Leicester: Rubin Herman’s unbeaten half-century led South Africa A to a nine-wicket win in the first ODI of the three-match series against England Lions.
Lions captain Jordan Cox’s decision to bat first backfired as the home side were bowled out for 119 in 26.1 overs.
Middle-order batsman James Coles stood up for the Lions with a 58-ball 42 and top-scored.
Apart from him, only captain Cox (20) and No.10 Henry Crowcombe (12) managed to score double figures against a spirited South Africa A bowling attack led by Odneil Bartman, who took 3 for just 17 from his five overs.
Bartman was amply supported by fellow fast bowler Gerald Coetzee, who also took three wickets for 42 runs in eight overs. On the other hand, Gwena Mabaga and Bjorn Fortuin claimed twice each.
In turn, the visitors made light work of chasing the target of 120 runs for the loss of one wicket in 183 balls.
Left-handed opener Herman led the South Africa A side in their run chase with an unbeaten half-century of 57 off 62 balls with 7 fours and 2 sixes.
He shared important partnerships with fellow opener Tony De Sorgi and skipper Marquez Ackerman, who made significant contributions with 23 and 34 not outs respectively.
Henry Crowcombe picked up the lone wicket for the Lions in the 10th over as he cleaned up De Zorzi.
South Africa won by nine wickets to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series against England Lions, with the remaining two matches to be played in Worcester on June 7 and 9 respectively.