WEST INDIES (WI) are playing far below the strength of the South Africa (SA) team. One is therefore left to wonder how was it possible for WI to move up the table above SA.
Let’s face it, WI moved ahead of them to sixth position, leaving them in seventh. WI’s upward movement was due to their phenomenal, surprising performance against Bangladesh at the beginning of the year and their comforting drawn series against Sri Lanka after that.
Now, the chickens have come home to roost. In the first Test match of this two-match Test series, Kraigg Brathwaite, WI captain, won the toss and decided to bat first.
The pitch, as it turned out, had a generous distribution of moisture, yet not unlike first-day pitches for Test cricket. Nonetheless, WI batsmen couldn’t cope with the movement off the seam plus the swing that the visiting fast bowlers achieved. They were bundled out for 97.
Winning the toss a second time – a toss I feel he would have preferred to lose – his technically weak batsmen at the back of his mind plus his shattered confidence after losing the first Test by an innings, he decided to field first.
He reckoned he would give his critics a lesson – test the South Africans on a wicket fresh with preparation moisture, add another fast bowler in Shannon Gabriel, making it four by leaving out Rahkeem Cornwall, the off-spinner.
Off to a good start, WI bowlers had their opponents struggling. They were 37 for 3. But the tenacity of SA’s captain Dean Elgar held them together. Then in-form left-handed batsman, Quinton De Kock played a quality hand of 96 which took the initiative away from the WI’s bowlers.
The bowling lacked discipline and SA were let off the hook. The bowlers, except for Kyle Mayers, drifted off target, erratic and loose, and the extras accumulated to 42, including 12 wides, in a Test match on a helpful pitch. After they lost some play because of bad weather, the day closed at 218 for 5 wickets, an excellent recovery by SA. Quinton De Kock, the left-handed batsman/wicketkeeper who scored an undefeated century in the first Test, was on 59 and the skipper scored a solid 77.
It was a lesson in fortitude and determination, showing the character that cricketers must possess to succeed at the highest level.
At this time Brathwaite must have been having thoughts that the wicket would lose most of its moisture content the following day so that his batsmen would then be in a position to settle in and build a decent score. Firstly, his quickies would have to plough through the tail of the South African innings. Then his batsmen could take advantage of batting second on a less testing pitch.
[caption id="attachment_896448" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Dean Elgar (C) and Quinton de Kock (R) of South Africa watch as Joshua de Silva’s (L) of West Indies ball is dropped during day 2 of the 2nd Test between South Africa and West Indies at Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, on Saturday. - (AFP PHOTO)[/caption]
But B
