Dawson rocks Natal back on their heels

Western Province vice-captain Alan Dawson again underlined what a canny competitor he is with the ball as he took all four Natal wickets on a day which ended with the home side holding the upper hand.

After eventually being dismissed shortly after lunch for 352, Province had reduced a moribund Natal batting line-up to 118 for four when bad light stopped play nine overs early on the second day at Newlands.

Dawson took his wickets in two short but effective bursts, ending the day with figures of 4-32. The openers were his first victims, first Mark Bruyns edging to captain HD Ackerman in the slips with the total on 35, and then Doug Watson tickling one through to Thami Tsolokile behind the stumps a run later.

The two dismissals put a halt to the momentum the Natal innings had briefly generated and Ashraf Mall and Andrew Hudson were forced to dig in, offering little more than resolute defence for the next hour or so.

With the occasional flurry of attacking strokes, the pair had put on 72 before Dawson came back for another brace. This time he trapped Mall leg before on the front foot and then induced a faint edge from Hudson which brought a fine catch from Tsolokile.

Natal's 118 runs had came at a miserly rate, the scoring rate barely creeping above two per over.

Earlier Jacques Kallis had looked a certainty to score what would have been his nineteenth first-class hundred but instead edged a catch to Shaun Pollock at slip just a run short of the milestone. It was the fifth time he has been out in the nineties.

Although the departure of Kallis was a setback for Province, Ackerman will have been delighted with the way the tail set about adding further runs.

And no one was more impressive than Paul Adams, his undefeated 42 a personal best in the first-class game. But Roger Telemachus and Charl Willoughby also played their part as the last two wickets added 86 runs. They could prove to be vital.