South Africa turned in a thoroughly disciplined and determined display on day two of their three-day match against a West Indies Cricket Board XI on Sunday put their noses in front in what has been a well-contested match. By stumps, South Africa had reached 29 without loss, with Gary Kirsten 18 and Herschelle Gibbs 11, a lead of 113 after limiting the Board XI to just 186.

After an encouraging start in which both Daren Ganga and Ricardo Powell excelled, the Board XI suffered a chronic middle order collapse around the tea break, four wickets falling for just three runs, three of them to the left-arm spin of Nicky Boje. Captain Shaun Pollock had delayed bringing Boje into the attack (he was the seventh South African to bowl) after giving back-up spinner Paul Adams a chance to make a case for the inclusion of two spinners in the South African Test XI.

Adams bowled well enough, but his rhythm was upset when two balls were called wide to his clear astonishment. Matters were made worse when he appeared to have snapped up a sharp return chance offered by Travis Dowlin, but as the South Africans celebrated, the batsman stood his ground and the umpires ruled in his favour.

Denied and incensed, Adams hurled the last ball of the over back at the stumps, destroying the wicket and only narrowly missing Dowlin. When the batsman fell to Boje shortly after tea for 16, Pollock made no secret of where he thought the batsman should be heading.

While Dowlin frustrated at one end, Powell (47) looked in superb touch at the other, hitting seven fours and a six before being the first of Boje's trio of victims. With Powell gone, the fragility of the rest of the Board XI batting line-up was severely exposed. Keith Hibbert was bowled by the extremely impressive Lance Klusener for two, Dave Mohammed smashed Boje straight to Gibbs without scoring and although Colin Stuart (11) and Reon King (6) had a swish with limited success, they fell slogging, both to Andre Nel.

The morning had started brightly for the South Africans as Nel picked up his first wicket for his country in the third over of the day, Leon Garrick sparring at one that lifted a little more than he might have expected and presenting Mark Boucher with a routine catch off a faint nick.

Despite the early breakthrough, the tourists were then made to work hard in the field as Daren Ganga and local boy Ryan Hinds put together a tidy partnership. Their stand for the second wicket had moved to 51 when Justin Kemp induced an edge from Hinds which flew past Klusener at second slip. Kemp then showed how it should be done the next over, holding onto a good catch in the same position to dismiss Hinds for 23 - off the bowling of Klusener.

If Kemp's catch was good, there was better to come from Paul Adams. Daren Ganga, such an unhappy tourist in South Africa two years ago, had looked a class act - compact and watchful as he accumulated effortlessly. A juicy half-volley outside the off-stump from Kemp induced a crunching drive from Ganga, but it was uppish and just within the reach of a diving Adams, who pulled a stunning catch from the sky as he dived to his right at extra-cover. Ganga gone for 43.

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