Elgar, Bavuma lead solid start for Proteas

An unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 53 between Temba Bavuma and Kyle Verreynne saw South Africa through to a solid 233 for four on the first day of the Betway first test against Bangladesh at Kingsmead in Durban on Thursday.

When bad light stopped play at 5.18pm CAT (SA, GMT+2) with 13.1 overs to go, South Africa could be well satisfied with their position, particularly as Bangladesh had won the toss and put the home team in to bat on a vividly green, well-grassed pitch that ultimately promised more than it delivered.

Half-centuries were forthcoming from skipper Dean Elgar and Bavuma, while Sarel Erwee (41 in 102 balls) made a valuable contribution to a century opening stand, the second in consecutive tests between himself and Elgar.

The Bangladeshis blew hot and cold on the day. It was understandable that they put the Proteas in to bat because they would rarely have seen such a green pitch.

But if there was any life to extract from the surface, the visitors signally failed to do so on a morning of indiscipline that allowed Elgar and Erwee to score at just under five runs to the over at times as they picked off a succession of half-volleys or unduly short deliveries.

Elgar, who dominated the partnership, struck 11 fours in his 67 in 101 balls, a brisker than usual rate of progress for the left-hander.

The Bangladeshi seamers fed his usual facility for striking the ball square or behind square on both sides of the wicket, with the emphasis on the on-side.

Half-an-hour after lunch, however, paceman Khaled Ahmed produced one of the few balls to misbehave on an easy-paced pitch that had few devils in it.

Sharp lift enabled the ball to kiss Elgar’s glove as he shaped to defend with wicketkeeper Kitton Das scooping a good low catch diving to his left.

After 150 minutes of relatively untroubled batting, South Africa suddenly found they had lost two wickets in five balls when Erwee, on 41, drove rather loosely outside his off-stump against offspinner Mehidy Miraz, getting an inside edge onto his leg stump. He had struck six fours in his 102-ball innings.

BRILLIANT EFFORT

Mehidy struck again 10 overs later, but with a world-class piece of fielding rather than with the ball. In the 46th over, Bavuma pushed Taskin Ahmed into the covers forward of point and called for a quick run.

Petersen responded immediately but Mehidy dived, picked up the ball and threw at the stumps in one movement, the direct hit just finding the batsman short. It was a brilliant effort that would have made Jonty Rhodes proud.

Ryan Rickelton showed few nerves on his debut, opening his account with an audacious reverse sweep for four off Mehidy.

That shot vividly showed the difference between the old era and the new. But his youthful aggression also had a price that the 25-year-old left-hander paid shortly after the tea break when he perhaps rashly attempted to pull a sharply rising delivery from Ebadot Hossain and only succeeded in splicing the ball to mid-on.

Perhaps, with greater experience, Rickelton might have put that stroke to bed for a longer period.

Speaking afterwards, the debutant admitted that he had been “desperate” to play for South Africa. “I’ve been trying to put my hand up in domestic cricket but it’s been a bit tough. I went to New Zealand champing at the bit, but didn’t play and had six weeks off playing followed by some low scores back home. I’m grateful for the opportunity now and hopefully I can make it work,” he said.

It was Bavuma who showed the right mental approach as he played with due care to reach his unbeaten 53 at the close.

In all he struck six fours in 119 balls in just over three hours at the crease. Verreynne, one of South Africa’s batting heroes from the second test against New Zealand in February, kept him good company with an unbeaten 27 in 90 minutes.

The most frustrating aspect of Kingsmead’s return from international test isolation after three years was the half-hour delay at the start of play because of a sightscreen malfunction at both ends of the ground.

It wasn’t a Kingsmead problem but rather that of the company that provides LED advertising boards at the ground.

Play was held up as groundstaff struggled to cover the sightscreens with white gauzy material.

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