Proteas romp to victory inside three days
Kagiso Rabada (5-19) completed his 10th five-wicket haul and Keshav Maharaj claimed two quick wickets in the morning session to dismiss the West Indies for a meagre 162 before a delayed lunch break to win the first test at the Darren Sammy Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia by an innings and 63 runs.
Resuming on 82-4 with another 143 runs still required just to make South Africa bat again, Roston Chase moved from his overnight 21 not to a top score of 62 (156 balls, 7x4, 1x6) before chopping a delivery from left-arm spinner Maharaj onto his stumps to end any realistic hopes of a fightback.
First to go was Jermain Blackwood who obligingly fell straight into the trap set for him by driving a full-length delivery from Rabada straight to Rassie van der Dussen stationed at short mid-off. His 13 spanned 45 balls but it was only a matter of time before he played his favourite shot.
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Former captain Jason Holder (4) completely misjudged a straight delivery from Maharaj, played no shot and heard the ‘death rattle’ as the ball hit the top of off stump.
Chase did play a shot at another Maharaj ‘straight-onner’ but the ball was too close to him for the cut shot and a bottom edge clattered into the stumps. Maharaj finished with the outstanding analysis of 11-5-23-2.
Rahkeem Cornwall (0) showed little stomach for the fight and drove another full-length delivery from Rabada to Van der Dussen at an orthodox mid-off position and the hosts were 141-8. Rabada completed his five-wicket haul by bowling a gutsy Joshua de Silva (9 from 51 balls) and the match ended when Anrich Nortje (3-46) had last man Jayden Seales (3) caught by Wiaan Mulder in the slip cordon.
It was an outstanding all-round test match for the tourists who dismissed the West Indies for a feeble 97 in the first innings after they had chosen to bat first with Lungi Ngidi taking 5-19 and Anrich Nortje 4-35 giving him a match haul of 7-81.
'VERY SATISFYING'
De Kock's brilliant knock
If the bowlers laid the platform for victory, it was Man of the Match, Quinton de Kock, who built most impressively on it with a brilliant, unbeaten 141 from 170 balls with 12 fours and seven sixes.
“I haven’t given it much thought yet but it is very satisfying, obviously. We paced the innings well and I was able to up the tempo at the right time to give us a good lead,” De Kock said.
“It was an outstanding all-round effort,” said Proteas captain Dean Elgar. “It has been a two-week process leading up to this, a lot of planning, I would like to think it didn’t happen because of luck. I asked for individuals to score hundreds and take five-fors, and we had three of those accolades.
“The bowlers really rose to the occasion and stuck to the basics of bowling on a wicket like that. We are used to bowling in friendly conditions back at home so we were very happy to be given a wicket like that. The conditions were unknown before we got here so that’s why we brought four spinners – Covid allows you to cover all bases with a 19-man squad,” Elgar said.
“Quinny is a world-class cricketer and it was fantastic to see him get another test hundred – and I know there are more in the tank. KG tries his backside off and hasn’t got the rewards he deserves in recent times, but he just keeps going,” Elgar said.
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite was philosophical: “We didn’t bat well in the first innings, obviously, so we were always under pressure. South Africa batted and bowled better than us, it’s as simple as that. They have quality bowlers but we just have to bat better in the second test.
“As a bowling group we did well, all the bowlers put in a lot of effort. Roston showed fight in the second innings with the bat and Jayden is a special talent with the ball. It was a disappointing performance but there were some good individual performances to take into the second test.”
WEST INDIES: Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), Shai Hope, Nkrumah Bonner, Kyle Mayers, Jermaine Blackwood, Roston Chase, Joshua Da Silva (wk), Jason Holder, Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Jayden Seales
SOUTH AFRICA: Dean Elgar (capt), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Quinton de Kock (wk), Keshav Maharaj, Wiaan Mulder, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje
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