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.

Leus du Plooy will make an emotional return to South African cricket as he turns out as the overseas pro for South-Western Districts in their CSA T20 Knockout Cup quarterfinal against Northerns in Kimberley on Tuesday, but it is three returning full internationals for the Titans who will probably have a greater impact.

Du Plooy’s last appearance in South Africa came in April 2019 when he scored a century for Northerns against Eastern Province at St George’s Park. He then joined Derbyshire as a Kolpak player and did well enough to receive a contract until the end of next season, as well as being chosen to play in The Hundred for Welsh Fire.

But Northerns will welcome back an even bigger star of English county cricket in off-spinner Simon Harmer, as well as batsman Theunis de Bruyn and fast bowler Junior Dala.

De Bruyn has had a wretched time with injury lately and will be eager to stamp his mark on the early-season with big runs, while Dala gives the Titans a trio of fearsome fast bowlers as he joins Corbin Bosch and the in-form Okuhle Cele.

With Dean Elgar still injured, left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso will lead the Titans. He may be 37-years-old, but he showed in the pool stages in Bloemfontein, as he took four for 52 in his 10 overs overall, that there is no mould on his skills and he is still quite capable of keeping batsmen in the dark.

The hard-hitting Donovan Ferreira and opener Jandre Pretorius are two young guys who grew their reputations in Bloemfontein.

The Free State Knights take on Western Province in Tuesday’s other quarterfinal, while Wednesday morning’s clash between the high-flying KZN Dolphins and the aggressive Eastern Province Warriors should be fun.

The Boland Rocks play the last quarterfinal against North-West in a match that will showcase what CSA are hoping are two growth areas of the game.

Jason Smith is 27 years old now so 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 the Dolphins crashed to 33 for four 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, he struck 60 not out off 41 balls to ensure a win for the Dolphins by six wickets with four balls to spare.

Opening batsman Keegan Petersen weathered the early storm, batting through to score 38 not out.

Eastern Province in the end did well to post 127 for nine after they had chosen to bat first and slumped to 8 for three in the first three overs as Daryn Dupavillon produced a fiery display of fast bowling.

He bowled a fullish length so he wasn’t threatening to send anyone to hospital, but he targeted the stumps superbly, dismissing both openers, Wihan Lubbe (lbw) and Matthew Breetzke (bowled) for first-ball ducks and then having Jon-Jon 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.

Dupavillon ended with explosive figures of four for 18, but fellow pacemen Ottneil Baartman (4-0-21-1), Thando Ntini (4-0-25-2) and Ruan de Swardt (4-0-17-1) also did a fine job.

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

Excellent bowling by Boland, especially their spinners Imraan Manack (4-0-23-1) and Siyabonga Mahima (4-0-24-1), reduced North-West to 104 for five in the 14^th over with the dismissal of opener Eben Botha for 41 off 34 balls.

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

But brothers Janneman (74* off 56) and Pieter Malan (46 off 38) had Boland well on track for victory 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 Clyde Fortuin in between.

Nevertheless Jansen only had nine runs to defend in the final over. But Ferisco Adams (21 off 13) stupidly ran himself out, wicketkeeper Nicky van den Bergh doing great work, and the left-arm quick dismissed big-hitting Hardus Viljoen.

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.

Western Province came to Loftus Versfeld full of running and adventurous rugby, but it was the Bulls who scored the bulk of the tries – six of them – as they cruised to a 48-31 victory in their Currie Cup semifinal in Pretoria on Friday night.

Western Province were simply battered into submission by the Bulls pack, who dominated the set-pieces and bossed the collisions with utter ruthlessness. But it was far from 10-man rugby by the home side as flyhalf Johan Goosen not only kicked superbly out of hand and from the tee, but sparked the backline with his tremendously skilful passing and adept vision.

Goosen’s ability to spot space out wide and his skill in throwing long, flat passes across the face of the defence led to two tries in the first 10 minutes, putting the Bulls 17-0 ahead.

Western Province recovered from their hesitant start through the first of two tries to wing Edwill van der Merwe, but the Bulls’ mixture of power, great support play and running lines, and their eye for space saw them score three further tries before the break for a commanding 38-12 lead at halftime.

If Western Province were ever going to get back in the game, they needed to score a couple of tries early in the second half. They started well, with Van der Merwe going over for his second try after fullback Sergeal Petersen had broken through close to a ruck.

But Van der Merwe was denied his hat-trick try when the TMO ruled he did not have control of the ball when he finished superbly in the corner, despite the tackles of powerhouses Harold Vorster and Arno Botha. The winger was certainly not in touch and to rule he did not have control of the ball was a hopelessly harsh conclusion based on the replays.

Had the try stood, the gap could have closed to 26-38, but instead the dominant Bulls scrum won a penalty under their poles and the home side were back on attack.

With 12 minutes remaining, the exuberant Cornal Hendricks literally dived over the defence to score and seal the  triumph and an amazing performance by the Bulls.

Van der Merwe did eventually get his hat-trick try in the final minute, kicking through a dropped pass and then skinning Hendricks. Western Province’s one shining light is now off to the Lions though. Has rugby in the Western Cape ever been in such a dreadful state?

Scorers

Bulls – Tries: Cornal Hendricks (2), Johan Goosen, Arno Botha, Lionel Mapoe, Marcell Coetzee. Conversions: Goosen (6). Penalties: Goosen (2).

Western Province – Tries: Edwill van der Merwe (3), Hacjivah Dayimani, Andre-Hugo Venter. Conversions: Tim Swiel (3).