Western Province batsman Tony de Zorzi says his record 304* in the 4-Day Series match against the Free State Knights at Newlands “hasn’t sunk in yet”.
The 25-year-old is in outstanding form. He scored a blistering 163 just over a week ago against the Boland Rocks and followed that up by breaking the record for the highest score at Newlands this past weekend as WP claimed an innings-and-155-run victory.
The previous record was held by Pieter Malan, who scored 264, also against the Knights, at Newlands in the 2020-21 season.
READ: De Zorzi celebrates triple century
“It’s a bit surreal. If someone had told me that would be something I would achieve, I probably wouldn’t have believed them,” said De Zorzi.
“At the start of the day, I was very far from the record and for that to happen to me, it’s surreal. I’m very grateful I could do it for the team, myself and my mom at home.
“It’s still very overwhelming for me, it hasn’t sunk in yet – it probably will in the next few days or so. I’m glad that I could achieve something like that. I have only been dreaming of it, but to make that a reality it’s very huge and I’m very happy.
“From 290, I was like … jeez, I’ve done enough to get to that score, don’t get too nervous now. And then I saw Pieter’s record on the scoreboard – that alone was emotional and huge.
“Pieter is a great, special and consistent player so to have my name up with him, is an achievement. Once I got over the line it was huge.”
De Zorzi also paid tribute to the WP bowling unit who set the game up for his massive innings after they dismantled the Knights’ batting lineup for just 111 after losing the toss and being asked to bowl first.
“We probably have the best bowling attack in the competition and when you have those guys asking questions about the new ball up front, it’s a lot easier for us to set up the game,” he said.
“I think Beuran [Hendricks], [Tshepo] Moreki, Nandre [Burger] and Pato [Dane Paterson] were phenomenal, they gave us the opportunity to bat long and only once in the match. We have a special bowling attack, hardly waste the new ball and it’s always fun to be out there with them.”
