Tshabalala shines again

Boland 238 for 6 (Arendse 59) beat Eastern Province 230 (Dipha 68, Nel 64, van Wyk 3-42, Fransman 3-36) by 8 runs

Panic in Paarl cost Eastern Province dearly as Boland scraped through by 8 runs after staring defeat in the face. Boland, sent in to bat, notched up a creditable 238 for 6 in 45 overs with Rayno Arendse scoring 59. Henri Fourie assisted with 41 but it was Wesley Euley who upped the run rate with 46 off 31 balls.

Eastern Province seemed to be cruising to victory with Lazola Dipha and Ruan Nel both scoring in the sixties. At 191 for 5 with nine overs in hand all was going to plan. Two silly run outs followed and panic set in with Province getting bowled out for 230 with an over to spare. Jacques van Wyk and Bardo Fransman with three wickets each were the toast of the wine farmers.

KwaZulu-Natal 163 for 3 (Mall 69*, K Smit 55) beat Border 162 by 7 wickets

In East London KwaZulu-Natal made light work of Border, winning by seven wickets with ten overs to spare after choosing to bowl. The Natal bowlers shared the wickets as only Michael Smith and Michael Matika offered some resistance, both getting into the forties. A target of 163 was never going to be a tough ask. Ashraf Mall and Kyle Smit gave Natal the start they needed powering past the 163 required. Smit, out for 55, and Mall, undefeated on 69, had done the work up front.

Western Province 261 for 5 (Worth 64, Wyngaard 71*, Bosman 3-31) beat Griqualand West 244 (MC Arthur 63, Philander 3-49, Samsodien 3-44) by 17 runs.

A high scoring match in Kimberley ended in a 17-run win for Western Province as Griqualand West faltered in their chase. Having been put in to bat first Province amassed a healthy total of 261 as Doug Worth got the innings off to a flier scoring 64 off just 39 balls. The platform had been built and this allowed Warren Wyngaard to continue the onslaught as he raced to 71 off 58 balls. Mbulelo Bosman did well with the ball to walk off with 3 for 31 in his nine overs as Province raced to 261.

Griquas made a brave effort in chasing down the target of 262. Mario Arthur, with 63, started them on the right road but maintaining the run rate and preserving wickets proved just one hurdle too far as Griquas were bowled out for 244 with 2.1 overs to spare. Vernon Philander capped off the perfect week with another three-wicket haul while Waleed Samsodien added three to his collection.

Free State 245 for 7 (van Wyk 62, Linde 58, Mafa 3-38) beat Gauteng 198 (Tshabalala 4-24, Ferris 3-38) by 47 runs

At the Wanderers Free State easily beat Gauteng with the only excitement coming at the end of the game when Gerhard de Bruin hit the penultimate ball for a six to give Gauteng the consolation prize of a bonus point. Free State, sent in to bat, had the perfect start with Johnathan Beukus and Riel de Kock putting on 66 for the first wicket. A further 62 from Divan van Wyk and 58 from Corne Linde helped Free State to 245 for 7. Johnson Mafa was responsible for the first three wickets to fall and ended on 3-38.

Gauteng made the perfect start with Stephen Cook and Blake Snijman putting on 63 for the first wicket. Three wickets from Christo Ferris and two run outs undid all the good work done up front for Gauteng to collapse to 103 for 5. The guile of Thandi Tshabalala did the rest as the young off-spinner again showed that he is destined for bigger things.