Western Province extend lead

Northerns routed Free State by an innings and 91 runs at the LC de Villiers Oval, the game all but decided on the first morning as Pretoria were skittled out for 98 after being stuck in on a green track.

Poor batting was also behind Zimbabwe Provinces' 210-run defeat by Easterns at Bulawayo as they were bowled out for 81 and 130.

Deon Carolus grabbed 9 for 103 in Griqualand West's draw with North West in Kimberley. His career-best 5 for 37 ensured that North West had to follow on, but they batted better the second time round and almost pulled off a remarkable win as Griqualand West finished on 139 for 8, chasing 157 in 23 overs.

Western Province eased to an eight-wicket win over South Western Districts at Oudtshoorn. Esmund Peter van Wyk set up the victory with match figures of 9 for 67.

Pool A

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
Western Province	3	2	1	0	0	0	43.34
Border	2	1	0	0	1	0	22.92
Eastern Province	1	1	0	0	0	0	17.48
KwaZulu-Natal	2	0	1	0	1	0	13.06
S West D	2	0	2	0	0	0	7.64
Boland	1	0	0	0	1	0	6.96
KwaZulu-Inld	1	0	0	0	1	0	6.08

Pool B

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts
North West	4	0	0	0	4	0	33.14
Northerns	2	1	0	0	1	0	25.34
Gauteng	2	1	0	0	1	0	22.92
Easterns	2	1	0	0	1	0	22.54
Free State	3	0	1	0	2	0	18.56
Griqualand West	2	0	0	0	2	0	16.56
Zim Provs	2	0	2	0	0	0	10.38
Namibia	1	0	0	0	1	0	8.8

A disciplined performance from Western Province's bowlers handed them an impressive 86-run win over South Western Districts at Oudtshoorn. Western Province were indebted to Ryan Canning's 67 in their 180, but William Hantam blew South Western Districts away with three early wickets before Esmund Peter van Wyk broke through the middle order with 3 for 20. Jonathan Beukes was left stranded on 50; the next highest total (other than extras, with 20) was Ntabyozuko Nobebe, the No.11, who made 8.

Pool B
A blistering 71 from Niel Bredenkamp, the 20-year-old, led North West to an imposing 288 for 4 from their 45 overs, which proved too much for Griqualand West at Kimberley. Tianne Mostert got the innings off to a flyer with an 81-ball 74, combining well with Werner Coetsee who fell three short of a hundred when he was trapped in front by Jandre Coetzee. But it was Bredenkamp who gave the innings the injection they needed, smacking 71 from just 46 balls, heaving six sixes and four fours. Griqualand West fell 46 runs short, despite an unbeaten 93 from Wendell Bossenger. Etienne Gerber picked up 4 for 37.

Northerns eased past Free State by 104 runs at Pretoria after dismissing them for 168. None of Free State's batsmen moved out of first gear - Hancke van Rauenstein's 31 came from 64 balls - as Mandla Mashimbyi, Roelof van der Merwe and Aaron Phangiso picked up two wickets each. Northerns' 272 for 4 was led by Rushdi Jappie's unbeaten 98 and a 36-ball 60 from Farhaan Behardien.

A fine allround display from Geoffrey Toyana gave Easterns an easy four-wicket win over Zimbabwe Provinces in Bulawayo. Toyana's 3 for 23 restricted the Provinces to 191 for 8, and he guided Easterns home with a slick 87.

Pool A

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Western Province	3	3	0	0	0	13	+0.768	675/132.3	584/135.0
S West D	2	1	1	0	0	5	+0.176	126/50.0	211/90.0
Boland	1	1	0	0	0	4	+0.223	233/43.3	231/45.0
KwaZulu-Natal	2	1	1	0	0	3	+0.278	419/84.0	420/89.1
KwaZulu-Inld	1	0	1	0	0	0	-0.223	231/45.0	233/43.3
Eastern Province	1	0	1	0	0	0	-0.232	244/45.0	245/43.2
Border	2	0	2	0	0	-1	-2.426	201/90.0	205/44.0

Pool B

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	N/R	Pts	Net RR	For	Against
Gauteng	2	2	0	0	0	9	+0.961	352/76.5	315/87.0
Northerns	2	2	0	0	0	8	+1.199	510/89.5	403/90.0
Easterns	2	2	0	0	0	8	+0.436	415/88.4	382/90.0
North West	4	1	3	0	0	4	+0.035	975/176.0	968/175.5
Free State	3	1	2	0	0	4	-1.027	537/131.1	676/132.0
Namibia	1	1	0	0	0	2	+0.073	264/41.0	261/41.0
Zim Provs	2	0	2	0	0	0	-0.609	335/90.0	340/78.3
Griqualand West	2	0	2	0	0	-1	-0.528	443/90.0	486/89.1

Player of the Week

- Shaun Liebisch An impressive debut from Northerns' 21-year-old Liebisch. The son of a retired umpire who has a reputation as a death bowler for the University of Pretoria, he moves the ball away from right handers and has a reputation for hitting the deck hard. He kicked off with remarkable figures of 12-8-7-4 with his accurate seamers and then top-scored with a three-hour 91 from No. 6 - he started his career as an opening batsman. His accuracy was again to the fore in Free State's second innings as he finished with 16-6-38-2.