Ken Borland

27-year-old Jason Smith is a proper adult in cricketing terms, and his maturity was on full display on Wednesday as he steered the KZN Dolphins to victory in their CSA Provincial T20 Knockout quarterfinal against the Eastern Province Warriors in Kimberley.

KZN were chasing a mediocre total of 128, but paceman Glenton Stuurman (4-0-18-2) imposed himself with the new ball as they crashed to 33-4 after seven overs.

But Smith then came to the wicket and, striking the ball cleanly for three fours and three sixes, but also working the gaps really cleverly, struck 60 not out (41) to ensure a win for KZN by six wickets with four balls left.

Keegan Petersen weathered the early storm, batting through to score 38*.

EP in the end did well to post 127-9 after they had chosen to bat first and slumped to 8-3 in the first three overs as Daryn Dupavillon produced a fiery display of fast bowling, ending with explosive figures of 4- 18.

He wasn’t threatening to send anyone to hospital, but he targeted the stumps superbly, dismissing both openers, Lubbe (lbw) and Breetzke (bowled) for first-ball ducks and then having Smuts caught behind off an inside edge.

The Warriors were rescued by Diego Rosier’s composed 51 off 41 balls and a patient 28 by Sinethemba Qeshile.

Young Duan Jansen was the star of the show as the North-West Dragons snatched victory by three runs over the Boland Rocks in their quarterfinal.

Excellent bowling by Boland, especially spinners Manack and Mahima, reduced North-West to 104 for five in the 14^th over with the dismissal of opener Eben Botha for 41 (34).

Lesego Senokwane (40 off 31) was then run out brilliantly by wicketkeeper Clyde Fortuin, but Jansen lifted the Dragons to 156-8 with some hearty blows, slamming 27 off 21 balls.

Brothers Janneman (74* off 56) and Pieter Malan (46 off 38) had Boland well on track though with their opening stand of 108 in 12.5 overs.

But impressive 18-year-old spinner Caleb Seleka (4-0-25-2) removed Proteas Pieter Malan and Christiaan Jonker in successive overs and Jansen dismissed the dangerous Fortuin.

Nevertheless Jansen only had nine runs to defend in the final over. But Adams (21 off 13) stupidly ran himself out, wicketkeeper Nicky van den Bergh doing great work, and Janneman Malan failed to make contact with a couple of shots and in the end Jansen (4-0-19-2) conceded just five runs off the last over.

The wonderfully aggressive batting of the Free State Knights, led by Rilee Rossouw’s fiery century and the undimmed class of Farhaan Behardien, took them into the semi-finals of the CSA Provincial T20 Knockout as they beat Western Province by just four runs in Kimberley on Tuesday.

Rossouw added 52 off 32 balls with Jacques Snyman (32) for the second wicket, but when Behardien (57 off 29) came to the crease, the Knights really cut loose as 130 runs were plundered off just 66 balls.

Prodigal son Rossouw reached his fabulous century and then hit the last two balls of the innings off fast bowler Nandre Burger for six to finish with 112 not out off just 55 deliveries, allowing Free State to post a massive 223 for three.

Western Province looked well out of the running as they stumbled to 90 for four at the halfway stage, but captain Wayne Parnell was in belligerent mood and kept them in the battle with the innings of his life.

The left-hander battered 80 not out off just 29 balls and took Migael Pretorius for 24 off the last over as Western Province astonishingly finished just one big blow short.

In the other quarterfinal, Division II SWD would like to allege they are not far off the standard of the first division, but their fielding was appalling and four batsmen were run out as they lost to Northerns Titans.

Donovan Ferreira, an uncontracted 23-year-old, was the mainstay of the Northerns total of 192 for five, finishing with a feisty 55 not out off 29 balls, suggesting he might be the long-awaited replacement for Behardien.

Theunis de Bruyn showed his class at the top of the order with 48 off 33 deliveries, and Sibonelo Makhanya (26 off 18) and Aya Gqamane (21* off 10) supported Ferreira well.

SWD looked in the game while Leus du Plooy was blasting 55 off 33 balls, he and Hanno Kotze putting on 82 off 53 balls for the first wicket.

But three wickets fell in the ninth over of the innings, bowled by cunning left-arm spinner and skipper Aaron Phangiso, including Du Plooy being run out by a fine piece of fielding by Simon Harmer.

The rest of the SWD batting imploded, 10 wickets falling for just 56 runs in 11.4 overs, as the Northerns spinners held sway.

Bulls

Positives – Although they lost three of their four games in the UK, there was no doubting the effort the Bulls put in or their desire to learn. From not learning much back home as they dominated all-comers, the Bulls now have a better idea of what works in Europe. The victory over Cardiff and the unfortunate loss to Edinburgh showed they are on the right track. Their only major injury worry is flyhalf Johan Goosen, and Chris Smith or Morne Steyn will adequately fill the breach.

Failures – Their opponents shone a bright light on the Bulls’ breakdown work and they were found wanting at both defensive and attacking rucks. They were caught out by the pace and accuracy which the European teams bringing to the ruck; the Bulls were too often slow to react and also prone to going off their feet or not allowing the half-back clear access by getting caught on the wrong side. They will hope for a slight easing of the tempo under the hot Pretoria sun. Their scrum was also creaking in the last game against Edinburgh.

Stand-out players – Wings Madosh Tambwe and Kurt-Lee Arendse proved a handful for their opponents whenever they were given some space to work their magic. Tambwe has been based in Johannesburg and Durban before Pretoria, but the consistent excellence of his performances on tour suggest the 24-year-old could be settling down with the Bulls.

Arendse is accustomed to playing in cities all over the world through his time with the Springbok Sevens, and he handled European conditions with aplomb, producing slick attacking play whenever he got the chance.

What’s next? – Luck’s been against them so far, but the Bulls face a crunch must-win home game against mighty Munster on November 27 and will also be targeting a bonus point win the following weekend against Scarlets. The match against Munster will be particularly appetising because they are now steered by Johann van Graan, who left the Bulls in 2012 as a highly promising young coach.

“It’s not all doom and gloom, the European teams come to South Africa now and historically we have done really well at home. We look forward to playing in the sun at Loftus Versfeld again and we can now put the overseas sides under pressure now that they have to travel,” coach Jake White said.

Sharks

Positives – The Celtic teams are known for their emphasis on forward play and the Sharks pack were hard-working and generally stood up well to the challenge in the tight. Ruan Pienaar is really growing into his role as the team’s new general, Boeta Chamberlain is steadily improving at flyhalf, and, when the Sharks execute their game-plan properly, they remain very difficult to play against.

Failures – The Sharks had their problems at the breakdown – join the club say the Bulls, Stormers and Lions – and it is a vital part of the game-plan the Sharks want to use. Putting aside the vagaries of law interpretations, the Sharks need a more cohesive, focused effort at the rucks. They also need more cohesion in defence, a couple of early blunders that led to soft tries costing them dearly against Cardiff.

Stand-out players – The doors have opened for young Dylan Richardson to represent Scotland, the country of his father’s birth, and little wonder because the flank cum hooker has been a potent force for the Sharks. Defensively stout, he has been their leading tackler, he is tough to keep out at the breakdown and he smashes through players with ball-in-hand.

What’s next? – The Sharks will see their next two games, against 13^th-placed Scarlets and bottom side Zebre Parma, as a direct route into the top half of the URC table. Playing at Kings Park, nothing less than two bonus point wins will do. Coach Sean Everitt was almost licking his lips when he said last weekend “we are really looking forward to November 27 and playing in front of our home fans.”

Any lingering worries that South Africa’s bowling attack might not be as effective in Abu Dhabi were blown away on Monday as the Proteas defended a total of just 145-5 in beating Afghanistan by 41 runs in their T20 World Cup warm-up match.

An outstanding all-round bowling effort saw Afghanistan restricted to 104 for eight in their 20 overs as South Africa bowled with tremendous control and a clear plan.

Slow left-armer Bjorn Fortuin (4-1-12-1) and paceman Lungi Ngidi (4-0-27-2) set the tone up front as they dismissed both openers for ducks, and then spinners Keshav Maharaj (4-0-14-1) and Tabraiz Shamsi both struck in their first overs as Afghanistan struggled to 42 for five.

Seamer Dwaine Pretorius also chipped in with a wicket and did a good job in the middle overs, sticking to his strengths.

Shamsi, the No.1 bowler in the world in this format, had no mercy on the rest of the batting line-up as he finished with three for 18 in his four overs.

South Africa had won the toss and elected to bat first, but were off to a torrid start against spin.

Quinton de Kock fell for 7 to impressive off-spinner Mujeeb-ur-Rahman (4-1-24-3) and a rusty Temba Bavuma struggled in his first competitive knock since September 2 after suffering a broken thumb in Sri Lanka.

Bavuma only scored two runs off his first 13 balls, but then picked up the pace to make 31 off 39 deliveries.

South Africa only posted 26 runs in the powerplay, and such a slow start normally damages a team’s prospects irretrievably.

But Aiden Markram played a skilful innings on a slow pitch, his 48 off 35 balls injecting some urgency and being the mainstay of the batting effort.

Rassie van der Dussen (21) and Heinrich Klaasen (11) both scored at well over a run-a-ball and David Miller provided an explosive finish with 20 not out off 10 deliveries.