South Africa’s much-maligned pace attack rushed through the West Indies batting line-up to help the hosts win the first Test by 189 runs at the Wanderers on Tuesday.
The Windies, in pursuit of a wildly unrealistic 378 for victory, were bowled out for 188 midway through the afternoon session on the fifth and final day.
Apart from a 98-run stand between Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ridley Jacobs, the Windies offered little more than token resistance against an attack that has been roundly criticised for much of the year.
After Makhaya Ntini had ripped through the Windies top order on Monday evening, former skipper Shaun Pollock and Andre Nel combined to mop up the bulk of the line-up on Tuesday.
Having slumped to 45 for three following Pollock’s double strike, Chanderpaul and Jacobs provided a measure of desperately needed stability to the West Indies second innings, leading into lunch.
Resuming on their overnight 31 for three, the Windies kept at bay a lively Pollock and Ntini for 19 minutes before Pollock trapped Ramnaresh Sarwan in front for eight.
The former South African skipper then bowled Lara for five, going some distance in atoning for his costly drop in the first innings when he missed a simple chance at first slip when Lara had just 15. The elegant left-hander went on to make 202.
The deadlock after lunch was eventually broken by Nel, who bowled a superb over to Jacobs before angling the final delivery back into the left-hander to castle him.
Although his selection raised eyebrows, Nel has been a revelation this Test.
A change in grip has seen the Easterns seamer pick up far more than the proverbial yard of pace, delivering the ball at almost 154kph — a staggering 16kph faster than his normal pace.
Nel’s extra pace ensured that very few of the visiting batsmen could settle comfortably at the crease. Perhaps even more importantly, Nel charged tirelessly in at Lara, who, despite making a double hundred, looked a tad uncomfortable at times when dealing with Nel’s shorter deliveries. — Sapa
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