Pretorius century, Boast burst secures Titans win over Western Province

A stunning maiden list A century from 18-year-old Lhuan-dre Pretorius and a brilliant late-match burst with the ball from Matthew Boast saw the Momentum Multiply Titans secure a 41-run win over World Sports Betting Western Province in their CSA One-Day Cup match at WSB Newlands on Wednesday.

Having won the toss and chosen to bat, Pretorius slammed a brilliant 120 off 96 balls, hammering seven sixes and 11 fours, to help his side reach a strong 337 for seven in their 50 overs.

The hosts then got off to a good start in their chase, only for Boast to return with the ball for a second spell late in the game and obliterate the middle and lower order, taking the last five wickets to finish with superb figures of 5-38 in 5.1 overs, and bowl them out for 296.

The Western Province chase was led by an impressive 87 off 94 balls (9x4; 2x6) from Valentine Kitime, and 69 of 64 (6x4; 1x6) from David Bedingham, but once they departed, their challenge fell by the wayside.

Western Province got off to a poor start, after Eddie Moore (15), who looked good in hitting three early boundaries, was run out in the fourth over, leaving them on 24 for one.

That brought Bedingham in to join Kitime and they combined for a 145-run second-wicket partnership to put the home side well on top by the halfway stage of the innings, sitting comfortably on 169 for one after 25 overs.

However the slide then began as Bedingham was bowled by Roelof van der Merwe, and six overs later Kitime was caught by Dayyaan Galiem off Dewald Brevis, as they slipped to 194 for three.

George Linde (7) was caught by Keegan Petersen off Sibonelo Makhanya, and Yaseen Vallie (9) was stumped by keeper Rivaldo Moonsamy off Brevis as they tumbled to 239 for five.

Captain Kyle Verreynne, 55 off 49 (5x4) briefly sparked hopes of a comeback with Kyle Simmonds (16), as they shared in a quickfire 28-run stand, but Boast stepped in to decide the game.

Having only bowled two overs up front, conceding 16 runs and getting no wickets, Boast bounced back on his return, picking up four wickets for eight runs in his next two overs to break the back of the Western Province chase.

He first had Verreynne chipping to captain Neil Brand at mid off, and then Simmonds slogging to Peterson on the long-on boundary in the 43rd over. In the 45th, he bowled Onke Nyaku (3) and Dane Paterson with successive yorkers as Western Province crashed to 276 for nine.

Mihlali Mpongwana (10no) and Jody Lawrence (12) showed a bit of fight with a 20-run last wicket stand, but Boast fittingly ended proceedings by uprooting Lawrence’s leg stump to claim his maiden list A five-wicket haul.

PRETORIUS HEROICS

In the first innings, the Titans looked well set for a monster score thanks to Pretorius’ century seeing them reach 183 for one in the 33rd over, before the hosts fought back, followed by a superb lower-order finish that boosted them to a defendable total.

They initially got off to a slow start, and Moonsamy (9), who struggled to get the ball away, was first to fall, edging Nyaku to wicketkeeper Verreynne with the score 27 for one in the seventh over.

That brought Keegan Petersen (48) in to join Pretorius and they set about building a platform for the Titans to fire from down the back straight of the innings.

Petersen was clearly the anchor, as he faced 82 balls in his innings and only hit four boundaries, with him giving the strike to the in-form Pretorius, which allowed him to flay the Western Province bowlers around the ground as he cruised past fifty, while the Titans went past 100 and 150.

Pretorius brought up his century in style, squeezing a late cut to deep backward square leg for four, and then looked to be setting himself up for a huge score when he came down the wicket at Kyle Simmonds, missed and Verreynne did the rest behind the stumps to send him on his way.

That started the Western Province fightback as Petersen was caught in the deep by Eddie Moore off Mihlali Mpongwana, Neil Brand (6) was trapped LBW by George Linde and Sibonelo Makhanya (9) popped a return catch back to Lawrence as they slipped to 233 for five.

This while Dewald Brevis, 42 off 32 (2x4; 2x6), was hammering the ball around, but when he hit Lawrence straight to Simmonds to leave the Titans on 250 for six in the 43rd over, they were in danger of not even getting to 300.

However the lower-order charge led by Dayyaan Galiem, 48no off 24 (4x4; 2x6) then began, as he shared in a 33-run stand with Andile Phehlukwayo (18) and an unbeaten 54-run partnership with Matthew Boast, 20no off 13 (2x4; 1x6).

Three sixes in Dane Paterson’s 46th over saw 21 come off it, a four and six in Mpongwana’s 48th added 13 to the total, two fours in a messy 49th from Nyaku saw it go for 17, and two fours and a six in Mpongwana’s 50th helped 19 come off it as the Titans finished with a flourish.

WESTERN PROVINCE: Eddie Moore, Valentine Kitime, David Bedingham, Kyle Verreynne (capt, wk), Yaseen Vallie, George Linde, Mihlali Mpongwana, Onke Nyaku, Kyle Simmonds, Dane Paterson, Jody Lawrence

TITANS: Lhuan-Dre Pretorius (wk), Rivaldo Moonsamy, Neil Brand (capt), Keegan Petersen, Dewald Brevis, Sibonelo Makhanya, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dayyaan Galiem, Matthew Boast, Roelof van der Merwe, Junior Dala