DAY 1: Olivier and Swanepoel put Warriors on the front foot

Duanne Olivier and Beyers Swanepoel put the Dafabet Warriors on the front foot with a flurry of wickets, helping them reduce the WSB Western Province to 83/5 in the morning session of day one of their CSA 4-Day Series match at WSB Newlands on Thursday.

Western Province won the toss and elected to bat first but found the going hard early on. They were blown away by some terrific new ball bowling from the visitors. The hosts had Eddie Moore (52*) and George Linde (15*) at the crease at lunch.

The Warriors' new ball pair of Duanne Olivier and Beyers Swanepoel made life difficult for the hosts in the first hour of play. They bagged two wickets each as they destabilised the Western Province top order.

Duanne Olivier struck in his fourth over, dismissing Tony de Zorzi. The pacer got the ball to move away from the left-hander, who edged it to the slips.

De Zorzi was unable to replicate what he did for the Proteas in the subcontinent on his return to first-team duties for Western Province. When he arrived at the crease, De Zorzi needed 15 runs to reach the 4000-run mark in first-class cricket. The opener has to wait a little longer for the milestone.

De Zorzi's wicket was the first of a three-wicket collapse. Beyers Swanepoel struck twice in the next over. The pacer had bowled good lines and lengths, conceding 10 runs in his first three overs. He got results in his fourth over, bowling through Yaseen Vallie's gates with the second ball of the over and dismissing David Bedingham with the next ball.

Western Province's troubles spilt into the post-drink period before lunch. The hosts were four wickets down, with Eddie Moore and Valentine Kitime in the middle. They needed the pair to bat until lunch. That was not to be. Siya Plaatjie bagged his first of the day and the Warriors' fifth wicket with the dismissal of Kitime.

Eddie Moore held the innings together for Western Province. The opener watched the procession of wickets from one end as he worked his way to a well-earned 53rd first-class half-century. At lunch, Moore had shared an unbroken 52-run sixth-wicket partnership that saw the hosts to lunch without further damage.

Duanne Olivier was the pick of the bowlers for the Warriors with two wickets for 16 runs in nine overs. Beyers Swanepoel also took two wickets but conceded 17 runs in eight overs, while Siya Plaatjie bagged one wicket for 21 runs in five overs.

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.