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Proteas have noses in front, but Joy ton boosts Bangladesh
South Africa took an overall lead of 75 with all 10 of their second innings wickets intact on the third day of the first Betway test against Bangladesh at Kingsmead in Durban on Saturday.
When bad light stopped play in the final session with 17 overs left, Proteas’ openers Dean Elgar and Sarel Erwee had faced one over of pace and three of spin before umpires Marais Erasmus and Adrian Holdstock finally admitted defeat in the gloom and took the players off the field. The umpires deserve credit on the last two days for doing all they could to keep play going.
Although South Africa finished the day on six without loss with their noses in front, it was Bangladesh – and in particular 21-year-old opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy who struck his maiden test century in only his third match – who deserved most of the plaudits with a plucky display.
Resuming on their overnight total of 98 for four, Bangladesh quickly lost their nightwatchman Taskin Ahmed – caught in the gully by Wiaan Mulder – to debutant Lizaad Williams, who thereby picked up his maiden test wicket.
Williams and his teammates were understandably cock-a-hoop with Bangladesh now on 101 for five and in a perilous position. It was a high point of the day for Williams, who finished with a meritorious 3-54 in 18.5 overs, including the prized wicket of Joy to conclude the Bangladesh innings.
Speaking afterwards, Williams said he was “very delighted to contribute to the team. For me, playing test cricket was always my dream; it’s the most difficult form of the game. I think we did well as a unit but we could have done better and I hope we can show that in the second innings.”
Despite being under serious pressure, Joy’s resilience and patience shone like a beacon through the rest of the innings as the visitors’ last five wickets added a further 197 runs to limit their first-innings deficit to 69.
An indication of just how effectively Joy and co. stretched out the second half of the innings was illustrated by the partnerships that followed Taskin’s dismissal. The opener shared partnerships of 82 in 171 balls with Liton Das (41), 33 in 53 balls with Yasir Ali (22), 51 in 144 balls with Mehedi Hasan Miraz (29) and then 27 in just 19 balls with Khaled Ahmed.
DEFIANT JOY
For the most part, Joy was conscious of his defensive responsibilities, but when Khaled walked to the crease, the effect on him was immediate. Reacting as if an electric current was running through his body, Joy blasted 27 off two overs from Simon Harmer and Wiaan Mulder before Khaled gloved a short lifter from Duanne Olivier to wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. He then perished himself, edging a cut to Harmer at slip to give Williams his third wicket.
Altogether, the opener batted for seven hours and 22 minutes, faced 336 balls and struck 15 fours and two sixes in his monumental show of defiance.
South Africa were a picture of frustration for much of the day as they desperately tried to make progress. Keshav Maharaj bowled well, albeit without any luck, while his spin twin Harmer was unable to add to his four wickets on Friday.
For their part, the pace bowlers tended to bowl too short, especially with the second new ball. When Wiaan Mulder was brought on for the first time in the match in the 108th over, it was no coincidence that he quickly took the wicket of Mehedi (caught at slip) with a fuller-length delivery.
Not for the first time this season, South Africa were their own worst enemies in the field, dropping three catches. Dean Elgar’s miss was the worst of them when he dropped a regulation chance off Das (Williams being the bowler) when he was on 16 and the total 121 for five. To be fair, the chances that Erwee (at short leg) and Keegan Petersen (at slip) dropped were tough ones, but Elgar’s lost chance could have been crucial.
Play begins at 10am on Sunday with 98 overs scheduled to be bowled. Fifteen extra minutes will be added to the first two sessions.
SOUTH AFRICA: Dean Elgar (capt), Sarel Erwee, Keegan Petersen, Temba Bavuma, Ryan Rickelton, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Lizaad Williams, Duanne Olivier
BANGLADESH: Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque (capt), Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim, Liton Das (wk), Yasir Ali, Mehidy Hasan, Taskin Ahmed, Khaled Ahmed, Ebadot Hossain
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