Not before time, series produces a contest

Times Media

TELFORD VICE, St George’s Park

THE third day of the second test between SA and West Indies delivered what this series had not seen previously - a contest.

So much so that the Windies have a ladder still eight wickets long with which to climb out of a hole now just 270 runs deep: they will resume on Monday on 147/2 in reply to SA’s declaration at 417/8.

West Indies have thus became the only test team to register as many as eight opening stands of more than 50 this year. But, in the 10 completed or declared innings the Windies had before this match, they reached 400 only twice.

That tells the story of hard work being undone too often. This time, it seems, there is a good chance that will not happen.

Seven of those half-century partnerships for the first wicket have featured Kraigg Brathwaite, who will fight on from 65 not out. With him in a stand that has swelled to 92 is Marlon Samuels, who is undefeated on 60.

And there’s more. As SA bowling coach Allan Donald said, “We know that if we break this partnership and get (Shivnarine) Chanderpaul back in the pavilion quickly, that tail is very long.”

But he conceded that “this pitch is probably tailormade for Shivnarine Chanderpaul - he’s going to grind and grind”.

With Saturday’s play limited to six overs by rain and Sunday’s proceedings starting an hour later than scheduled, SA resumed on 289/3 and looked to build steadily.

But the wind had changed direction overnight to bring moisture off the sea, and with the clouds hanging low the bowlers were armed with a weapon they did not have previously.

West Indies used the suddenly livelier conditions to grab four wickets before lunch, their best session of the series until then.

Jason Holder trapped Hashim Amla in front in the fourth over to being SA’s first black African test batsman to the crease: Temba Bavuma, SA’s 319th test cap and the 84th since re-admission, took guard.

He either deftly opened the face or played with hands soft enough to stop the edge from flying too high to the first delivery he faced. Either way, the ball scooted to the third-man boundary for four.

Six balls after that Bavuma was the senior batsman at the crease when AB de Villiers had his off-stump rudely uprooted by a wickedly swinging delivery from Jerome Taylor.

Stiaan van Zyl joined Bavuma, and for the next 31 balls SA’s only run came from a leg bye - not least because players both accustomed to batting at No. 3 for their franchises figured, correctly, that the best way to right the innings was to consolidate.

Both had been caught behind three overs before the end of the morning session. They were replaced by Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn, who rattled up a stand of 69 in their eight overs together.

All but 11 of those runs were scored by Steyn, who launched drives and ripped pulls while Philander kept the other end solid.

Steyn smoked 54 of his 58 runs in boundaries. He faced 28 balls in all and reached his second half-century off 26: the fastest 50 at this ground, the second-fastest by a South African after Jacques Kallis’ 24-ball effort against Zimbabwe at Newlands in March, 2005, and the joint fourth-fastest in history.

Steyn’s dismissal prompted the declaration and the anticipation of a rash of Windies wickets.

But SA needed more than an hour of patience before Morne Morkel had Smith caught at first slip. Then Leon Johnson’s loose drive to the next ball flew to third slip.

However, there was no hattrick for Morkel, just proper batting by Brathwaite and Samuels. Not before time, SA have a game on their hands.