West Indies v South Africa (2nd Test)

PORT ELIZABETH - Streetwise to the tough demands of a test, Pat Symcox re-read chapter and verse of his lower-order batting technique manual at St George's Park yesterday and may have thrown South Africa a life-line in the second match of the series against the West Indies.

Grizzled, hard-bitten, or as tough as Kimberley biltong, you name it the 38-year-old combat specialist of lost causes, has done it all.

But, as he tells it ``I love a challenge''. And as South Africa limped to 223 for eight when bad light wiped out 26.2 overs of play yesterday, they owe a lot to the veteran many wanted sacked on the alter of affirmative action expediency.

In two lower-order partnerships he helped add 80 runs to what had been, generally, a dodgy batting display in dodgy conditions and against a fiery Curtly Ambrose who turned it on for the first time this tour with two highly impressive bowling spells. His switch to bowling around the wicket earned him the wickets of Jonty Rhodes and Shaun Pollock: a clever switch in tactics which nipped two threatening partnerships.

Pollock possibly provided two of the day's best shots with straight drives off Dillon, the first of which brought up a hard-earned 100 for South Africa.

Yet there must be some sympathy for the batsmen. The bounce of the pitch was variable, and with the sun unable to break through, there was some interesting sideways movement. Conditions favoured the bowlers throughout and West Indies captain Brian Lara admitted he was disappointed his bowlers were unable to wrap up the South African innings swiftly after tea.

Malcolm Marshall, the Windies manager, agreed, suggesting the obvious that South Africa should have been bowled out for 160 or less.

No doubt Ambrose's light groin strain helped South Africa's cause as Symcox and Allan Donald enjoyed themselves. What did not help Lara's plan was the support Courtney Walsh received from Nixon McLean and Mervyn Dillon who showed their inexperience.

The over rate was again tardy and could find them slapped with another slow over rate fine.

Yet South Africa despite losing wickets at regular intervals, and as the bid to build a substantial partnership failed, still managed a run rate of around 3.4 an over.

While Symcox and Donald added 48 for the ninth wicket in a partnership which has done much to frustrate the tourists' efforts, Symmo and Mark Boucher had already built a foundation with 32 for the eighth wicket.

Little wonder Symcox, undefeated on 30, took some of the fight to the Windies.

Much of his efforts were similar to those at the Wanderers last year when he scored that century against Pakistan and added 195 for the ninth wicket.

Donald also faced up to some West Indies style intimidatory short-pitched bowling, mainly from Dillon, and grinned back down the track. Donald showed he could handle himself and is prepared to dish it out when his time comes to bowl later today.

He played several audacious shots, including a straight drive off Walsh, who before lunch became the third highest wicket-taker at test level. The recalled Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirstn and Jacques Kallis became victims of the man who has now taken 10 wickets in the series and 385 in a career.

Yet it is so easy to feel sympathy for Gibbs. Recalled as a replacement for Adam Bacher, Gibbs had managed only two sin 14 minutes when a ball from Walsh bushed the pad and then his glove before falling on to the stumps.

Kirsten played a couple of nice pulls before he gloved a Walsh delivery to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs to take him past Ian Botham's haul of 283 wickets.

But the abiding memory is Symcox picking up the innings lower order, tucking it under his arm and giving the West Indies a lot more to think about than Lara would have wished.

Day 2: South Africa in control

PORT ELIZABETH - South Africa may have control of this second test against the West Indies but a serious question mark hovers over the technical abilities of batsmen to build big scores in a series which is so far more notable for flashy batting failures than bowling success.

As a grim-faced Dr Ali Bacher sat wondering whether the second test at St George's Park can be stretched into a fourth day, tomorrow it needed some tight strokeplay from Jonty Rhodes to give a touch of respectability to South Africa second innings.

First he ran out his captain, Hansie Cronje, for 24, when the total had reached a shaky 53 for five, and the overall lead a marginal 177. Not at all a happy situation on a day when 17 wickets fell and 285 runs were scored with some batting belonging more to a Sunday League slog than a test where batting skills are required to build a total.

Then Rhodes, perhaps a little shame-faced over Cronje's dismissal, combined with Shaun Pollock to build what had developed into a 90 run partnership for the sixth wicket. It left South 143 for five after routing the West Indies for 121: a first innings statistic which signifies the lowest score by the Windies against South Africa.

Whether that scoreline will be remembered for an inglorious display of poor strokeplay selection against steady bowling is another matter. By the close last night South Africa were 267 runs ahead and if their first innings batting is a guide, already far too much for the visitors to handle with any form of comfort.

When lined up against the Windies batting it was interesting to see the remarkable run-making efforts of Rhodes and Pollock as they rotated the strike and took the game seemingly out of reach of the tourists who must be questioning their own technique on a pitch of variable bounce and against bowlers of the ability, on this green mat with plenty of lateral movement, of Allan Donald, Pollock and David Terbrugge, who returned quite remarkable figures for one so young.

There was drama from the start of the day when Pat Symcox and Donald stretched their partnership to 66 before Symcox edge a Nixon McLean delivery into his stumps after scoring 36.

Then there was some fun between Donald and Courtney Walsh as the South African, better noted for his fast bowling than his batting attempted a cover-drive. Walsh went up for a catch, an appeal which umpire Rudi Koetzen showed not the slightest interest. A few words were exchanged, but nothing as serious as ``you're useless as a batsman''.

Donald went on to equal his highest test score before the 36-year-old Windies fast bowler bagged his fourth victim of the innings and 11th in the series.

Not to be outdone there was some manufactured batting technique by several Windies batsmen; yet the way Brian Lara flashed his bat about, the man described as the best batsman in the world looked a pretty poor imitation of Mike Rindel than holder of two world batting records.

Had it not been for McLean's attempts to launch the ball into space, the Windies might have battled to reach 121. It was an amazing batting display of fireworks which included four sixes off and 31 runs off 12 deliveries.

Donald, Pollock, David Terbrugge, they were all savaged. In fact Terbrugge must have wondered what he had done to upset McLean. He went for 21 runs in eight balls and impressive figures of 7-4-4-3 were swiftly consigned to the rubbish tip.

Pollock returned after lunch to help wrap up the innings and grab his second five-wicket haul of the series and 14 so far this series.

Yet the green mamba disease, which seems to have affected the pitches up and down the country, must also take some of the blame for what has not been a particularly good advert for test style games and needs to somehow be addressed by the UCB.

Day 3: South African firepower blows away Windies

PORT ELIZABETH (South Africa) - All sections of the rainbow nation in this corner of the country united behind Hansie Cronje's side as they inflicted a crushing defeat on the West Indies at St George's Park today.

And the fire power of Allan Donald, felled by a Curtly Ambrose bouncer towards the end of the second South Africa innings, with man of the match Shaun Pollock, proved to have too much of a cutting edge for the tourists whose collapse was swift and humiliating after tea on only the third day of the second Test of the five-match series.

Donald rose from the ``canvas'' and later stormed to a five wicket haul for 49 in the second innings while Pollock, with a score of 42 in the second innings score of 195 picked up two for 46. Both performances did much to lay the foundation of South Africa's success.

As South Africa go into a 2-0 lead heading for Kingsmead in Durban over Christmas, Cronje agreed that a 5-0 victory would ``be a nice start to 1999). Not surprisingly the selectors have retained the same 12 for the third Test starting on December 26.

Routed for 121 in their first excuse for batting expertise Brian Lara's cronies managed a paltry 141 to lose by 178 runs as they failed abysmally in their victory quest of 320 runs. It was a poor batting return, their lack of discipline again evident, as the tourists locked themselves in their dressing room after the match and Lara declined to meet the international media.

It just about sums up the cheerlessness of what is an unhappy camp, listing heavily and in danger of sinking without so much as a trace.

From the moment Ambrose felled Donald, the Windies fast bowler established the sort of hostility you would expect and the old fast bowler's code was torn up ands trampled in the St George's Park dust. It did not endear Ambrose at all to the colourful local crowd who booed the giant Antiguan when he walked to the boundary after the incident.

Batting at five in what had already become a lost cause, Lara managed a top score of 39, but was inclined to flash more often than a hooker and eventual paid the penalty. There was a 50-odd partnership with Ambrose, but by that stage the cause had already been lost on a pitch which the batsmen battled to maintain any sort of genuine from.

It is little wonder there is growing concern about the standard of batting coming from the West Indies. Clayton Lambert, who has experience of South African conditions, looked to be out of touch as the tourists shuffled the top-order and dug their own grave.

Donald, with two wickets in the Windies first innings, removed Lambert in his second over of the innings and then had to wait until the fall of the fourth wicket before he had further success. He first removed Floyd Riefer, well picked up at first slip by Daryll Cullinan, trapped Stewart Williams, batting at eight, because of a stomach bug, and gained retribution when he dismissed Ambrose, with Pollock taking the catch.

As the St George's Park band played on, rejoicing their team's victory, and the crowd dispersed, the Windies were closeted in their dressing room, wondering about where the series is heading. The next game is against a South African A side which contained a few surprises, but as Peter Pollock, the convener of selectors pointed out, those who missed out, such as Nicky Boje, Pieter Barnard and Derek Crookes as well as HD Ackerman were well known to the selectors.

``We want to try someone else and have decided to give Boeta Doppenaar a chance to open the innings,'' he said.

The fast bowling may rely too much on the experience of the three Test caps, Lance Klusener, Makhaya Ntini and Paul Adams, while Shafiek Abrahams and Charl Willoughby get their chance ahead of Herman Bakkes, Boje and Crookes. There are only three members of the A side which toured Sri Lanka earlier this year in the side, with Nic Pothas who takes over as captain, along with Martin van Jaarsveld and Ashwell Prince.

The side is: Sven Koenig, Botea Dippenaar, Martin van Jaarsveld, Ashwell Prince, Justin Kemp, Nic Pothas (captain), Lance Klusener, Shafiek Abrahams, Paul Adams, Makhaya Ntini, Charl Willoughby. Twelfth man: Victor Mpitsang