GROS ISLET, St Lucia, CMC – West Indies squandered the hard work of their seamers when they collapsed meekly for 149 inside two sessions, to leave South Africa in a dominant position on day two of the second Test here yesterday.
Starting their innings on resumption from the lunch break after producing a sterling effort to dismiss the Proteas for 298 in their first innings, West Indies tumbled to 56 for four at tea before losing their last six wickets in the final session to fall for their ninth lowest total against the visitors.
Vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood top-scored with 49 and Shai Hope stroked a cautious 43 but wickets tumbled steadily around them, as the home side failed to build partnerships of merit.
The innings was wrecked first by new ball bowlers Kagiso Rabada (2-24) and Lungi Ngidi (2-27) before left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj (2-47) chipped in with a brace to further accelerate the Windies’ slide.
Fourth seamer Wiaan Mulder joined the party at the end, snatching three wickets in nine deliveries to end with outstanding figures of three for one run.
Earlier, Quinton de Kock agonising missed out on his second hundred of the series when he was eighth out for 96, as medium pacer Kyle Mayers (3-28) and veteran seamer Kemar Roach (3-45) combined to share four of the last five South Africa wickets to fall.
Resuming on 218 for five following a half-hour delayed start due to a wet square, the visitors managed to add only a further 80 runs before their innings closed at the interval of an extended first session.
Mulder fell for eight in the seventh over after he had added just six, when Roach had him caught at the wicket in his first over of his first spell of the morning. West Indies were then frustrated by a 36-run, seventh wicket stand between de Kock and Keshav Maharaj (12), which kept them without further success for the rest of the hour.
Once Maharaj edged seamer Jason Holder behind, however, South Africa lost their last five wickets for 23 runs.
The left-handed de Kock, resuming the day on 59, appeared set to complete triple figures when he edged a slash at a wide ball from Mayers onto the gloves of wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva standing up, for Shai Hope at gully to take the rebound.
Fast bowler Shannon Gabriel failed to add to his tally and ended with two for 65.
West Indies had the worst possible start when captain Kraigg Brathwaite feathered a leg-side catch to wicketkeeper de Kock off Rabada, off the very first delivery of the innings.
South Africa belatedly resorted to DRS after umpire Gregory Brathwaite turned down the muted appeal, and subsequent replays showed a spike off the batsman’s glove. Brathwaite’s left-handed partner Kieran Powell was hit in front by Ngidi in the fourth over for five with the score on eight and Roston Chase made four before falling to a catch at a deepish short leg off pacer Anrich Nortje at 30 for three.
Left-hander Kyle Mayers’ struggles in the series then continued when he nicked an ambitious drive at Maharaj to Aiden Markram at slip for 12, as the home side stumbled to the interval.
Hope and Blackwood staged a recovery of sorts after tea, posting 43 for the fifth wicket – the best partnership of the innings.
While Hope faced 103 balls and struck four fours, Blackwood counted half-dozen fours off 106 deliveries, the pair temporarily lifting the home side’s mood.
But Hope inside-edged an Ngidi in-swinger onto his stumps and Holder (10) lasted 22 balls before lazily driving at a wide ball from Rabada and squirting a catch to Keegan Petersen at gully at 115 for six.
Blackwood put on 28 with Da Silva who spent 39 balls over seven before edging a defensive stroke at Mulder and giving de Kock a straightforward catch, before Mulder knocked over Roach (1) and Jayden Seales (0) in the same over.
Blackwood passed 2 000 runs in his 39th Test when he reached 41 but was last to fall, holing out off Maharaj in a quest for quick runs with Gabriel at the other end.