Late rally gives Western Province Boland the lead
Western Province Boland's lower order came to the rescue and put up enough runs to take a minor lead, though a heavy loss still looked likely on the fourth day
Keith Lane
12-Jul-2005
Western Province Boland 233 (Prince 50, de Lange 87, Steyn 3-44, Thomas 3-51) and 325 for 7 (Tsolekile 77, Kleinveldt 92, Harris 3-128) lead Titans 524 for 4 dec by 34 runs
On the verge of an embarassing three-day defeat, Western Province Boland's lower order came to the rescue and put up enough runs to take a minor lead, though a heavy loss still looked likely on the fourth day.
The Titans enforced the follow-on after dismissing WPBOL for 233, where Con de Lange top-scored with 87 and Alfonso Thomas mopped up the tail. Following on, WPBOL started terribly. They were soon 106 for 6 before Thami Tsolekile (77 not out) and Rory Kleinveldt (92) put on 148. Kleinveldt had bettered his high score by a long way; his previous best was 27. Quentin Friend, coming in at number nine, also passed his previous best to end the day on 42 not out. The tail had put on 219 between them and allowed WPBOL a lead of 34 going into the final day.
Eagles 148 and 330 (Liebenberg, 65, Dippenaar 71, van Wyk 59, Boje 51, Langeveldt 4-84) lead Lions 188 and 142 for 1 (Bacher 63*, Ontong 58*) by 148 runs
A tough match lead to what could be a riveting final day in Blomfontein. The Lions, set a target of 291, eased themselves to 142 for 1 with Adam Bacher on 63 and Justin Ontong on 58.
The Eagles had extended their overnight lead to 185 when Boeta Dippenaar was the first to go on 71. Nicky Boje was then dismissed for 51, and Free State ended on 330. The Lions then lost Steven Cook (17) early before Bacher and Ontong took control, putting their team on the road to victory. The pitch had had lost its venom and allowed Free State back into the game.
Warriors 349 and 165 (Boucher 54, Tweedie 4-42, Louw 3-50, Klusener 3-35) lead Dolphins 223 and 28 for 1 by 263 runs
The Dolphins could only add 22 runs to their overnight total of 201 for 7 as Mornantau Hayward cleaned up the tail. With a deficit of 126, the Dolphins fought back strongly, as the pace attack of Johann Louw (3 wickets), Lance Klusener (3 wickets) and Andrew Tweedie (4 wickets) demolished the Warriors. A 54 from Mark Boucher and 46 from Robin Peterson hauled the Warriors out of serious trouble. They were eventually bowled out for 165, setting the Dolphins a target of 292 runs. At close the Dolphins had moved to 28 for 1.