'Stuuring' Boland effort leaves WP in high 'Dudgeon'

Goldrush Boland hammered World Sports Betting Western Province by 65 runs in the CSA T20 Challenge, securing a bonus point win at Boland Park on Tuesday night.

Opening bowlers Glenton Stuurman (four overs, 3-20) and Keith Dudgeon (three overs, 3-11) ran riot for the home side as Western Province’s pursuit of a 174 victory target was blown to smithereens under the lights in Paarl.

Disaster struck three balls into Province’s reply to the hosts’ hard-earned 173-5.

Eddie Moore, who had chopped Stuurman’s second delivery down to third man for four, badly mistimed a wild pull to give keeper Clyde Fortuin an easy catch.

In came Daniel Smith, bumped up the order after smoking 80 off 26 balls to dismantle the North West Dragons at the weekend.

But not tonight, as Dudgeon came around the wicket to the left-hander and uprooted his middle stump clean out of the ground with his first delivery.

That became two in three when Valentine Kitimie, who had also struck a half-century at the weekend, misjudged the swing and cleaved Dudgeon to the diving Aviwe Mgijima at short cover.

Jiveshan Pillay’s debut knock was then brought to a premature end by the rampant 29-year-old, who dug in another testing short one that Pillay could only hook down to Jhedli van Briesies in the deep.

Stuurman was intent on keeping up with his fellow opener and it was only two balls into the fifth over of the innings when he reduced the visitors to 21-5.

Oliver Whitehead fell across an in-dipping yorker that veteran umpire Marais Erasmus had no hesitation in giving out LBW.

And then went their last realistic hope in Verreynne, playing a horrible swipe across the line that gave Stuurman his second leg-before of the over.

It should have been 28-7 when Juan James mistimed another Dudgeon bouncer, only for Siyabonga Mahima to completely misjudge his attempt at the catch at long-leg.

Josh Breed and Juan James (52 off 33) had the unenviable task of at least restoring some dignity for those in blue.

James did so but Breed, having nudged and nurdled himself in, was clean bowled by Mahima for 11 off 14 balls when he attempted to lash one through the offside.

Beuran Hendricks (19 off 16) belied his meagre average but was bowled by Imran Manack (3-24) to make it 97-8 when attempting a swing down the ground.

Asakhe Tsaka, who had earlier impressed with the ball in the opening powerplay, wafted an air shot at his first delivery to see his off stump disturbed, before Mthiwekhaya Naba survived Manack’s hat-trick ball.

Fortuin inexplicably dropped James at the wicket off the bowling of Botha before they scrambled a couple off the next ball of the 15th over to reach a forlorn 100.

And that allowed the rookie to reach his maiden T20 half-century off 31 balls as he alone held the fort, before becoming Manack’s third LBW victim to put Province out of their misery and seal a third win on the spin for Boland.

BOTHA BASHES FIFTY

Earlier Lehan Botha (52 not out off 36) led the way for the home side, whose top order all made starts as they grafted hard for their 173-5 on a still evening in Paarl.

Allowing Western Province to chase could have been seen as a bold move by the hosts when they won the toss, despite that being the accepted wisdom, given Smith’s pyrotechnics in his side’s successful weekend chase.

But Botha’s effort, alongside those of Gavin Kaplan (32 off 21), Grant Roelofsen (24 off 20) and captain Fortuin (30 off 23) proved more than enough when their colleagues let loose with the ball.

GOLDRUSH BOLAND Gavin Kaplan, Grant Roelofsen, Clyde Fortuin (capt, wk), Lehan Botha, Ferisco Adams, Jhedli van Briesies, Keith Dudgeon, Imran Manack, Glenton Stuurman, Aviwe Mgijima, Siyabonga Mahima.

WORLD SPORTS BETTING WESTERN PROVINCE: Eddie Moore, Valentine Kitime, Kyle Verreynne (capt, wk), Daniel Smith, Oliver Whitehead, Juan James, Jiveshan Pillay, Beuran Hendricks, Josh Breed, Mthiwekhaya Nabe, Asakhe Tsaka.