Western Province Remain Unbeaten While Rain Dampens Luus’ Hundred in CSA One-Day Cup

Six Gun Grill Western Province extended their lead at the top of the log, while Fidelity Titans all-rounder Suné Luus recorded her second century of the season before rain had the final say in the latest round of the Cricket South Africa (CSA) One-Day Cup on Saturday.

Western Province turned to their bowlers as they completed a dominant 65-run victory in the Western Cape derby against the Six Gun Grill Garden Route Badgers, winning their fifth 50-over match out of six, to reinforce their place at the top of the table.

The Titans looked set to give second-placed Hollywoodbets Dolphins a run for their money after Momentum Proteas stalwart Luus starred with an anchoring 105 off 131 balls to help her side put up a competitive total before the arrival of the rain led to the match being abandoned three overs into the second innings.

In the other Top 6 encounter, the defending champions North West Dragons claimed their first One- Day Cup triumph of the season, as they edged the DP World Lions by two wickets at Witrand Oval in Potchefstroom following a starring role from spinner Evodia Yekile’s figures of five for 17.

Meanwhile in Division Two, Boland and the Northern Cape Heat secured convincing victories via the Duckworth-Lewis and Stern (DLS) method over Eastern Cape Iinyathi and the KwaZulu-Natal Tuskers respectively.

Mpumalanga earned their second win of the year thanks to an outstanding bowling effort from Angel Mgwenya, who bagged a return of eight wickets for 16, as they defeated the Eastern Storm by 12 runs at the MCU Oval in eMalahleni.

The matchup of the weekend took place at the Six Gun Grill Recreation Ground in Oudtshoorn as two in-form sides collided. After winning the toss, Western Province elected to bat first before they were restricted to 185 all out as the Garden Route Badgers captain Haroline Rhodes (4 / 38) led from the front with ball in hand while Saarah Smith top-scored with an 81-ball 43.

In reply, the Badgers also found it tough to settle at the crease as the seam attack of Nosipho Vezi (3 / 22) and Proteas Women all-rounder Nadine de Klerk (3 / 36) ripped through the home side’s batting order. Despite Micaéla Andrew’s (35) best attempts with the bat, Western Province dismissed the Badgers for 120 within 35.3 overs to win by 65 runs.

In Tshwane, Luus put on a masterclass of batting as she dispatched 10 deliveries to the boundary enroute to her crucial 105 off 131 balls to propel her Titans side to a solid total worth 218 all out as the Dolphins bowlers shared the wickets amongst them, led by Alexandra Candler’s two for 20.

With an exciting contest set to unfold, the overhead conditions became unplayable as the rain came down over the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Oval in the third over of the Dolphins innings before the clash was eventually called off as the showers failed to dissipate

In Potchefstroom, the winless Dragons were tasked with picking up their first taste of One-Day Cup success this season, and after winning the toss and choosing to field, they began going about completing the job.

The Dragons, through Evodia Yekile’s (5 / 17) superb five-wicket haul, rattled the Lions out for 161, with Kgomotso Rapoo (36) top-scoring, before wicketkeeper Lizri de Villiers (33*) showed her steeliness in the middle to get her team over the line with two wickets in hand and 1.1 overs to spare.

The women’s domestic action continues on Sunday, 27 November with a full range of CSA Women’s T20 Cup matches taking place from 09h30. All matches will be streamed via CSA’s YouTube page.