Alan Kruger stars with his maiden hundred
Alan Kruger, batting at number seven for Griquas, threw caution to the wind by hitting his maiden century and finished with 158 from 162 balls with 20 fours and two sixes
Kaith Lane
06-Jan-2005
Griqualand West 319 (Kruger 158, Carolus 4-72) lead Eastern Province 98 for 3 by 221 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
At St George's Park in Port Elizabeth, Griqualand West may have believed that they had made the wrong decision to bat first as the Eastern Province bowlers reduced them to 81 for 6 with Deon Carolus capturing four of the first five wickets to fall. Alan Kruger, batting at number seven for Griquas, then threw caution to the wind by hitting his maiden century. He finished with 158 from 162 balls with 20 fours and two sixes. Together with the tail he took the total to 319.
Eastern Province made a similar start to their innings by losing three wickets for 47 runs before Ruan Nel and Michael Price put on 51 runs to take them to 96 for 3 when stumps was drawn.
Northerns 240 for 8 dec (Dros 80, Joubert 68*, Hinkel 3-62) lead Border 31 for 3 by 209 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
Buffalo Park in East London saw Northerns struggle against Border after being sent in to bat. Gerald Dros, unable to find a spot in the Titans franchise team, saved the day fot Northerns with a hard-fought 80 while the experienced Pierre Joubert waded in with an undefeated 68. The leg-break bowling of Warwick Hinkel was the thorn in Northerns's flesh as he took 3 for 62 in 21 overs.
Northerns came back fighting when they took the field: they reduced Border to 31 for 3 at the close of play and of the 20 overs bowled, 11 were maidens.
Easterns 183 for 9 dec (de Bruyn 55, de Bruin 3-60) lead Gauteng 171 for 4 by 12 runs
Scorecard
Scorecard
At Willowmoore Park in Benoni, Easterns's innings never got off the ground after winning the toss and batting first. Pierre de Bruyn was aggressive in his 55, made from 60 balls, and he smashed 10 fours while wickets fell around him at regular intervals. The Gauteng attack found the pitch to their liking with Gerhard de Bruin taking 3 for 60. Easterns curiously declared with nine wickets down although the extra bonus point was already lost at the fall of the eighth wicket.
Just as the bowlers had done, the Gauteng batsmen came to grips with the pitch and eased their way to 171 for 4, just 12 runs behind as the first day drew to a close. William Motaung helped himself to 45 while Marthinus Otto made a brisk 42. Vaughan van Jaarsveld, on 34, and Matthew Harris, on 25, will continue their innings on the second day.