By Michelangelo Jacobus
A chaotic third day at the Providence National Stadium in Guyana saw 15 wickets tumble, with the end result handing South Africa a 40-run victory in the second test match and a 1-0 series win as the West Indies batters yet again let their bowlers down.
South Africa, batting for a second time, had resumed the day with the upper hand on 223/5 but crumpled to 246 all out, losing their final five wickets for the addition of just 23 runs as Jaden Seales picked up right where he left off from day two to claim a career-best 6-61 (18.4 overs).
While the South Africans still held a sizable advantage, setting the West Indies a tough but gettable total of 263 for victory, the hosts contrived to produce an inept display of batting in front of a once again sparse gathering of spectators.
Bowled out for 222, the only glimmer of hope came from the most unlikely of sources in Gudakesh Motie. More known for his role with ball in hand, the Berbician, playing on home soil, produced an innings of sheer defiance with the bat getting to a career best knock of 45, electrifying the few diehard fans left in the stadium in the dying embers of the game.
Earlier in the day, the match resumed half an hour late as an early morning downpour of rain caused a small but potentially significant delay.
Perhaps the moisture on the pitch converted what many analysts and pundits viewed as a batting paradise in the latter days of the test to one with renewed life with something in it for the bowlers.
Seales, who was testing on the afternoon of day two, bowled with vigour and swing to claim three more wickets in the first hour of play, but it was Jomel Warrican who got things going with the wicket of Wiaan Mulder, who could not add to his overnight score of 34. From 224/6, the South Africans quickly slipped to 232/8 as Seales snapped up Keshav Maharaj, out caught by Motie for a duck before uprooting the off-stump of Kyle Verreynne (59) with a trademark in-swinger to claim his second test 5-fer.
Warrican then got Kagiso Rabada to edge to slips after he had slapped the spinner for a four, while Seales wrapped things up with his sixth, grabbing a simple return catch to dismiss Nandre Burger for a six-ball duck.
Seales 6-fer was complemented by 2-61 from Gudakesh Motie and 2-21 from Warrican.
With two days and two sessions remaining and 263 to get, it was an all too familiar effort from the West Indian top order, starting from the skipper Kraigg Brathwaite straight down to Jason Holder at number six.
Rabada was at his dangerous best, particularly making life very uncomfortable for rookie opener Mikyle Louis, who had no answers to Rabada’s line and length. In fact, Louis’ first runs came off an edge that flew through slips for a four before he edged the very next delivery into the hands of a gleeful Mulder to leave the West Indies 12/1 in the fifth over.
However, Keacy Carthy, in his second test, joined Brathwaite and managed to dispel the warning bells, taking the West Indies to 54 before things started going downhill.
Mulder, the eventual man-of-the-match, removed Brathwaite via the Leg Before Wicket (LBW) route for 25 before he got a frustrated Carthy to chop onto his stumps, leaving the West Indies in a spot of bother at 62/3 in the 22nd over.
Despite losing the two quick wickets, the total was still very much gettable as Kavem Hodge and Alick Athanaze both got starts, but as has been the trend with the West Indies of late, neither managed to kick on, and when Hodge was bowled by Rabada for 29 (38 balls, 4sx6), it was the beginning of the end.
Hodge’s dismissal left the West Indies at 99/4, and that quickly became 104/6 in an abysmal passage of play for the hosts.
Athanaze fell to the sweep-shot again, almost a carbon copy of his first innings dismissal, gifting a soft catch to Aiden Markram off the bowling of off-spinner Dane Piedt. Jason Holder, in a rush of blood, was next, lobbing Piedt to Mulder for a 12-ball duck to leave the West Indies hopes in tatters.
Enter hometown hero Motie; he, along with Joshua Da Silva, combined for a seventh wicket partnership of 77 runs, giving the few fans something to cheer about with their measured approach. Motie was the spearhead of the counterpunch, playing fearless cricket with measured aggression. In fact, Motie played some of the best shots of the day, clubbing Piedt for a couple of fours down the ground to ignite slivers of hope among those present in the ‘Green Stand’.
Despite his test best of 45 (59 balls), which included five fours and a six, Motie’s resistance was broken with South Africa’s ace spinner Maharaj trapping him LBW to ensure that the defiant knock went no further.
Da Silva followed soon after via the same method of dismissal to the same bowler, the victim of ‘Umpire’s call’ during a DRS review. From 182/8, Warrican’s unbeaten 25 (50 balls, 4sx2, 6sx1) further helped the West Indians past 200, but he ran out of partners as another local lad, Shamar Joseph (11) and Seales (4) fell to Rabada and Maharaj, respectively, ending the innings at 222 from 66.2 overs.
Maharaj was the pick of the bowlers, claiming 3-37 (11.2 overs), while Rabada (3-50) and Mulder (2-35) provided substantial support with the ball.
Maharaj, with his series haul of 13 wickets, was adjudged Man of the Series as South Africa grabbed valuable points in the World Test Championships.
