Currie Cup Section A in 1971–72

"See also: 1971-72 South African cricket season"

Rhodesia v Transvaal (30 October-1 November)

"Transvaal (8pts) drew with Rhodesia (6pts)"

Rhodesia won the toss at the Police Ground in Salisbury (now Harare) and chose to field, a decision that proved to be a mistake with Lee Irvine's 120 and half-centuries from Brian Bath, Peter Carlstein and Peter de Vaal seeing Transvaal to a mammoth 392. Brian Barbour made 97 in the reply, the highest score by a Rhodesian on debut at the time. 5 for 52 from Brian Bath was not enough to stop Rhodesia posting 345, a deficit of 47. Ali Bacher made 83, and de Vaal another half-century before Bacher declared on 242 for 6, leaving the hosts to score 290 to win in 235 minutes. They weren't able to come close, and they ended up on 182 for 7, with Transvaal unable to clinch the victory. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/f/21/f21179.html Scorecard]

Natal v Eastern Province (5-8 November)

"Natal (8pts) drew with Eastern Province (2pts)"

Natal won the toss in Durban and chose to bat first. Scoring was slow and it took them 94.3 overs to reach 260 for 5 declared, with Barry Richards making 63 and Arthur Short 88. Vintcent van der Bijl then took 5 for 34 as East Province were dismissed for only 152. A much faster 202 with Richards, who was being sponsored by a local dairy company at 2 rand a run, making 104 left the visitors with 311 to win. They finished on 246 for 5 with Anthony Biggs's undefeated 105 and Graeme Pollock's 92 saving the game for the Province. [http://www.cricketarchive.co.uk/Archive/Scorecards/f/28/f28683.html Scorecard]

Rhodesia v Eastern Province (13-15 November)

"Eastern Province (5pts) drew with Rhodesia (4pts)"

After the controversy surrounding Ray Gripper's decision to field on winning the toss in the last match, it was unsurprising that the Rhodesian captain chose to bat first when he won the toss at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo. However, Rhodesia fared badly, posting only 166 all out in 72 overs and 270 minutes. After plummeting to 22 for 5 and to 55 for 6 at close on the first day, Eastern Province recovered to 165 for 9 declared. Surprisingly, two batting collapses on a good tracking for batting. However, rain, which caused 4 and a half of the 7 hours of scheduled play to be lost made a draw almost inevitable. Mike Procter's 84 and Brian Davison's 74 saw Rhodesia to 269 for 5 declared - thereby setting a victory target of 271. In their 38 overs, Eastern progressed to 152 for 5, buoyed by 100 from Anthony Biggs and the game petered out into a draw. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32060.html Scorecard]

Western Province v Natal (26-29 November)

"Natal (7pts) drew with Western Province (4pts)"

A big 169 from Barry Richards, during which he was dropped three times, dominated this match, but it wasn't enough to secure a victory for Natal at Newlands in Cape Town in one of the most anticipated games of the season. After winning the toss Western Province made 256 for 7, with wicket-keeper Gavin Pfuhl topscoring with 78. It was then that Richards wove his magic, as Natal piled on 420, a lead of 166. This left them with having to dismiss Western Province cheaply if they were to record the win. A hundred from Andre Bruyns, who had good support, saw them to 263 for 3 declared and a comfortable draw. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32072.html Scorecard]

Eastern Province v Transvaal (10-13 December)

"Eastern Province (7pts) drew with Transvaal (6pts)"

Transvaal won the toss at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth and chose to bat on a fast grassy wicket. They performed poorly, though, and were all out for 209 in 73.1 overs. Only Lee Irvine with 70 put up much resistance. Eastern Province matched that with 202 for 9 off 60.4 overs, with Donald Mackay-Coghill taking 4 for 62 and Graeme Pollock top-scoring with 49. Transvaal's second innings saw them recover from 148 for 8 to post yet another score in the low 200s, this time 216, with Ali Bacher making 80 and Keith Reid taking 4 for 34. This set Eastern Province a target of 224 in 280 minutes. They got close. After reaching 77 for 1 they lost wickets regularly, and they finished on 200 for 7 after 83 overs to secure a draw in a game that could have gone any of four ways. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32083.html Scorecard]

Eastern Province v Rhodesia (27-29 December)

"Eastern Province (9pts) drew with Rhodesia (3pts)"

Rhodesia won the toss and elected to field at St George's Park, Port Elizabeth only to watch Graeme Pollock take the bull by the horns by scoring 129 and help Eastern Province to 281 for 6 declared off 94 overs. In reply, Rhodesia could only muster 196, conceding a lead of 85. The Province rushed along to 223 for 6 declared, thereby setting a target of 309. Rhodesia's captain, Ray Gripper, anchored the last innings. His 116 not out in 302 minutes secured the draw, as with no-one else able to give him support, the visitors just kept Eastern Province at bay, finishing on 205 for 7. After the match there was a bit of controversy as Gripper had refused to allow substitutes for the two Pollock brothers for the last half an hour of the match, leaving Eastern Province having to make do with nine fielders. Just before 5.30pm Gripper and Graeme Pollock had agreed to call it a draw after two more overs, but when another wicket fell, Pollock asked for the last half hour to be played. The Pollock brothers had to leave at 5.45pm to catch a flight to connect them with a flight to Australia to play in the World XI tour there. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32107.html Scorecard]

Transvaal v Natal (27-29 December)

"Transvaal (22pts) beat Natal (1pt) by 8 wickets"

Transvaal won the toss and batted in a game at the New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg that improved their Currie Cup position greatly. Ali Bacher (100), Peter Carlstein (154) and Lee Irvine (93) helped take the Trasvaal total to 403 for 6 declared in 109.5 overs. Natal were then dismissed cheaply for 133 off 38 overs, and forced to follow-on. Natal did better in the second innings with opener Barry Richards anchoring the innings with 134. They were finally all out for 320 off 118.1, with Norman Weightman taking 5 for 37. Transvaal knocked off the 51 runs required for victory in 14.1 overs for the loss of 2 wickets. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32110.html Scorecard]

Natal v Rhodesia (1-4 January)

"Natal (21pts) beat Rhodesia (2pts) by 10 wickets"

Rhodesia won the toss and batted first at Kingsmead, Durban. However, they were soon in trouble, being dismissed for only 111 off 55.5 overs. The stage was then set for Barry Richards, who made 219 before he was finally out caught and bowled by Duncan Fletcher. Mike Procter was the best of the bowlers with his 4 for 97, as Natal made 385 for 9 declared off 106 overs. Rhodesia did much better in their second innings, but their 317 all out off 133.3 overs set a target of only 44, which Natal knocked off without losing an innings. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32121.html Scorecard]

Western Province v Transvaal (1-4 January)

"Western Province (13pts) beat Transvaal (2pts) by 4 wickets"

After winning the toss at Newlands, Cape Town, Transvaal made 273 all out off 119.2 overs, Brian Bath topscoring with 86. Western Province made 313 all out off 136.3 overs in reply. In a game of fluctuating fortunes, Transvaal's 238 for 8 declared off 80 overs left the Province 199 to win in 90 minutes plus 20 overs. The Province's captain, Andre Bruyn's anchored the innings, and survived two close run out calls in his undefeated 108 as Western Province defeated the Currie Cup holders with 4 wickets remaining. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32123.html Scorecard]

Natal v Western Province (14-17 January)

"Natal (15pts) beat Western Province (5pts) by 158 runs"

Natal won the toss in Pietermaritzburg, which was hosting its first first-class cricket game in 14 years, and chose to bat, a decision which soon looked like a mistake as they were dismissed for a paltry 76, with Peter Swart taking 5 for 24 and Robin Jackman 4 for 34, which included a hat-trick. Western Province fared slightly better, making a total of 121 all out, with Vintcent van der Bijl getting a return of 8 for 35. Natal's second innings was better: openers Barry Richards and Arthur Short put on 122 for the first wicket, which helped their team to 263. Peter Swart took 6 for 85. This left the Province a target of 219 in more than 5 hours on a damp pitch. Natal's bowlers, van der Bijl and Pelham Henwood then made short shrift of Western Province's batsmen, who capitulated for 60, leaving Natal with a big win to leave them top of the Currie Cup table. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32142.html Scorecard]

Transvaal v Rhodesia (28-31 January)

"Rhodesia (20pts) beat Transvaal (3pts) by 9 wickets"

Rhodesia beat Transvaal for the first time in a Currie Cup match after Transvaal batted first at Johannesburg, but could only make 124 as Rhodesia's Mike Procter took 7 for 32. Procter then went on to topscore with 83 in Rhodesia's innings of 410, with Brian Barbour and Duncan Fletcher also making half-centuries. Transvaal's 315 then left a target of only 30, which Rhodesia knocked off for the loss of one wicket. [http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32170.html Scorecard]