Van Heerden leads from the front as South Africa secure quarterfinal berth

South Africa skipper George Van Heerden led from the front smashing a 93ball 111 as he helped his team secure a Super League quarterfinal berth with a 153run win over Ireland in a Group B match at the Brian Lara Stadium here on Saturday ISTVan Heerdens 111 and Dewald Breviss 96 helped the Proteas score a mammoth 3157 from their rainreduced 47 overs before bowling out Ireland for 158 in 33 overs Matthew Boast 326 and Liam Alder 320 were the standout bowlers for South Africa as they secured the second spot in Group B and with it a Super League berthThe two sides started their winnertakesall final Group B game level on points with South Africa having a slight net runrate NRR advantage With India all but assured of their place in the Super League lasteight ahead of their final game against Uganda South Africa and Ireland faced a shootout for second placeIreland made an encouraging start when Reuben Wilson removed South African opener Valentine Kitime in the first over for a duck before Liam Doherty bowled EthanJohn Cunningham 11 At 182 after four overs South Africa were in dire straits but Brevis restored order and moved to 27 from 29 balls with two boundaries to take his side to 532 after 10 oversIreland responded by taking the wicket of Gerhardus Maree 14 as Wilson struck again It brought Van Heerden to the crease to form a steady partnership with Brevis Brevis continued to score boundaries at regular intervals as Van Heerden provided support from the other endBut just four runs short of his century Brevis played a loose cut shot off Scott MacBeth with Matthew Humphreys diving catch at gully sending the South African packing on 96While that dismissal briefly halted South Africas charge Van Heerden soon brought up his fifty before stepping on the gas with Andile Simelane An explosive 25 from 12 balls from Simelane only added to Irelands troubles as South Africa moved to 207 for fourSimelane was dismissed in the next over but Mickey Copeland chipped in with a 43 from 18 balls before Van Heerden brought up his century with a four in the 46th over Van Heerden was eventually dismissed in the final ball of the innings which was shortened to 47 overs due to an earlier rain delayIrelands response could not have got off to a worse possible start as Liam Doherty was caught by Maree off the bowling of Matthew Boast for a golden duck in the first ball of the innings Nathan McGuire steadied the ship with 42 from 33 balls before Simelane took his wicket with Joshua Cox and Ireland captain Tim Tector both falling cheaply to BoastPhilippus Roux 33 provided some resistance along with Humphreys 38 but a lack of support meant Ireland were always fighting an uphill battle and they were eventually all out for 158 Boast was the star of the bowlers for the Proteas with 326 while Liam Alder also took 320 with Asakhe Tsaka and Simelane contributing two eachBrief scores South Africa 3157 in 47 overs Dewald Brevis 96 George Van Heerden 111 Michael Copeland 43 beat Ireland 158 in 33 overs Nathan McGuire 42 Matthew Humphreys 38 Matthew Boast 326 Liam Alder 320 by 153 runs DL MethodThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever