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Cape Town - Easterns pair Andrea Agathangelou and Yaseen Valli made history over the weekend when they broke one of the longest standing records in South African cricket.
The pair shared in an opening partnership of 485 in the CSA 3-Day Provincial Cup match against Boland at Paarl that ended in a draw on Saturday.
Their effort was an improvement on the national first-class record of 424, which has stood for some 93 years. That mark was set by Jack Siedle and John Nicolson for Natal against Free State way back in 1926/27.
“It was a tremendous effort and fantastic to witness two special players that got stuck in for us,” coach Richard das Neves said. “They were both outstanding and congratulations to them.”
Agathangelou recorded the first triple ton of his career with a score of 313 (459 balls, 25 fours, 4 sixes), while Valli posted his personal best and maiden double hundred on his way to 230 (384 balls, 22 fours, 1 six).
They batted together for nearly eight-and-a-half hours, helping their side to a amass 642 for four declared in response to hosts Boland’s 410 for nine declared at Eurolux Boland Park.
“It was a really good batting strip in Paarl and, having conceded so many, it was always going to be difficult for us to manufacture a result,” Das Neves stated. “We set our stall out very early and I set the target for our batters to say that, if they want to, they can go and break a few records.
“Little did I know that Yaseen and Andrea would set their stall out the way they did and batting together for such a long period of time, which is an incredible achievement in itself.
“Both also achieved career-best scores, Yaseen now with his first double, and Andrea achieving his first triple century, which alone is not something many people manage in their careers.”
The Easterns coach also paid tribute to his staff for their role in the record. “The mental and physical aspect that takes out of the body is a tremendous amount, the fact that it was 35 or 36 degrees as well also sort of paid homage to how well they did,” he added.
“It also shows how well they have been physically prepared and conditioned. That in itself is a massive credit to our system and our physical trainer and our staff. So, all credit to them.”
