Powell BRIDGETOWN, CANA:
THEREe was little substance and even less stability from the West Indies Cricket Board XI batsmen as they conceded a healthy first innings lead to South Africa in their three-day, first-class cricket match at Kensington Oval yesterday.
When stumps were drawn on the second day, South Africa were 29 without loss in their second innings - leading by 113 - with Gary Kirsten on 18, and Herschelle Gibbs on 11.
They had dismissed the WICB XI for 186 in their first innings about an hour after the tea break.
Ricardo Powell made the top score of 47 and Daren Ganga looked solid in a knock of 43, but the rest of the WICB XI failed to conquer the South Africa bowling with left-arm spinner Nicky Boje and pacer Andre Nel each getting three wickets apiece to be the leading bowlers.
Outside of two half-century stands for the second and fourth wickets, there was little resistance from the WICB XI batsmen, many of whom fell playing ill-advised strokes against disciplined, but hardly menacing South Africa bowling.
Overnight 17 without loss, the WICB XI reached 94 for three at the lunch interval and progressed to 167 for five at the tea break, but they would lose their last four wickets at a frenetic rate in the first hour of the final period.
The WICB XI were immediately set back in the second over of the day when opening batsman Leon Garrick was caught behind sparring at a delivery from Nel without addition to his bedtime score of five.
For close to 1 1/2 hours, Daren Ganga and Ryan Hinds studiously worked to consolidate their side's innings with a second-wicket stand of 52.
Both young batsmen gave their hands away in the final half-hour before lunch however.
Hinds, playing defensively forward to an awkward leg-cutter from Lance Klusener, edged to second slip and, Ganga, whose 85-ball innings lasting two hours with four boundaries, was spectacularly caught at cover by a flying Paul Adams off Justin Kemp, who ended with two for 50.
After lunch, Powell played a few memorable strokes, but he too, succeeded in throwing away his wicket and a chance to serve a timely reminder of his ability to the West Indies selection panel just before tea.
The WICB XI were making steady progress during the afternoon period through a fourth-wicket stand of 52 between captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, their most experienced batsman, and Powell, but both were dismissed inside an hour of each other.
SCOREBOARD
South Africa 1st Innings 270
WICB XI 1st innings
(overnight 17 without loss):
D.Ganga c Adams b Kemp 43
L.Garrick c wk Boucher b Nel 5
R.Hinds c Kemp b Klusener 23
S.Chanderpaul c wk Boucher b Kemp 12
R.Powell b Boje 47
T.Dowlin c Pollock b Boje 16
K.Hibbert b Klusener 2
D.Mohammed c Gibbs b Boje 0
C.Stuart c Gibbs b Nel 11
R.King b Nel 6
C.Cuffy not out 0
Extras (b4, lb3, w2, nb12) 21
TOTAL (all out, 77.5 overs) 186
Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-77, 3-82, 4-134, 5-166, 6-167, 7-169, 8-169, 9-181.
Bowling: Nel 17.5-3-53-3 (nb5); Kemp 16-3-50-2 (nb5); Pollock 6-2-9-0; Klusener 12-5-14-2 (nb2); Adams 13-5-38-0 (w2); Kirsten 1-0-4-0; Boje 12-7-11-3.
South Africa 2nd Innings:
G.Kirsten not out 18
H.Gibbs not out 11
TOTAL (without loss, 14 overs) 29
Bowling: King 5-1-12-0; Cuffy 5-3-6-0; Stuart 2-0-9-0; Mohammed 2-1-2-0.
Note: The South Africa first innings score was adjusted to 270 by the scorers.
