Ruan De Swardt played a gem of an innings to save the match for the Renault Potchefstroom North-West Dragons, and force a draw in their CSA 4-Day Series match against the Dafabet Warriors at Dafabet St George's Park on Sunday.
The Warriors won the toss, went into bat first and were bowled out for 298. The Dragons managed 239 in reply. The hosts piled on 386 for eight declared in their second innings. The Dragons were unbeaten on 328 for eight at the close of play.
De Swardt scored an unbeaten 87 off 186 as he valiantly fought to save the match for his side. The Dragons were scoring at a run rate just above three runs an over and there was no hope for them chasing down the required runs to record a win. Their best shot at leaving Gqeberha with points was to force a draw. That is what De Swardt delivered.
De Swardt was part of the make-shift test side that toured New Zealand earlier in the year on the strength of his all-round abilities. He scored a single half-century in two matches. The 26-year-old showed his class and experience by recording back-to-back half-centuries to rescue his side from calamity.
In the Dragons' first innings, he scored a well-played 92 from 160 balls. De Swardt was the third batter to fall in the 90s in the match, after Jordan Hermann (99) and Matthew de Villiers (94) on day one.
A feature of his game was his ability to bat with the tail. In particular, his two partnerships with Kerwin Mungroo. In the first innings, De Swart shared an 82-run ninth-wicket partnership with Mungroo. In the Dragons' second innings, De Swardt and Mungroo shared an unbroken match-saving 59-run stand. He also shared an important 74-run partnership with Migael Pretorius, who scored at a brisk pace to register his 14th first-class half-century.
Pretorius and De Swardt were two of the three Dragons batters to record half-centuries. Rubin Hermann scored a brilliant 73 from 133 balls that kept the visitors in the match as they fought for survival in the match on the final day.
With the ball, De Swardt grabbed a five-wicket haul to help the Dragons restrict the Warriors to 298. He recorded his best bowling figures in an innings. His previous first-class best in an innings was 4-41. In the Warriors' first innings, he bagged his maiden five-wicket haul, five wickets for 52 runs in 20.1 overs.
The Warriors put themselves in a healthy position early in the game thanks to half-centuries from Jordan Hermann and Matthew de Villiers. The duo stood tall when the rest of the batting order failed to get. They reached the 90s in an innings where none of the other batters reached the 30-run mark.
De Villiers was turning out for Claremont Cricket Club in 2023. The big stage did not faze him and showed that he is made of the right stuff by scoring back-to-back half-centuries in his first outing in first-class cricket. He followed up his first-innings 94 with a well-played 58 on the second dig.
His second half-century was one of four half-tons scored by Warriors batters. Patrick Kruger led with a run-a-ball 79, Sinethemba Qeshile stroked a well-paced 71, and Duanne Olivier scored a wonderful unbeaten 60. The quartet of 50s helped the home side register an unassailable total. However, they failed to take the required 10 wickets to win.
Jordan Hermann registered a career-best three wickets for 35 runs in 15 overs as he tried to bowl the Warriors to victory. The 22-year-old Warriors captain had never taken a wicket in first-class cricket before the encounter against the Dragons. One of his victims was his brother, Rubin Hermann, who plays for the Dragons.
Duan Olivier and Beyers Swanepoel registered their 28th and ninth four-wicket hauls in the contest.