Western Province will meet the Central Gauteng Lions in the unofficial final of the 2018 Coca-Cola Khaya Majola Week at Newlands on Thursday. This is the sixth time in the last 10 years that the two teams will contest the ‘final’.
The hosts beat Boland by 46 runs on Wednesday and Gauteng beat Northerns by 81 runs to clinch their respective places in the week’s showpiece fixture.
Those results meant that WP were the only side to be unbeaten over the first four days, while Gauteng lost once – in a shortened 10-over slog against Free State.
The two sides have been dominant at this week over the last 10 years. They will be meeting in the main game for the sixth time in the last 10 years on Thursday, with Gauteng winning three and Province two of the last five encounters. Only once in the last nine years has neither team appeared in the main game, which was in 2016 when Free State played Northerns.
The outstanding individual performance on Wednesday came from Gauteng’s Bryce Parsons, who scored 129 not out off 115 balls with 10 fours and four sixes. His captain, Jacob Miltz, made 60 as his side amassed 258-3 off their 50 overs, a total which was always going to be too much for Northerns, and they were dismissed for 177.
The other remarkable feat of the day was a hat-trick by KZN Coastal seamer Steven Naidoo against Namibia. He finished with 4-15 off his six overs in addition to scoring 66 not out to help his side to a 73-run win.
The best bowling figures of the day came from Border’s Nonelela Yikha, who took 6-22 against Limpopo. Boland’s Achille Cloete took 5-34 against Western Province, the only other ‘fifer’ of the day.
There were 11 half-centuries on a day that belonged to the batsmen. Apart from Miltz’ 60 for Gauteng, the others 50s were knocked up by Garnett Tarr (61, Free State vs SWD), Calvin Flanegan (54, Free State vs SWD), Gerald Coetzee (56 not out, Free State vs SWD), Justin Gilliland (54, Western Province vs Boland), Guy Sheena (61, Western Province vs Boland), Arnie Enslin (62, Easterns vs Eastern Province), Tristan Stubbs (66 not out, Eastern Province vs Easterns), Gareth Schreuder (60, KZN Inland vs Mpumalanga), Steven Naidoo (66 not out, KZN Coastal vs Namibia) and Fraser Jones (56 not out, KZN Inland vs Mpumalanga).
At the end of the fourth day Bryce Parsons of Gauteng is on top of the run-scoring charts for the week with 253 runs, while Kgaudise Molefe is the top wicket-taker with 17 victims to his credit.
Thursday’s fixtures
Western Province vs Gauteng (Newlands)
Free State vs Eastern Province (Rondebosch)
Boland vs Northerns (Bishops)
KwaZulu-Natal Inland vs KwaZulu-Natal Coastal (Wynberg)
SWD vs Easterns (Vineyard)
North West vs Mpumalanga (Victoria)
Namibia vs Border (Langa CC)
Limpopo vs Northern Cape (Cape Town Cricket Club)
Scoreboards
Central Gauteng Lions 258-3 (Jacob Miltz 60, Bryce Parsons 129 not out, Linda Ndlovu 33; Ethan Wentzel 2-70)
Northerns 177 (Ximus du Plooy 22, Sibusiso Maseko 24 not out; Tumelo Yeki 3-28)
Gauteng won by 81 runs
Free State 250-9 (Garnett Tarr 61, Christoffel Klijnhans 39, Calvin Flanegan 54, Gerald Coetzee 56 not out; Mesuli Vuba 3-35)
SWD 60 (Odin le Roux 25; Ruan Cronje 3-21)
Free State won by 190 runs
Western Province 213 (Justin Gilliland 54, Guy Sheena 61, Aaron Smit 49; Achille Cloete 5-34)
Boland 167 (Akeem Minnaar 45, Johannes Lambrechts 43; Jason Alexander 3-3, Jordan Woolf 2-22)
Western Province won by 46 runs
Easterns 191 (Arnie Enslin 62, Neo Felane 30, Saamil Kahn 28; Mark Amm 2-23)
Eastern Province 192-6 (Luke Beaufort 36, Tristan Stubbs 66 not out, Henirich Leibbrandt 31)
Eastern Province won by 6 wickets
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KwaZulu-Natal Inland 231 (Robert McGaw 35, Gareth Schreuder 60, Fraser Jones 56 not out; Akhulile Makatu 4-29)
Mpumalanga 225 (Graeme Bouwer 41, Jacques Vosloo 33; Fraser Jones 2-21)
KwaZulu-Natal Inland won by 6 runs
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal 195-5 (Thamsanqa Khumalo 52, Steven Naidoo 66 not out)
Namibia 122 (Shaun Fouche 23; Steven Naidoo 4-15, Matthew Montgomery 3-7)
KwaZulu-Natal Coastal won by 73 runs
Northern Cape 104 (Conor McNamara 33 not out; Karabelo Matlawe 3-21, Jim Keagile 3-34)
North West 105-5 (Marco Jansen 39 not out)
North West won by 5 wickets
Limpopo 86 (Nhlamula Mboweni 22; Luke Dallas 3/17, Nonelele Yikha 6-22)
Border 88-5 (Emihle Nqogi 38 not out)
Border won by 5 wickets
Photo: Theo Garrun
