Easterns beat KwaZulu-Natal comfortably, while Gauteng beat Northerns in the South African provincial A one-day competition
Keith Lane23-Jun-2005Easterns 196 for 3 (Seymore 73, Booysen 54*, de Bruin 51) beatKwaZulu-Natal 195 for 9 by 7 wickets
ScorecardAfter losing the first class match, Easterns turned the tables on KwaZulu-Natal at Willowmoore Park to win by seven wickets. Set to make 196 in 45 overs Easterns finished the game off with 7.2 overs to spare. KwaZulu-Natal dug themselves into a hole at the top of the innings and never recovered, with wickets falling at regular intervals. Showing the importance of partnerships in the shorter form of the game Easterns set off at a cracking pace with Andre Seymore driving firmly at every opportunity. His 73, nearly in equal time, set the tone of the innings. Pierre de Bruyn after his century in the three-day game scored good 50 while Jaco Booysen tried hard to secure the bonus point, failing by a few balls. One player to keep an eye on is the Easterns opening bowler Shiraaz Abrahams. With the right support, hard work and coaching he may turn out to be the find of the season.Gauteng 250 for 8 (Otto 124) beat Northerns 241 for 8 (van Woerkom 86, van Wyk 59) by 9 runs
ScorecardGauteng took the double at the Wanderers as they squeezed out neighbours Northerns by 9 runs in a tense 45-over affair. Having scored 250, thanks to a magnificent hundred from Marthinus Otto, Northerns clawed themselves back into the game falling short by nine runs when the overs ran out. Otto showed no mercy as he carved the ball around the ground, striking 12 fours and 6 sixes as he dominated the Gauteng innings. Northerns made the worst possible start and, struggling at 58 for 4, seemed to be well out of the game. Nic van Woerkom (86) and Kruger van Wyk (59) got the innings back together again with Pierre Joubert dancing in with a quick 48. Having lost too many wickets at the top of the innings and with too much to do at the end Northerns struggled, as they finished on 241. Nic van Woerkom, of Northerns, is clearly a man on a mission, and now has two hundreds and an eighty in his last three one-day innings.
