McLean grabs 10-wicket haul

DURBAN: Windward Islands fast bowler Nixon McLean bowled KwaZulu-Natal to a 10-wicket triumph over Griqualand West at Kingsmead on Sunday in the SuperSport Series, the South African first-class cricket championship, to win the Man-of-the-Match award.

McLean captured his second five-wicket haul of the match to end with match figures of 10 wickets for 117 runs from 34 overs as Griquas, behind on first innings by 271, were bowled out for 287 in their second innings, despite an undefeated 143 from Benjamin Hector, to set Natal a modest 17 to win. McLean captured five wickets for 32 runs in the Griquas second innings, after he had opening batsman Martin Gidley caught close to the wicket for three in the sixth over. He did the most damage in the middle of the innings however, when he removed Pieter Koortzen LBW for 13, Wendell Bossenger caught close to the wicket for eight, and Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi caught behind for a second-ball duck in the space of nine deliveries to leave the visitors 107 for six.

After a 99-run, seventh-wicket stand pushed Griquas over the 200-run mark, McLean returned in a third spell to remove Mandla Mashimbyi for 43 before former South Africa captain Shaun Pollock broke a 50-run last wicket partnership to end the innings. The win was Natal’s fourth in five SuperSports Series matches this season and puts them at the top of Pool ‘A’ in the Championship with 74.48 points.