Only two days previously, Jacques Rudolph struck a magnificent century and still saw his side Northerns beaten by another plucky display from Border as they took the most dramatic of 1-0 leads in this best-of-three semi-final of South Africa’s

Andy Colquhoun – MWP10-Feb-2001Only two days previously, Jacques Rudolph struck a magnificent century and still saw his side Northerns beaten by another plucky display from Border as they took the most dramatic of 1-0 leads in this best-of-three semi-final of South Africa’s domestic one-day competition.On Friday night he fell eleven runs short of three figures, but thistime enjoyed the satisfaction of seeing his side produce a sterlingperformance to level the series. It was a magnificent effort from the visitors, who had always looked the underdogs after Border had posted what seemed like an impregnable 271 for eight off 45 overs when they won the toss and decided to bat.Chasing such a challenging target, a good start was always vitaland that was duly provided by Rudolph’s young team-mate, Johan Myburgh.He set the tone for the Northerns’ run chase as he struck 44 runs at thetop of the order in double-quick time. When his was the first wicket tofall, Northerns had already cruised to 50 without loss and the gauntlet hadbeen well and truly thrown down.With solid support from Martin van Jaarsveld (76), Rudolph then sawrelative old hands Neil McKenzie and captain Gerald Dros finish the game offwith 16 balls to spare.Earlier, left-arm seamer Greg Smith must have thought his hat-trick ofthe final three balls of the Border innings was nothing more than a welcomebonus. Although he ran through Ian Mitchell (6), Vasbert Drakes (0) and thensaw van Jaarsveld juggle the hat-trick catch tantalisingly before holdingon, the Border effort in front of their own fans looked sufficiently imposingto earn them a place in the final.Seventies from Craig Sugden, Steven Pope and Mark Boucher were thehighlight of what looked like a ruthless Border batting display on a wicketthat has always given runs away grudgingly. As it is, the sides will meetagain on Sunday with a place in the final on the line.