Australia A chased down South Africa A’s 134 all out inside 20 overs to cruise to an eight-wicket victory on Sunday.
The defeat for South Africa all but ends their chances of reaching the Quadrangular Series final. They have just one victory from their five matches so far, and need a bonus-point victory over the National Performance Squad on Wednesday, hoping that India A thrash Australia A and Net Run Rate goes their way.
A third-place play off looks the most likely situation now, and their performance on Sunday morning suggests that’s probably what they deserve.
They got off to the worst possible start as skipper Heino Kuh fell second ball for a duck. The only hope of a competitive total rested with Khaya Zondo and David Miller, who worked their way to a 53-run stand. Miller chipped in with 25 and Zondo eventually departed for 40.
The only other contributions came from Qaasim Adams (27) and Andile Phehlukwayo (22) as they stumbled to 134 all out. Both pace and spin played their part, as Kane Richardson weighed in with 2-11 from his seven overs, while Cameron Boyce cleaned up the tail with 4-21.
Dwaine Pretorius and Phehlukwayo made early inroads with the new ball to remove openers Kurtis Patterson (11) and Marcus Stoinis (18), but with scoreboard pressure not a factor, Chris Lynn and Glenn Maxwell eased over the line with a brisk 104-run partnership to see them home just 18.5 overs in. Maxwell finished with 46 off just 31 balls while Lynn got 56, to leave them well placed for a spot in the final.
Photo: Anesh Debiky/Gallo Images
