OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Sunday 6.30pm.
SUNDAY, 6.30PM
THE West Indies are at 84 for 4 in their first innings. Alan Donald, bowling brilliantly and with extraordinary pace to take three quick wickets for 13 runs, suddenly left the pitch with a hamstring injury after taking his third wicket, with the Windies at 34 for 4.
Kingpin Brian Lara once again failed to show his batting prowess, backing away from a ball from Donald and stepping on his own wicket. Only steady batting by Carl Hooper (53) has kept the West Indies in the game — but he and partner Daren Ganga (16) are the last recognised batsmen in the Windies line up.
SUNDAY, 5.00PM
SOUTH AFRICA’S batsmen made slow work on Sunday under a blazing Newlands sun, but reached an impressive 406 for eight declared at tea time.
There was little of the impressive batting of Saturday on show, with modest scores by most of the batsmen, including captain Hansie Cronje, out for a duck. Alan Donald set a record he is unlikely to be proud of — his 11th duck in a test, equals Roy McLean’s South African record.
Jaques Kallis, who made his century just before the close on Saturday, was an early victim on Sunday, making just eight more runs to reach 110, before pushing the ball into the hands of wicketkeeper Jacobs.
But Daryl Cullinan continued to score, making another 44 runs to reach a career-best of 168 off 306 balls, including twenty fours. This was 15 runs better than his previous record, 153 against India. Cullinan and Kallis have set a new South African 3rd wicket partnership for home tests.
The one man who got the pace moving was Jonty Rhodes, who struck a six and two fours to make 34 off 68 balls before playing one aggressive shot too many, to be clean bowled by Carl Hooper.
Those who shone on the West Indies side were wicket keeper Ridley Jacobs with four catches, equaling a West Indies record; and bowler Mervyn Dillon, back in the squad due to injuries to other West Indies bowlers, who took three wickets, his best effort since a 5 wicket haul against Pakistan in 1997.
SATURDAY, 7.00PM
THREE wins ahead, South Africa did not let up in the fourth test against the West Indies, with Daryll Cullinan and Jacques Kallis in a superb partnership of 208 not out off 380 balls, to take South Africa to 282 for two.
Strangely, the day did not start that way: the very first ball of the day, from veteran Curtly Ambrose, the only Windies bowler to impress on Saturday, took the wicket of opener Gary Kirsten. To add to the blow for Kirsten, he was batting on his home ground.
But it soon became clear that the tourists, minus the injured Franklyn Rose — who bowled so brilliantly in the third test — and Courtney Walsh, lacked the bowling firepower to break the South African batting.
Herschell Gibbs turned the tide, with a brisk 42 off 83 balls, hitting four 4s in the process. Moments before lunch break, his concentration lapsed and he turned a delivery off Mervyn Dillon into the waiting hands of Philo Wallace at short leg. This is the second innings in a row in which Gibbs has shone — only to slip up just short of his half century.
After that, the afternoon belonged to Jaques Kallis and Daryl Cullinan, both playing elegant and assured cricket. Kallis was the more cautious, tailing behind both Gibbs and Cullinan, taking 120 balls to reach his 50 (Cullinan did the same off 98). Cullinan was eventually to reach a brilliant unbeaten 122, reaching his century off 155 balls, including fifteen fours. In the very last over of the afternoon, Kallis too reached his century (off 278 balls) his third in test cricket, taking the South Africans to a powerful 282 for two.
South Africa 1st innings
G Kirsten c Jacobs b Ambrose 0
HH Gibbs c Wallace b Dillon 42
JH Kallis c Jacobs b Gibson 110
DJ Cullinan c Jacobs b McLean 168
WJ Cronje c Jacobs b McLean 0
JN Rhodes b Hooper 34
SM Pollock c Lara b Dillon 9
MV Boucher not out 15
AA Donald c Wallace b Dillon 0
DJ Terbrugge not out 4
Extras (lb 3, w 1, nb 20) 24
Total (8 wickets declared, 146.5 overs) 406
Bowling
Ambrose 49 for 1 (13nb)
McLean 76 for 2 (2nb)
Gibson 92 for 1 (5nb, 1w)
Dillon 99 for 3
Hooper 60 for 1
Chanderpaul 27 for 0
West Indies 1st Innings
PA Wallace c Cullinan b Donald 8
JR Murray c Boucher b Donald 0
S Chanderpaul c Rhodes b Terbrugge 6
BC Lara hit wicket b Donald 4
CL Hooper not out 53
D Ganga not out 16
Extras (lb 2) 2
Total (4 wickets, 33 overs) 89