AN unbeaten century by Brian McMillan ensured that Western Province comfortably held off Boland for a draw on the final day of their Supersport Series match in Paarl on Sunday.
Needing an impossible 366 runs for victory on a slow, unresponsive wicket, Sunday was simply a day of survival and in the end it proved to be a doddle.
The burly 36-year-old allrounder, once regarded as the best in the world, ended unbeaten on 104 as Western Province lost just three wickets for 178 runs.
It lasted just over six hours, off 236 balls with 13 fours and a six.
But the boundaries counted for little as the winning target was never on.
The pitch favoured neither batsman nor bowler as the cherry behaved more like a tennis ball than the hard, leather cricket variety, making it difficult to get wickets and equally difficult to play any meaningful shots.
It was long day for the Boland bowlers, with the wickets being shared between first innings hero Charl Willoughby, Charl Langeveldt and Claude Henderson.
Boland captain Louis Koen was awarded the Man Of The Match for his first innings century and second innings 50, along with some fine catches in the slips.