David Miller's 124* takes South Africa A home

David Miller scored his 4th List-A century to seal a 5-wicket win for South Africa A over National Performance Squad in the quadrangular series on Wednesday. The result of the match doesn’t bear much of an impact on the series as India A and Australia A have already qualified for the finals.

Miller’s unbeaten 124 off 104 balls helped South Africa chase down a target of 288 from 46.3 overs at Ray Mitchell Oval, Harrup Park, Mackay. It was the South African who won the toss and put the opposition in to bat first.

Caleb Jewell along with Sam Heazlett rebuilt after the loss of the early wicket of Matt Renshaw for 16. Renshaw was dismissed by the South African new ball bowler Dwaine Pretorius. However, Jewell (62) and Heazlett (73) added 115 runs for the second wicket as both the batsmen went on to score half-centuries.

The partnership was broken by the left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso, but the middle-order batsmen made valuable contributions to ensure that the team made maximum use of the platform. Matthew Short’s 29-ball 44 gave the late surge to help NPS post a fighting total of 287. Tabraiz Shamsi claimed two wickets for the South Africa A side but was on the expensive side giving away 68 runs.

Also read – Mosharraf Hossain recalled to Bangladesh squad after eight years

South Africa had a decent start to their chase as the opening duo of Reeza Hendricks and Khaya Zondo added 50 runs for the first wicket. South Africa lost three quick wickets before the partnership between Qaasim Adams and Miller, who added 91 runs for the fourth wicket.

The all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo was dismissed for 9, but Dane Vilas played sensibly for a 39-ball 45 with the skipper at the other end as the duo took the side to a comfortable win. South Africa A and NPS will play against each other for the third spot on Saturday at Harrup Park.

Also read – Time for PCB to admit mistake made in appointing Azhar: Javed Miandad

Brief scores:

National Performance Squad – 287/7 in 50 overs (Caleb Jewell 62, Sam Heazlett 73, Tabraiz Shamsi 2-68)

South Africa A – 288/5 in 46.3 overs (David Miller 124, Dane Vilas 45, Matthew Short 2-49)

National Performance Squad lost to South Africa A by five wickets.

Player of the match – David Miller (South Africa A)