Pitch finally sucks all life from test
Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 22:00 © MWP
The Warner Park pitch eventually sucked all the life from the second test as South Africa declared on 235 for three and secured a draw against the West Indies in Basseterre, St Kitts, on Tuesday.
South Africa's lead was 232 and, with the final hour dawning, at which point the captains could agree to call the game off with no result possible, the declaration meant there would have to be a 10-minute changeover, mercifully bringing a slightly earlier end to proceedings.
Jacques Kallis and AB de Villiers came together on the stroke of lunch with the score 131 for three, but batted throughout the second session to kill off any lingering hopes of a shock West Indian comeback, and then extended their fourth-wicket stand to 104 in the final stages.
Kallis played the more telling strokes as he finished on 62 not out with six fours and a six, while De Villiers was on 31 not out when everyone decided to come off the field.
While the West Indies had given themselves an outside sniff of victory when they reduced South Africa to 131 for three at lunch -- a lead of 128 -- by tea a result was as unlikely as finding a Caribbean sand dune in the Antarctic as Kallis and De Villiers batted with class and composure to ensure the home team went through the penultimate session wicket-less.
After taking three wickets in the morning session, the West Indies came out after lunch probably rueing the fact they did not have more time to pile the pressure on South Africa. But it was their own insane approach in the latter stages of their first innings that has made the draw inevitable.
South Africa were in danger of getting themselves into a hole as they reached lunch on 131 for three.
Rookie West Indian off-spinner Shane Shillingford was laying down the law as he claimed two wickets in the morning session, the home side belatedly trying to woo their fans back to test cricket with an enthusiastic, intense display in the field, in stark contrast to their woeful negativity on the fourth day.
South Africa, resuming on 23 without loss, began in authoritative fashion, scoring as brightly as Bafana Bafana played in the first half of their crunch World Cup game in Bloemfontein.
Openers Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen both had the means to deal comfortably with fast bowler Kemar Roach's assault and after five overs he gave way to spin at both ends.
Shillingford removed Smith for 46 when the left-handed skipper could only get a top-edge to a cut and was caught behind.
Hashim Amla came in and was given a torrid time by Shillingford. The West Indies asked for a review of a catch at slip, only for the technology to show Shillingford had bowled a no-ball, which ended the inquiry. The next over saw Amla dropped by Dwayne Bravo at slip off Sulieman Benn.
Amla tried several ideas when it came to playing the bouncing, turning off-break, none of which looked particularly convincing, and, even though he scored 41, it was not a surprise when Shillingford had him caught bat/thigh at leg-slip.
That was in the penultimate over before lunch and Petersen was not able to make it through to the break as he missed a fine off-stump yorker from Bravo and was bowled for 39.
- Report Day 1
- Report Day 2
- Report Day 3
- Report Day 4
Teams
West Indies - Chris Gayle (capt)
South Africa - Graeme Smith (capt), Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher (wk), Dale Steyn, Paul Harris, Morne Morkel, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.
