SA A have won the second four-day Test against Zimbabwe A by an innings and 81 runs in Bulawayo, to win the series 1-0.
The South Africans took just 16 overs on day four to take the final five wickets required to seal a dominant victory, easing off public pressure after they drew the first one in Harare last week. They now head to Australia for their two-match series against Australia A at the end of the month, and their triangular series involving Australia A and India A later on in August, full of confidence.
The destroyer-in-chief on the final day against the hosts was Dane Piedt, who took three wickets to finish with figures of 4-19, a solid response after returning with 1-117 in the first innings. Vernon Philander took the first wicket of the day and his first of the match, while Andile Phehlukwayo backed up his excellent 5-62 in the first innings with 2-20 in the second, and Keshav Maharaj (3-37) also performed.
It was the type of bowling display that had been missing from the rest of the series, after a frustrating draw in Harare was followed up with another strong first-innings display from Zimbabwe A, who were at one point on 293-4 on day three. The next 16 wickets fell for just 196 runs.
This was after a massive 570-6 dec from SA A in their first and only innings, which included centuries from Stephen Cook, Heino Kuhn and Stiaan van Zyl. The batting throughout the series was impressive, as Theunis de Bruyn recorded a pair of half-centuries and Omphile Ramela scored an unbeaten ton in the first match.
Temba Bavuma, Dean Elgar and Wayne Parnell will link up with the squad to bolster their credentials ahead of the tour Down Under.
Photo: Ryan Wilkisky/Backpage Pix
