Natal come a cropper on Kingsmead greentop

KwaZulu-Natal came a cropper on one of their Kingsmead greentops, as they lost the toss and were asked to bat by Border. Initially the bowlers got it all wrong but once they found the correct line and length, they ran riot and bowled Natal out for 178. Tyron Henderson took 4 for 42 and Charl Langeveldt continued his good form with 3 for 36. Natal, without the suspended Lance Klusener and Jon Kent, suffered a further blow when Nixon Mclean left the field with a leg injury, allowing Mark Bruyns to take full advantage of some undisciplined bowling, as Border closed on 101 for 1.

Free State 280 for 7 (Dippenaar 69, Henderson 4-69) v Western Province
Scorecard

Free State made useful inroads into Natal's lead at the top of the table, scoring 280 for 7 against Western Province before bad light brought an early end to the day's play. Gerry Liebenberg got the innings off to a brisk start, scoring 45, but wickets soon started tumbling. But Boeta Dippenaar stopped the slide with a patient 69 before being bowled by Claude Henderson. Henderson finished with 4 for 69, including Kosie Venter for 47.

North West 260 for 9 (Jacobs 61, Grace 62, de Vos 61) v Griqualand West
Scorecard

Sixties from Davey Jacobs, Graham Grace and Dirkie de Vos gave North West a good start against Griqualand West at the de Beers Oval. The battle between the sides will be a fight to the death, with both teams looking for victory in their final matches, before the franchise system comes into being early next month.

Eastern Province 233 (Botha 56*, Mitchell 56, Joubert 6-28) v Northerns 2 for 1
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Johan Botha and Ian Mitchell added 87 for the eighth wicket, both scoring 56, to save Eastern Province from a complete collapse as they were bowled out for 233. Pierre Joubert, making a return to the Northerns team, returned career-best figure of 6 for 28 as he took wickets across the Province innings. Northerns were 2 for 1 at the close, after facing 2.4 overs.

Easterns 402 for 4 (Koenig 105, Seymore 51, Z de Bruin 64, P de Bruin 117) v Boland
Scorecard

Runs flowed at Willowmoore Park as Boland struggled on a batting strip that most batsmen only dream of. Easterns' total of 402 for 4 included hundreds from Sven Koenig and Pierre de Bruin, as well as fifties from Andre Seymore and Zander de Bruin. With Daryll Cullinan unbeaten on 44, the luckless Bolanders will be chasing a large total come late tomorrow.