The Africa T20 Cup started in thrilling fashion on Friday when Easterns beat Western Province by four wickets and five balls remaining in the opening match at Sahara Park Willowmoore.
In a contest in which the batsmen struggled to come to terms with the pitch Grant Thomson made what turned out to be a match-winning 31 not out off 28 balls with three boundaries. His partnership of 38 for the unbroken seventh wicket with Clayton August turned out to be the decisive one.
Easterns, after winning the toss, looked to have the upper hand when they restricted Western Province to 105 for nine in their 20 overs.
They produced a good all-round bowling effort with Vincent Moore, who swung the new ball substantially, probably the pick with his return of 2-20.
Aviwe Mgijima had a good all-round match for Western Province, making a top score of 26 for his side and claiming two wickets.
Dane Paterson put in a top bowling effort, conceding only 14 runs in his four overs and taking the wicket of home captain Ernest Kemm.
Pool A continues on Saturday with another three matches, starting at 9:30am with another two matches scheduled for Sunday.
Easterns collected four points for their victory. – Cricket SA
