Half-centuries from captain Dean Elgar and in-form wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock steadied the visitors’ ship after early stutters, as South Africa reached 218/5 from 37/3 at one stage by the end of play on Day 1 of the second Test in St Lucia.
Put into bat first after losing the toss, the tourists found themselves under deep trouble when they lost their top-order without yet reaching the 50-run mark on another challenging track for batsmen.
But they were bailed out of the situation somewhat by another resilient effort from Elgar, who first put on a stand of 91 runs with Kyle Verreynne (27) and then another vital 79-run partnership with De Kock. Along the way, Elgar reached yet another important fifty for his team before finishing off with a well-compiled 77.
At the other end, De Kock, who struck an outstanding century in the last Test, continued his excellent form and batted ever so positively for his unbeaten half-century (59*). Though the visitors lost Elgar, De Kock ensured they went to the close of play with five wickets still intact.
Earlier in the day, after a rain-interrupted start, South Africa lost Elgar’s opening partner Aiden Markram (0), without him bothering the scorers. His wicket was followed soon by the departure of Keegan Petersen (7) and Rassie van der Dussen (4).
On a surface where West Indies quicks got the ball to zip around, albeit inconsistently, batting was a task. Yet, it wasn’t so much the quality of the bowling that left South Africa precariously placed, as the trio of Markram, Petersen and Van der Dussen all faltered to their own errors at the crease.
Markram and Petersen both got out chasing the ball outside off and were caught in slips, while Dussen misjudged one coming into him to be out bowled.
Despite taking one less wicket than Shannon Gabriel (2/47), Kemar Roach (1/33) was the pick of the two bowlers, with the experienced paceman showing more consistency in his line and length throughout the day. As he has been notorious for, Gabriel sprayed the ball around in crucial passages, especially the one where Elgar and Verreynne went about resurrecting the innings post-lunch.
Impressive young quick Jayden Seales (1/28) also got one wicket, but perhaps the most important scalp was made by part-timer Kyle Mayers (1/24), who got one to jag back and hit the stumps against a well-set Elgar. Had Elgar and De Kock gone through unscathed and resumed the innings on Saturday, South Africa would’ve been feeling really confident of their position. Nevertheless, they can still take solace from their recovery, given the overall batting conditions. They aren’t far away from a score that would shift the pressure back on the hosts.
Brief Scores:
South Africa 218/5 (Dean Elgar 77, Quinton de Kock 59*; Shannon Gabriel 2-47, Kemar Roach 1/33) vs West Indies
