Fledermaus and Hendricks star as Knights down Boland

Seth Fledermaus and Dominic Hendricks scored half-centuries to set the Knights up for a 21-run win over Goldrush Boland in their CSA One-Day Challenge encounter at the Mangaung Oval on Wednesday night.

This is the Knights' second victory in four games. For Boland, it is the first loss in four outings. Unlike their encounter against the Dafabet Warriors over the weekend, their lower-order couldn't counterpunch and guide them to victory after a top-order failure.

The toss went the Knights' way and Dane Piedt, the captain, elected to bat first. Fledermaus and Hendricks kept their heads as they compiled half-centuries to lift the home side to 249 in 49.1 overs. Tiaan van Vuuren had a brilliant outing with the ball for the Knights as he helped them restrict Boland to 228.

Van Vuuren continued his form from the Knights' previous match, where he bagged three wickets for 16 runs in 5.4 overs. The 23-year-old left-arm seamer showed his array of skills in his first spell as the Knights applied the squeeze early on. He ripped Boland's lower order apart in his second spell to finish with four wickets for 39 runs in 10 overs.

FLEDERMAUS HEROICS

Van Vuuren’s bowling complemented the effort from Seth Fledermaus and Dominic Hendricks earlier in the day. Fledermaus walked out to bat when the Knights were on 155 for five in the 30th over. The home side was in a spot of bother and needed someone to play a substantial innings to give them a chance of getting close to the par score.

The average first innings score in day-night encounters at Mangaung Oval is 257. It was a tall ask from a batter with a high score of 20 and an average of 11. The 25-year-old showed that those numbers were not a proper representation of his abilities. He faced 57 deliveries on his way to a maiden List A half-century. He finished on 52 off 59 in a tidy innings.

Fledermaus' knock was a continuation from where Dominic Hendricks had left off. The 34-year-old arrived at the crease in the sixth-over, following the dismissal of Lesego Senokwane. The seasoned campaigner is on loan from the DP World Lions for the season. He had a slow start and came into the match with a best of 29. Hendricks scored a handy 55 off 76 balls in his 26.1-over stay.

This is Hendricks' 22nd List A half-century, and his first in the Knights' kit. He faced 63 deliveries to reach the milestone. In addition, Hendricks shared a 71-run third-wicket partnership with Patrick Botha. It succeeded his 47-run second-wicket stand with Jacques Snyman.

Fledermaus and Hendricks' half-centuries came on either side of a collapse that almost jeopardised the Knights' innings. The home side lost four wickets for 27 runs in 9.4 overs in a middle order collapse. The crumble began with the wicket of Patrick Botha in the 27th over and stopped with the loss of Tian van Vuuren in the 37th over. Fledermaus and Aaron Phangiso halted the collapse with a 63-run seventh-wicket partnership.

The milestones from Fledermaus and Hendricks proved to be the difference between the two sides. Fledermaus and Hendricks gave the home side the best shot at victory by staying in for as long as possible. Boland did not have anyone who did that.

PARTNERSHIPS NOT ENOUGH FOR BOLAND

The visitors only had two partnerships that kept them in the match. The first was the 58-run third-wicket partnership between Gavin Kaplan (28) and Aviwe Mgijima (35). The pair enjoy batting together and this was their third 50-run plus partnership in four List A outings. However, Boland needed them to kick on from the 20s and 30s.

Boland's second major partnership was between Clyde Rees-Fortuin (30) and Michael Copeland (45). They added 56 runs for the fifth wicket. They did what Mgijima and Kaplan did. They knocked the ball around for singles and the odd two runs, slowly chipping away at the required total. However, like Mgijima and Kaplan, Reeves-Fortuin failed to kick on after a good start. Neither reached a milestone.

Van Vuuren’s four-wicket haul is his new career-best List A bowling figures. He was well supported by Jacques Snyman who bowled well at the death. The 30-year-old finished with two wickets for 31 runs in six overs. Aaron Phangiso, Dane Piedt, Dian Forrester, and Malusi Siboto did a great job of keeping the run rate in check, taking wickets at crucial moments for the Knights.

KNIGHTS: Jacques Snyman, Lesego Senokwane, Dominic Hendricks (wk), Patrick Botha, Seth Fledermaus, Dian Forrester, Tiaan van Vuuren, Aaron Phangiso, Dane Piedt (capt), Malusi Siboto, Johannes van Dyk.

BOLAND: Grant Roelofsen, Blayde Cappell, Gavin Kaplan, Aviwe Mgijima, Clyde Reeves-Fortuin (capt)(wk), Shaun von Berg, Aya Gqamane, Keith Dudgeon, Imraan Manack, Akhona Mnyaka.