Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince hit contrasting hundreds in a record-breaking fifth-wicket stand that put South Africa in an impregnable position in the fourth and final Test on Saturday.
Kallis continued his love affair with West Indies’ bowling in an undefeated 127, his 22nd Test hundred, and Prince gave him admirable support with an unbeaten 114, his second Test hundred, that carried South Africa to a formidable 525 for four at stumps.
The two hundreds carried the South African count in the innings to four, following innings of 126 from captain Graeme Smith and 114 from fellow opener AB de Villiers.
Kallis and Prince added an unbroken 230 to establish a new fifth wicket record for their country in Tests, after West Indies fought back gallantly in the morning period to restrict the visitors to 295 for four at lunch.
Commencing their stand immediately after the interval, Kallis and Prince put South Africa, who have already wrapped up the series, back in charge by punctuating periods of watchfulness with exciting strokes as the West Indies toiled away on the hard and notoriously docile Antigua Recreation Ground pitch.
Kallis was the first to reach his milestone, when he drove one of Narsingh Deonarine’s off-spin floaters off the backfoot through cover for two.
It gave Kallis his seventh Test hundred against West Indies and second of this series.
In the process, Kallis became the highest scorer for South Africa in Tests (he now has 7,317 runs), and the South African batsman with the highest number of Test hundreds, moving ahead of retired left-hander Gary Kirsten in both instances.
Kallis has occupied the crease for nearly six hours, faced 256 balls, and struck a dozen fours and one six.
Not to be outdone, Prince collected his hundred when he cut a short ball from Daren Powell through cover, and poor fielding and communication from Dwayne Bravo and Brian Lara afforded him the luxury of two runs.
On nine, there was an anxious moment for Prince though.
On the backfoot and driving at one of Chris Gayle’s off-spin darts, West Indies appealed loudly for a catch to the keeper that was denied by umpire Billy Bowden.
In the middle of the afternoon, Prince again gave the West Indies an adrenalin rush, when on 25, he mistimed a pull off Tino Best, and the ball soared high over the head of the mid-on fielder.
Prince has also struck a dozen fours and one six from 230 balls in a little over 4-1/2 hours.
Kallis and Prince helped South Africa re-establish their superiority after lunch, and carried the visitors to 410 for four at tea, after they had wobbled to 295 for four at the earlier interval.
Before lunch, purposeful bowling breathed life into the West Indies’ hopes, when they snared three wickets for six runs in the space of 20 balls in the first hour, after South Africa continued from their overnight position of 214 without loss.
After a damp outfield saw cricket start at the regular time, rather than half-hour earlier to compensate for the time lost on the opening day because of rain, Smith and de Villiers continued from where they left off.
The two South African opening batsmen played a few spanking strokes, but the tide started to shift, when Washington dropped the return chance that de Villiers offered on 105.
A few overs later, Best made the long-awaited breakthrough for the home team, when de Villiers was caught behind for 114, gloving a short, rising ball down the legside.
De Villiers smote 13 fours and one six from 173 balls in just under 4-1/4 hours during which time he shared 245 for the first wicket with Smith.
West Indies lifted their collective moods and their heads, when the left-handed Smith drove uncertainly at an awkwardly bouncing delivery from Powell in the next over and was caught at mid-on for 126 that contained 19 boundaries from 173 balls in a little over 4-1/4 hours.
Almost three overs later, West Indies gained a bonus wicket, when Boeta Dippenaar was run out going for a third run and Kallis sent him back.
The batsman flicked a delivery from Best to wide long-on and mid-wicket fielder Narsingh Deonarine chased the ball down, and hurled his return to the bowler, who relayed it wicketkeeper Courtney Browne to complete the dismissal that left South Africa 251 for three.
Kallis and Herschelle Gibs, with a bit of fortune, stemmed the fall of wickets when they added 44 for the fourth wicket.
Gibbs then played forward to a dart from Gayle and gave a bat-pad catch to forward short leg.
South Africa lead the four-Test series 2-0, after winning the second Test at Port of Spain by eight wickets, and the third Test at Bridgetown by an innings and 86 runs.
The first Test at Georgetown ended in a draw. – Sapa