Tony Becca, Contributing Editor
South Africa's Jacques Rudolph (right) returns to the pavilion after being caught behind by Courtney Browne off the bowling of Dwayne Bravo during the second day of the second Test at Queen's Park Oval yesterday. Celebrating are West Indian skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul (left) and his predecessor, Brian Lara.- PHOTOS BY DELLMAR
PORT OF SPAIN:
THE SECOND Test of the Digicel Series between the West Indies and South Africa ended its second day at Queen's Park Oval yesterday with the visitors, led by a splendid, undefeated innings by captain Graeme Smith, on top but not commandingly so.
At stumps on a day highlighted by Brian Lara's attempt to write his name on another page of history and his failure to do so, another fine spell of pace bowling by Makhaya Ntini, who finished with the figures of six for 95 off 28 overs, some fine bowling by medium-pacer Dwayne Bravo, and then some splendid batting by Smith and Jacques Kallis, the scoreboard read: West Indies 347, South Africa 195 for three.
AT FIRST GLANCE
With Smith on 90 and 10 runs short of his ninth Test century and his third against the Windies, at first glance it would appear that the visitors, 152 behind with seven wickets in hand, are not only out in front but in the driver's seat.
First impressions can be misleading, however - and especially so on a pitch that has already shown signs of becoming more and more a bowler's friend and which, by the time the fifth and final day comes around, could be a real test if not a nightmare for the batsmen on the team batting last.
In the final analysis, it could all depend on the West Indies bowlers, but with Bravo getting the ball to cut both ways off the seam, with part-time slow bowler Chris Gayle getting it to turn, albeit slowly, with left-arm pacer Pedro Collins rapping Smith and Kallis on the gloves a few times, with a few deliveries already keeping low and with the batsmen escaping some close calls with the ball hitting the edge of their bats or bouncing off their gloves and dropping short, the reading of the situation is that South Africa, as well positioned as they appear, are not yet in a commanding position.
With the West Indies resuming on 281 for six with Lara on 159, the interest in the morning's play was not only how many more runs the home team would score but whether or not Lara, the world record holder for the highest individual score in Test and first-class cricket, the West Indies record holder for the most centuries after easing past Gary Sobers' 26 on the previous afternoon, would add at least one more record to his collection.
That was not to be, however. The great batsman was bowled by fast bowler Andre Nel with a beauty for 196 and thus failed to become the first Trinidadian to score a double century at home.
With seven double centuries in the bag and tied with England's Wally Hammond, another one would have left him all by himself, second only to Don Bradman who chalked up 12 in his 52-match career.
SHAKY START
After a shaky start during which he played and missed and then decided to take it easy after losing overnight partner Courtney Browne and then Daren Powell and Collins, Lara was on 176 when he was joined by last man Reon King.
With time obviously against him, Lara went for it and was within four runs when, after refusing to take a few singles in an over from Nel, the left-hander played defensively forward to the big pacer bowling round the wicket and was bowled - the ball, to the delight of Nel and wicketkeeper Mark Boucher and to the disappointment of the fans who were stunned into silence, clipping the offstump and dislodging the bail.
After picking up four wickets on the first day, Ntini removed Browne - caught by Jacques Rudolph at short-leg for 26 at 299 for seven, and bowled Powell for 15 at 318 for eight to pocket his eighth five-wicket haul in Test cricket and his fourth against the West Indies.
With the left-handed Smith going back and pulling Powell to the mid-wicket boundary and going forward and driving the fast bowler to the
long-off boundary and then to the long-on boundary, with the right-handed Abraham A.B. de Villiers leaning back and cutting Collins, bowling over the wicket, to the point boundary, South Africa got off to a wonderful start and were going well before de Villiers drove King low to Chanderpaul at short extra-cover to make it 70 for one in the 15th over and before the left-handed Rudolph, one delivery after a spanking drive through the covers, played forward to Bravo, edged a catch to wicketkeeper Browne, and walked away for eight at 86 for two in the 27th over.
Kallis, with six centuries against the West Indies under his belt, walked out, stroked the first delivery from Bravo to the long-on boundary and, with Smith continuing to play well, South Africa appeared set to go to stumps without further loss before, in the over after which bad light was offered, Kallis went back to Bravo and was leg before for 39 at 194 for three to a delivery that kept low.
When play resumes this morning, Smith and the batsmen to come will probably be still thinking of a delivery from King to Kallis just before the demise of the South African star batsman.
It was a delivery that must have scared the daylights out of Kallis - the ball hitting the pitch short of a good length and, like a rat, or a mongoose, running along the ground to Browne.
SCOREBOARD
SCOREBOARD|West Indies first innings
(Resumed at 281-6)
| B. Lara | b Nel | 196 |
| C. Browne | c Rudolph b Ntini | 26 |
| P. Collins | lbw Nel | 2 |
| R. King | not out | 1 |
| D. Powell | b Ntini | 15 |
| Extras | (b-4 lb-8 nb-5 w-2) | 24 |
| Total | (all out - 104.4 overs) | 347 |
Fall: 1-7 2-13 3-108 4-203 5-204 6-225 7-299 8-318 9-325 10-347.
Bowling: Nel 28.4-7-71-3 (w-1), Ntini 28-3-95-6 (nb-2), Kallis 13-4-41-0, Zondeki 15-0-71-0 (nb-3 w-1), Boje 20-2-52-1.
South Africa first innings
| G. Smith | not out | 90 |
| A. Villiers | c Chanderpaul b King | 33 |
| J. Rudolph | c Browne b Bravo | 8 |
| J. Kallis | lbw Bravo | 39 |
| M. Zondeki | not out | 1 |
| Extras | (lb-1 nb-10) | 11 |
| Total | (for three wkts - 67 overs) | 182 |
Fall:1-70 2-86 3-181 Bowling: Collins 13-2-40-0 (nb-7), Powell 12-2-58-0, King 12-3-21-1 (nb-3), Bravo 14-3-39-2, Gayle 16-6-23-0.
