South Africa A beat Australia A by 8 wickets

Townsville (Australia), Aug 10 (IANS) South Africa A defeated Australia A by eight wickets in their opening four-day match at Tony Ireland Stadium here on Sunday. The home team was bowled out in their second innings at 310 for nine, having built a lead of 17 runs, according to a Cricket Australia release.

Australia A's Moises Henriques did not bat in the second innings due to groin soreness and will undergo further assessment. South Africa A took less than four overs to reach the set target, finishing 18 for two to claim an easy eight-wicket win.

Tom Cooper was the leading run scorer for Australia A, finishing with 82 runs, while Matthew Wade (60) also notched a half century. Simon Harmer was the pick of the bowlers for South Africa A, finishing with three for 106.

In the first innings, the visitors, riding on Rilee Rossouw's magnificent 231 and Temba Bavuma's 162, posted a mammoth score of 532 for eight declared. South African pacer Marchant de Lange took four wickets as Australia A were bowled out for 239 and made to follow on.

The two teams will meet in the second four-day match at Tony Ireland stadium starting on Thursday.

Brief Scores:

South Africa A: 532 for eight declared (Rilee Rossouw 231, Temba Bavuma 162; Gurinder Sandhu 4-77) and 18 for two (Rilee Rossouw 13 not out; Marcus Stoinis 1-9)

Australia A: 239 all out (Peter Nevill 53 not out, Callum Ferguson 47, Marchant de Lange 4-53) and 310 for nine (Tom Cooper 82, Mathew Wade 60, Simon Harmer 3-106)