Stumps Day 2
Cape Cobras: 154 & 259/7 (Van Zyl 106, Olivier 3/44)
Knights: 154 all out (Simmonds 3/42, Paterson 3/39)
Cobras lead by 258 runs
Cape Town – Stiaan van Zyl showed off the talent that South African cricket will miss for the next three years through a splendid century which has set up the Cape Cobras for another unlikely victory.
The stylish left-hander recently signed a Kolpak contract for English county side Sussex making him ineligible to represent the Proteas during that period. The Cobras, though, will be thankful they are still able to call on his services for Van Zyl produced an innings of the highest quality just when the home side required it most.
The Cobras bowlers’ had already done their job by getting their team back into the contest by picking up the last four Knights wickets for the addition only 16 runs. Having resumed on 137/6, the visitors were dismissed for just 154 which meant the Cobras had a deficit of just one run.
The home side’s second innings did not start much better though with both openers back in the hut with only 22 runs on the board. But that is when Van Zyl showed off his experience and class as he held together the Cobras’ innings for a further 250 minutes as he went to his 19th first-class century. The innings was punctuated with trademark cover drives while the 27-year-old also punished anything short.
Van Zyl, though, needed his teammates to occupy the crease with him and he found able partners in Justin Ontong (43) and Jason Smith (44). Both batsmen would have been frustrated that they did not at least register half-centuries, but they did enough to ensure the Cobras would at least be able to set the table-topping Knights a stiff target on a pitch that besides Van Zyl no batsman had really looked settled as yet.
The Knights bowlers toiled away and eventually claimed the big wicket of Van Zyl when Shadley van Schalkwyk forced the left-hander to follow a wide delivery outside the off stump that offered wicket-keeper Rudi Second a catch behind.
The Cobras were not going to let Van Zyl’s hard work go to waste though with wicket-keeper Dane Vilas battling fiercely to the close. Vilas, who is another Cobras star to recently sign a Kolpak contract, was unbeaten at the close on 38 not out and will look to stretch the Cobras lead with debutant Kyle Simmonds on Saturday morning.
Duanne Olivier, the series leading wicket-taker, added another three wickets to his bulging tally and will look to claim yet another “five-for” while finishing off the Cobras’ innings in a hurry.