South Africa A 73 for 2 (Jack 2-18) trail England Lions 193 (Ekansh 95, van Vuuren 5-53) by 120 runs
Tiaan van Vuuren and Ekansh Singh returned career-bests as South Africa A enjoyed the better of day one of their clash with England Lions at Beckenham.
Left-arm seamer van Vuuren provoked a top order collapse with 3 for 4 in six balls on his way to 5 for 53, only the second time he'd bagged a five-wicket haul in first-class cricket as the hosts were bundled out for 193. That score though would have been so much worse but for the heroics of former England U19 international Ekansh who hit 95 before being last man out.
South Africa began steadily in reply but Eddie Jack removed both Tony de Zorzi and Lesego Senokwane in a fiery spell, the former with a brilliant caught and bowled to leave the visitors 73 for 2 at the close, 120 in arrears.
England skipper Dan Mousley had little hesitation in choosing to bat, but as in the first encounter between the sides a week ago, the hosts were soon regretting the decision. Ben McKinney failed to enhance his senior England claims, wafting at a wide one from veteran Dane Paterson when he'd made eight, before van Vuuren took centre stage.
The 24 year old began by sending Mousley's off stump cartwheeling and his next over saw Rehan Ahmed taken at slip. Van Vuuren wasn't done yet as two balls later Ben Mayes, a centurion in the second innings of the first fixture, played a forward defensive, only for the ball to spin back behind him and dislodge a bail.
With Asa Tribe, England's other century-maker from the first encounter having fallen lbw to Hampshire quick Codi Yusuf in the intervening over, the Lions had plummeted to 36 for 5.
Ekansh now entered the fray and he and Ben Geddes steadied the ship for a while, the latter twice driving sweetly through the covers before pulling a short one from van Vuuren to the fence at long leg. However, both he and Liam Patterson-White fell either side of lunch, the latter bowled by a brute of a yorker from Yusuf (3-51), leaving Singh with only the tail for company.
The 19-year-old, on essentially his home ground, didn't flinch at the challenge, hoisting the game's first six over mid-on before cutting a brace of fours behind point to move into the 40s.
Ekansh was granted the first of three lives on 45, missed at short leg off the spin of Bjorn Fortuin, but moved to 50 with his seventh four.
Jack resisted manfully to allow the pair to add 52 before van Vuuren returned to find sufficient swing to get the edge and have him caught at slip. His five-for followed three balls later courtesy of a toe-crushing yorker to castle Henry Crocombe.
Ekansh was on 68 with only Lions debutant Naavya Sharma left for company and so mixed aggression with farming the strike. Singles were refused and chances offered as he was dropped on 79 and 86, the former opportunity denying van Vuuren a sixth wicket, but an uppercut over the slips and a lofted on drive were among the shots to leave him 92 not out at the delayed tea interval.
Sadly, the maiden first-class hundred would elude him as he added just three more upon the resumption before falling caught at slip five short of the landmark.
