestone in his innings, reaching and passing the 3000-run mark in first-class cricket.

Duanne Olivier almost earned the Warriors a much-needed breakthrough early in the innings. However, his dismissal of Roelofsen was off a no-ball and the opening was accorded a lifeline. The no-ball was one of two that Olivier delivered in the morning session. The other one almost resulted in the dismissal of Malan.

Senuran Muthusamy was the most economical bowler for the Warriors, conceding 25 runs in 11 overs. He was followed closely by Siya Plaatjie, who conceded 10 runs in four overs. Olivier and Ethan Frosler conceded an identical number of runs, 18, in the same number of overs, seven.

BOLAND: Grant Roelofsen, Pieter Malan, Gavin Kaplan, Aviwe Mgijima, Clyde Fortuin (capt)(wk), Michael Copeland, Shaun von Berg, Keith Dudgeon, Jevano Baron, Ayabulela Gqamane, Glenton Stuurman

WARRIORS: Jordan Hermann, Jean du Plessis, Matthew Breetzke (capt), Matthew de Villiers, Sinethemba Qeshile (wk), Senuran Muthusamy, Andile Mogakane, Ethan Frosler, Duanne Olivier, Jason Raubenheimer, Siyabulela Plaatjie.