JOHANNESBURG - The long-awaited Test series between the West Indies and South Africa got underway at the Wanderers stadium yesterday and, after an absorbing day's play, the honours appeared balanced if somewhat in favour of South Africa.
At stumps on the first day of the first Test, the West Indies, thanks to a solid and at times impressive innings of 74 by Shivnarine Chanderpaul, were on 249 for seven with Nixon McLean not out on 23 and Rawl Lewis, who arrived in South Africa a few hours before the start of the match, not out on 11.
Led by pacers Shaun Pollock, who finished a good day's work with three for 51 off 20 overs, and newcomer David Terbrugge, who bowled straight and on a good length and deserved more than one wicket, South Africa, despite the hammering of top bowler, pacer Alan Donald who at one stage conceded 50 runs off eight overs, bowled well, and despite four dropped catches, fielded equally well.
As efficient as they were, however, South Africa's apparent position of strength was due not so much to their efforts but to a poor performance by the West Indies whose batsmen, but for Chanderpaul and Philo Wallace who was cut down by a good delivery, lived and died like Saturday afternoon cricketers.
Clayton Lambert, captain Brian Lara, Carl Hooper and Stuart Williams played some glorious strokes. They also played many careless and reckless ones and paid the penalty - the most disappointing coming from Hooper and Williams after they had stood in the breach with Chanderpaul and repaired the early damage which saw the West Indies lose three wickets in the first 12 overs.
After winning the toss and electing to bat, the West Indies were on the ropes at 41 for three when Chanderpaul and Hooper steadied them with a fourth-wicket partnership of 91 in 31 overs before Hooper dropped at zero by Pollock off his own bowling and at 43 by Jonty Rhodes offspinner at Pat Symcox - swung at Donald and missed, swung again and missed, and then edged the pacer to Daryl Cullinan at slip when he attempted to square-drive a wide delivery.
Day 4: South Africa in driver's seat
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa appeared set for a winning start to the five-match Test series against the West Indies at stumps on the fourth day's play of the first Test at the Wanderers Stadium yesterday.
When bad light and then rain, for the second day in a row, ended play, the score was West Indies 261 and 170, South Africa 268, and with the luxury of all of today's final day to find the 164 runs necessary for victory, the odds are heavily in favour of the home team.
As well placed as they are, however, South Africa have ignored the temptation to put the champagne on ice. Captain Hansie Cronje and Allan Donald remember the final morning of the one-off Test at Kensington Oval in 1992 when South Africa, resuming on 122 for two and needing 79 to win, lost eight wickets for 26 runs to lose by 52 runs. The two fast bowlers, Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, who buried them on that memorable day, are in the West Indies attack, and certainly based on Walsh's relentless pressure in the first innings, still capable of a repeat performance.
Resuming on 20 without loss, the West Indies batsmen once again batted poorly, lost some early wickets, and but for a stubborn performance by the usually aggressive opener Clayton Lambert, who scored 33 off 114 deliveries before he was dismissed at 80 for five, and a fighting partnership of 68 in the middle of the innings between newcomer Ridley Jacobs (42) and the experienced but injured Carl Hooper (34), who was forced to bat at number seven because of the length of time he was off the field, never recovered.
On a pitch which, but for a few deliveries which kept low, played fairly well, and against an attack which, despite the skill of pacer Shaun Pollock who ticked off his 100th Test wicket at the end, was never deadly, the West Indies lost three wickets for 18 runs inside the first house, and at 38 for three were on the run against a team motivated by the support of 20,000 cheering fans - twice as many as any of the previous three days.
The first to go was Philo Wallace - bowled off the inside edge for 14 at 24 for one when he went onto the backfoot to a short-pitched delivery and carelessly played across the line.
The second was captain Brian Lara - leg before wicket to pacer Donald for seven at 33 for two.
Day 5: South Africa humble West Indies
JOHANNESBURG: South African batsman, Daryll Cullinan (right) plays a sweep shot off Carl Hooper's bowling, during the last day of the first Test yesterday. South Africa won the match by four wickets.
Cricket: Johannesburg - South Africa's bid for a winning start to the five-match series against the West Indies ended in style at the Wanderers stadium yesterday when they won the first Test by four wickets.
The victory, which levelled the count between the two teams at one each from two matches following the Windies fantastic finish to the historic one-off Test in Bridgetown six years ago, came four minutes before tea on the final day when, with the score tied, Mark Boucher went onto the backfoot and stroked veteran pacer Curtly Ambrose into the covers for a single.
``This is great. It is always good to get away to a winning start,'' said captain Hansie Cronje minutes after the victory. ``It was tight going all the way. It is a relief - especially for those of us who suffered in Barbados in 1992.''
``We bowled well, but we did not bat well,'' said a disappointed Lara. ``This is only the first Test, however. There are four more to come, and you will see a different West Indies.''
It was indeed a tough victory, as despite the margin of four wickets and although they did not repeat the brilliance of 1992 when they snatched eight wickets for 26 runs to win by 52, the West Indies, paced by another fine performance from Courtney Walsh, pushed the South Africans to the limit in their own bid for a winning start.
With bad light and rain preventing them from opening their second innings on the fourth afternoon, South Africa started their final drive for victory in the morning needing 164 to win, and with the pitch still playing well, the odds were stacked in their favour - the talk around the ground suggesting that the home team would sprint to victory comfortably.
Ambrose, who said at breakfast that he had five wickets between his fingers, and Courtney Walsh, who shouted ``110'' as he dashed down the hotel steps on the way to the team bus, had other ideas, however, and after a hook for four by Gary Kirsten in Walsh's first over, they silenced the crowd with two wickets in three deliveries as South Africa slipped to 14 for two in 41 minutes of tense action.
The first to go was Kirsten for seven at 14 for one - the left-hander going back defensively to the fifth delivery of Ambrose's fifth over and edging a catch to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs.
The second, off the first delivery of the following over from Walsh, was Adam Bacher who tapped a catch to Philo Wallace at forward short-leg and went away for six.
Unfortunately for the West Indies, their other bowlers failed to support the two masters, and with Jacques Kallis, who batted to the end while scoring 57 in 236 minutes off 152 deliveries, batting cautiously, and Daryll Cullinan, who stroked the ball confidently, playing well, South Africa recovered nicely and appeared cruising to victory when fortune smiled on the West Indies and handed them another ray of hope.
After smashing Nixon McLean for two boundaries -- one to midwicket and one to point, Cullinan pounced on a short delivery from the speedster, pulled it high towards midwicket, and shook his head in disappointment when Stuart Williams, fielding some 20 metres away, plucked the ball out of the air to make it 58 for three.
It was truly a great catch, and had Shivnarine Chanderpaul's throw from backward point hit the wicket at the wicketkeeper's end with non-striker Cronje, on zero at 61 for three, a long way out of his ground, the West Indians would have been on top, the South Africans would have been on the run and shivering in their boots, and the Test match may have ended differently.
As it turned out, Cronje thanked the gods with a plucky innings of 31 and shared a decisive fourth-wicket partnership of 66 runs in 18 overs with the determined Kallis.
The partnership was decisive for two reasons; it was the partnership which stopped the West Indies in their tracks after the fall of Cullinan, and when captain Brian Lara, looking for a wicket right after lunch, called on Ambrose to do the trick, Kallis and Cronje treated him with contempt, picked off 19 runs in his three overs, and forced Lara to think again.
In thinking again, Lara turned to Walsh, and once again the holder of the record for the most wickets by a West Indian delivered.
Cronje, whose extra-cover drive in his third over hastened the withdrawal of Ambrose, hooked at the wily pacer, was caught off the top-edge at fine-leg by McLean, and at one 124 for four, with South Africa needing another 40 runs for victory, the West Indies still had a chance.
Kallis, however, solid as a rock but always ready for the loose deliveries, pulled a short delivery from Walsh through midwicket, worked right-arm legspinner Rawl Lewis on both sides of the wicket for comfortable ones and twos, and with Jonty Rhodes and man-of-the-match Shaun Pollock chipping in with a boundary each, South Africa, despite losing two more wickets - one when the score was tied, eased to victory.