Coetzee and Pietersen guide Griqualand West to provincial title

Griqualand West 144 (Koortzen 36, Simpson 5-27) and 277 (Swanepoel 59, Bossenger 38) beat Western Province 155 (Levi 49, Coetzee 4-8) and 174 (Telo 99*, Pietersen 4-64) by 42 runs
Scorecard

Griqualand West's left-arm seam duo of Charl Pietersen and Jandre Coetzee shared seven second-innings wickets to help clinch the Provincial Challenge title after bundling out Western Province for 174 on the final day in Kimberley. Dominic Telo, the middle-order batsman, led the chase with a half-century but ran out of partners as Pietersen and Coetzee inflicted a lower-order collapse after Western Province had progressed to 162 for 5, chasing 217. Telo remained unbeaten on 99, but his side finished 42 short of the target.

The fast bowlers from both sides prevailed in a low-scoring encounter at the De Beers Diamond Oval. Lucian Simpson, the left-arm seamer, took 5 for 27 on the first day to sink Griqualand West to 144. Western Province floundered in reply, ending the first day at 142 for 7, and only managed a slender lead of 11. Pietersen and Coetzee were the main wicket-takers in the first innings as well, taking four each. Coetzee ran through the lower order to finish with miserly figures of 4 for 8 in less than seven overs.

The Griqualand top order failed to get going once again, sinking to 96 for 6 before the lower order stepped up. Wendell Bossenger, the wicketkeeper, added 40 with Pietersen and another 24 with Audrey Swanepoel before he was dismissed for 38. Swanepoel went on the attack and his 47-ball 59, which included seven fours and two sixes, turned out to be the most crucial knock of the match as Griqualand pushed the lead beyond 200.

Requiring 217 to win, Western Province got off to a shaky start, ending the second day at 43 for 3. Coetzee removed the openers while Pietersen claimed Levi, the first-innings top-scorer, to give Griqualand the edge.

Western Province suffered due to their inability to build substantial partnerships on the final day - the only significant stand yielded 71 for the sixth wicket between Telo and Thami Tsolekile. Western Province lost their last five wickets for the addition of just 12 runs as Pietersen and Coetzee shared three of those wickets. Simpson was the last to go, off a run-out, leaving Telo stranded on 99. His knock - the highest of the match - included 14 boundaries, but it wasn't enough to win the game.