Concerns were briefly raised during the SA20 match between the Pretoria Capitals (PC) and the Paarl Royals (PR) due to a fire outside Boland Park. But it didn’t stop the game or result in any harm.
The fire seemed unrelated to the mountain fires that had been burning since earlier in the week and started in the parking lot on the western side of the ground during the fourth over of the Paarl’ chase. By the seventh over, the fire had been out and no damage had been reported.
Many fans voluntarily stepped outside to check on their cars after seeing the flames, even though they were not asked to leave the stadium. While the fire department worked in the background, the match went on.
After the fire was extinguished, images of burned earth surfaced. But right away, a cloud of smoke covered the ground.
“We were aware of it. In the past week or so, there have been a few fires in Pearl Valley, the lodging where Paarl Royals stay.
In case we needed to leave the field, we were rushing to get DLS. However, PR’s assistant coach Richard das Neves stated, “If there’s anywhere in the world where the firefighters know what they’re doing, it’s here.”
Keshav Maharaj, the captain of the Pretoria Capitals, disclosed that he was unaware of the origin of the smoke that his players could see throughout the game.
“A parking lot fire? Whoa. Since there was a lot of smoke outside, I figured that was the cause. The left-arm spinner said, “It’s really hot outside.”
Maharaj chose to bat first after winning the toss prior to the game. Sherfane Rutherford led the Capitals in scoring with an undefeated 35-ball 42 as they were limited to 138/9 in their 20 overs. Hardus Viljoen, Dan Lawrence, and Sikandar Raza each took two wickets.
In response, the Paarl Royals were only able to score 117/6 in the second innings. Rubin Hermann and captain David Miller each scored 35 and 45 points. On a difficult surface, though, the remaining hitters were unable to make an impression. Maharaj, who finished with stats of 2/14 in four overs, was the best bowler.
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