Bridgetown, Barbados – The West Indies batting demons continue to haunt them after being absent in the Second Digicel Test in St Kitts when the west Indies scored 546 on a friendly pitch.
On day one of the Third Digicel Test at the
Kensington Oval, their batsmen took backward steps and reverted to the old habits they displayed in the First Digicel Test when they were bowled out for a paltry 102.
Yesterday they were loose, uncommitted and cavalier.
The approach resulted in them being bowled out for a modest 231 in 73.5 overs.
At the close of play, South Africa were 46 -2.
Opener, Alviro Petersen fell for one and Hashim Amla for five.
Skipper Graeme Smith is not out on 35 and nightwatchman Paul Harris is on two.
The Proteas are 185 runs behind with eight wickets in hand.
West Indian talismanic all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, who has been gradually returning to form with the bat, top scored with 61 to follow his half century in the previous encounter.
Narsingh Deonarine was next best with 46 and there were scores of 27 from Denesh Ramdin, 24 from Sulieman Benn, 22 from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and 20 from skipper Chris Gayle.
Thirty-three-year-old Dale Richards – the Barbadian opener who was brought in to help rectify the top order failures – made no impact as he was lbw to Morne Morkel without scoring.
As early as the fourth over, West Indies were 12 for 1. Two overs later, Gayle continued to demonstrate a lack of application as he attempted to cut a delivery too close to his body for the shot, played on – as he had done twice before in the series – and was bowled. 21 for 2.
Deonarine and Chanderpaul then joined forces to put on 55 runs taking the score to 76 for 2 at lunch. Immediately after the interval Chanderpaul was remarkably caught – low down and with one hand – by Jacques Kallis at slip as off-spinner, Johan Botha, went on a three wicket romp to leave the Windies in dire straits at 105 for 5.
His second wicket necessitated the use of the dreaded Umpire Decision Review System. Brendan Nash (2) was struck high on the pad and umpire, Simon Taufel, negated the appeal but the South Africans had the decision reviewed and reversed after television replays showed the ball would have gone on to hit the stumps.
Deonarine, who had played responsibly alongside his mentor Chanderpaul up to lunch then changed tactics as he looked to bash every delivery as if in Twenty20 mode. He succeeded until he was four short of a half century when he was bowled by Botha who is playing his first game of the series as the South Africans opted to, like the Windies, play two spinners.
Bravo and Ramdin then repaired the damage with a 76 run stand that took the score to 181 when Ramdin joined his colleagues in donating his wicket to the Proteas. The wicketkeeper hooked at a short ball from Kallis and got a top edge which flew to fine leg where Dale Steyn took a fine tumbling catch to bring an end to the partnership which brought a faint hint of respectability to the Windies total.
After Ramdin returned to the pavilion, Shane Shillingford was Kallis’ second victim when he was caught at gully for a duck and Bravo tickled Steyn to Smith at first slip after 147 minutes at the crease during which time he had faced 104 balls and struck four fours and one of fives sixes.
Benn cracked two sixes and two fours during his entertaining 36-ball knock at the end.
He put on 24 runs for the last wicket with surprise debutant and last man Brandon Bess who was unbeaten on 11 at the end.
The Windies’ day started in dramatic fashion as pacer, Nelon Pascal, collapsed during the pre-game warm-up with a strained neck muscle. With no fast bowling cover in the squad since the thigh injury ruled out St Lucian medium pacer Darren Sammy, the team management were forced to hurriedly call on Bess, the lanky 22-year-old Guyanese to hustle over from the nearby High Performance Center at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill campus for a Test debut.
When South Africa batted, Bess opened the attack alongside Kemar Roach but in his first over he was spanked for two fours by Smith and an under edge went away for a third as the over cost 13 runs. After one more over, he was pulled from the attack and Shane Shillingford was allowed to continue in front a disappointing crowd.
Roach who bowled with disconcerting pace made the initial breakthrough when Petersen lost control of a pull and skied to Chanderpaul while Benn benefitted from a loose cut shot by Amla who was caught by Nash at gully. Smith calmed nerves as he hit five powerful fours off 42 deliveries to take his team to the close. His team would have been satisfied with the day’s work but they would be cogniscent that their satisfaction was aided by the Windies carelessness.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES 1st Innings
*C. Gayle b Steyn 20
D. Richards lbw b Morkel 0
N. Deonarine b Botha 46
S. Chanderpaul c Kallis b Botha 22
B. Nash lbw b Botha 2
D.J. Bravo c *Smith b Steyn 61
+D. Ramdin c Steyn b Kallis 27
S. Shillingford c Botha b Kallis 0
S. Benn c Amla b Botha 24
K. Roach c wkpr Boucher b Steyn 2
B. Bess not out 11
Extras (b4, lb7, w5) 16
TOTAL (all out, 73.5 overs) 231
Fall of wickets: 1-12 (Richards), 2-21 (*Gayle), 3-76 (Chanderpaul), 4-90 (Nash), 5-105 (Deonarine), 6-181 (+Ramdin), 7-187 (Shillingford), 8-204 (D.J. Bravo), 9-207 (Roach)
Bowling: Steyn 13-3-37-3 (w3); Morkel 10-2-48-1; Kallis 12-1-36-2 (w2); Botha 19.5-2-56-4; Harris 19-3-43-0
SOUTH AFRICA 1st Innings
*G. Smith not out 35
A. Petersen c Chanderpaul b Roach 1
H. Amla c Nash b Benn 5
P. Harris not out 2
Extras (w1, nb2) 3
TOTAL (2 wkts, 14 overs) 46
J. Kallis, A.B. deVilliers, A. Prince, +M. Boucher, J. Botha, D. Steyn, M. Morkel to bat
Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Petersen), 2-41 (Amla)
Bowling: Roach 7-1-14-1 (nb1, w1); Bess 2-0-16-0 (nb1); Shillingford 3-0-14-0; Benn 2-0-2-1
Position: South Africa trail by 185 runs with eight first innings wickets standing
Toss: West Indies
Umpires: S. Davis, S. Taufel
TV umpire: Asad Rauf
Matchreferee: J. Crowe
Reserve umpire: C. Duncan
