Elworthy in the wickets as Northerns knock back Boland

Steve Elworthy took five for 41 as Northerns grabbed their Supersport Series clash with Boland by the scruff of its neck on Saturday.

Northerns skittled Boland for 132 runs and then drove home the advantage by moving along to a healthy 160 for one in their second innings.

That gave the home team a lead of 239 with nine wickets in the bank and two full days play left.

But Elworthy's performance has to be mentioned in the same breath as that of David Townsend took four for 35, and the two pacemen knocked the stuffing out of Boland, dismissing five batsmen in 42 deliveries after lunch.

Boland dwindled to 104 for nine, and added 28 runs thanks to a cavalier knock by Bradley Player, who scored 37 runs off 36 balls with five fours and a six.

Then Martin van Jaarsveld, fortified by a superb 91 in the first innings, continued in similar vein and by the close of play he was 81 not out. He was well supported by the left-hand opener, Jacques Rudolph, who scored 72.

Van Jaarsveld needed 135 balls to reach his half-century, but after that he took just 15 deliveries to race along to 72.

Together Van Jaarsveld and Rudolph have added 158 runs for the unbroken second wicket.