West Indies in South Africa, 2007-08
Now for real African Test
Fazeer Mohammed
December 10, 2007

"It is one thing to be guiding the side to victory against an attack comprising the likes of Chigumbura, Brent, Utseya and Price. However to replicate that effort against Ntini, Pollock, Steyn and Nel will be deserving of region-wide rejoicing." © Getty Images

At least there are no expectations to live up to.
Having seen off the challenge of Zimbabwe after the stumbling in the opening match, no-one should be under any illusions as to the huge step-up in the standard of competition awaiting the West Indies on their arrival in South Africa today.
Yesterday's washout of the fifth and final one-day international in Bulawayo may have deprived the tourists of the chance to extend their ODI winning streak to four matches (the last time they enjoyed such a run of success was against India at home last year). But even the most emphatic of victories would surely not have deluded them as to the enormity of the challenge over the next eight weeks in a country that has been their most barren frontier.
In four separate visits to the country at the very southern tip of the African continent, beginning with a triangular tournament in early 1993, the Caribbean cricketers have managed just a solitary victory over their hosts on each trip.
On that first journey, Brian Lara's unbeaten hundred saw Richie Richardson's team to a nine-wicket victory after two earlier losses to Kepler Wessels' side and confirmed a place in the final, where they cruised past Pakistan to continue their winning form from the triumphant tour of Australia.
Doesn't it seem like only yesterday that we were hailing the return of our conquering heroes who had rallied from losing the second match, winning the fourth (by one run) and fifth (by an innings) Tests to retain the Frank Worrell Trophy, having earlier defeated the Aussies to claim the tri-nation limited-over title? The subsequent success in South Africa was merely the icing on the cake, but it has proved to be the first and, so far, last time that the West Indies, as a team, lifted any sort of silverware there.

Forget about relatively plain sailing in Zimbabwe. Just staying afloat in South Africa will be a monumental task.

On the calamitous 1998/99 campaign, Lara's side lost all five Tests and six of seven ODIs, the exception being the second fixture in East London where hundreds from Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Carl Hooper saw the visitors to what was then a series-levelling victory. If nothing else, the fact that the tour opens on Friday with a Twenty20 match against a Makhaya Ntini Invitational XI at the same Buffalo Park ground should give the former captain some happy memories.
Ironically, the next journey to South Africa opened with a notable triumph, Lara unfurling another majestic hundred as the West Indies scrambled a three-run victory to stun the hosts in the first match of the 2003 World Cup in Cape Town. It all went downhill thereafter for the two-time former champions with Hooper, much to his chagrin, replaced as captain by Lara after the team failed to advance to the Super Six stage of the tournament.
Just ten months later, the West Indies were back in town for a full tour , and while it was not as catastrophic and emotionally deflating as five years earlier, the tourists still only had one victory to show after losing the four-Test series 3-0 and then succumbing 3-1 in the limited-over contest.
That one day of joy was in the penultimate match of the tour as Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Lara led a run-feast in glorious afternoon sunshine at Centurion that saw the much-maligned tourists overhauling a target of 298 with five overs to spare, displaying an imperiousness that belied the overall results of yet another failed campaign in that part of the world.
And just to rub salt and pepper into wide open wounds, the memories of losing to both the mighty South Africans (despite Gayle's historic hundred) and the lightly-regarded Bangladeshis in Johannesburg on the way to being dumped out of the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup less than three months ago are still painfully fresh.
So let's not get carried away, either by sheer ignorance of those unavoidable realities or the supreme yet baseless optimism that this West Indian side is capable of doing what none of the earlier versions managed to achieve with much more experience and talent.
Dwayne Bravo seems to be responding well to the responsibilities of leadership in Gayle's enforced absence through injury, but he surely doesn't need reminding that the geographical proximity of Zimbabwe to South Africa bears no relation to the world of difference between the two national teams.
It is one thing to be guiding the side to victory against an attack comprising the likes of Chigumbura, Brent, Utseya and Price. However to replicate that effort against Ntini, Pollock, Steyn and Nel will be deserving of region-wide rejoicing.
It's not that it can't be done. Why, just over a year ago another pulverising Gayle hundred led the West Indies to a rampaging victory over Graeme Smith's side in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in India. But, as has become commonplace with almost everything associated with our cricket in more than a decade of struggle, maintaining a consistently high level of performance has proved frustratingly elusive.
So now there's a new captain (who is injured), a new deputy (who must expect to be thrown in at the deep end), a new coach (who was amazingly allowed to skip the Zimbabwean leg of the tour), a returning manager (Clive Lloyd was in that role in '98/99) and just two survivors from the last time we defeated South Africa in their own backyard (Gayle and Chanderpaul).
Forget about relatively plain sailing in Zimbabwe. Just staying afloat in South Africa will be a monumental task.
© Trinidad & Tobago Express

South Africa v West Indies, 1st Twenty20, Port Elizabeth
South Africa stunned by red-hot West Indies
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
December 16, 2007
West Indies 60 for 5 (Steyn 4-9) beat South Africa 58 for 8 (Botha 28*, Taylor 3-6) by five wickets
Scorecard
How they were out

Jerome Taylor did the early damage with a triple-wicket maiden as South Africa crashed to 22 for 7 © Getty Images

Twenty20 is meant to be a batsman's game, but try telling that to anyone present at Port Elizabeth as West Indies completed a five-wicket win with 19 balls to spare in a frantic match reduced to 13 overs a side by early rain. South Africa crashed to 22 for 7 after Jerome Taylor took three wickets in his first over but defending a paltry 58 - the lowest total in Twenty20 internationals - Dale Steyn produced another triple-wicket over to make a statement of his own ahead of the Test series.
West Indies went hard at the run chase from ball one, literally, as Brenton Parchment walked down the pitch at Shaun Pollock then three balls later launched him out of the ground, half way towards Cape Town. But he slapped the final ball of the first over to cover as Pollock won a mini battle. A few moments of normality followed as West Indies moved to 32 for 1 before Steyn's intervention.
Devon Smith was late to get his bat down, losing his off stump, Runako Morton was bowled off his pads and Marlon Samuels offered Steyn a full view of the timber as he backed away to leg. None of those were anything, though, in comparison to Dwayne Bravo's first-ball dismissal as he was left with one stump standing following a shattering 90mph yorker from Steyn. For a moment it looked like South Africa might pull off an astonishing turnaround, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin produced some sensible shot selection although Chanderpaul could have been run out on 4.
It is dangerous to read too much into a Twenty20 match - South Africa were without Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Hashim Amla who will all be part of the Test side - but such matches have been known to set the tone early on in a tour. Remember England's clash against Australia at The Rose Bowl in 2005, when Darren Gough helped reduce Australia to 31 for 7 in a similarly mind-boggling passage of play. No international side enjoys being humiliated in any format, and West Indies should have taken note of the way some of the batsmen played the extra pace. This wasn't the military medium of the New Zealanders.
The conditions were ideal for quick bowling, a heavy atmosphere and a pitch with pace and bounce. South Africa could barely get the ball off the square; their first two came in the eighth over and they didn't find the boundary inside the first 10 overs.
Taylor's opening over certainly woke anyone up who was still snoozing after the rain. His first delivery beat Morne van Wyk's loose drive, then he followed up with a rapid yorker which beat JP Duminy for pace. AB de Villiers survived the hat-trick delivery but not much longer, although was slightly unfortunate when the ball went off the inside edge from a defensive push. Taylor had bowled a triple-wicket maiden; a rarity in any cricket let-alone a 13-over match.
Three wickets in six balls became four in seven when Daren Powell removed Herschelle Gibbs, but Powell owed everything to a stunning one-handed catch by Chanderpaul at mid-on. And, as if it wasn't tough enough, South Africa gifted the next wicket through a horrible mix-up which left both Pollock and Gulam Bodi at the same end.
Everything West Indies touched turned to success. Bravo's pick-up-and-throw from the covers - aiming at one-and-a-half stumps - brought the end of Albie Morkel's brief stay and a notable milestone for South Africa was when Bodi's innings reached double figures of balls faced. Finally, in the 11th over South Africa cut loose (it's all relative) as Botha went high over long-on off Darren Sammy, but revenge came Sammy's way he ended Bodi's 26-ball resistance - which almost classed as a vigil - off the final ball of the over.
Fidel Edwards charged in and made the batsmen hop around, pinning Johan Botha on the grill leaving him needing lengthy treatment on the outfield. Botha recovered to lift his team above fifty with a couple of meaty blows in the final over and, given the chaos surrounding him, his 28 was a Herculean effort. It ended as the highest score on a crazy evening, but West Indies took the honours and can enter the more serious business of the Test series with a timely confidence boost.
Andrew McGlashan is a staff writer at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo

the t20 match was a weird one... both team lost so many wickets... anyway good luck to both teams for the rest of the series...

West Indies in South Africa, 2007-08
Fitness worries for Gayle ahead of first Test
Cricinfo staff
December 21, 2007

'I'll weep if I can't play in the first Test', said a frustrated Gayle © Imran Khan

West Indies face the prospect of going into the first Test against South Africa at Port Elizabeth on Boxing Day without the services of their captain Chris Gayle, who's yet to recover from the hamstring injury he picked up during the recent tour of Zimbabwe. Gayle admitted his frustrations at having to sit out of the three-day tour game against South Africa A in East London, but also cautioned against making a hasty return.
"I'll weep if I can't play in the first Test," Gayle told Supercricket. "I'm finding it very frustrating to see the boys play while I have to sit here in the dressing room. I'm not the kind of guy that wants to see others play while I sit out. It's frustrating me endlessly.
"However difficult it may be, I just have to try and be patient. If I play too soon and it hasn't quite healed, I can only do more harm than good and then I'll probably be out of the rest of the tour."
Gayle's rehabilitation has progressed slowly, and he isn't in a position yet to run or jog. His movements have been restricted to walking around the field, and Jacqui Mowatt, the team's fitness specialist, said it was difficult to say at this stage if he would recover in time for the Test which starts on Wednesday.
"At this stage I really cannot say whether Chris will be able to play in the first Test," Mowatt said. "We'll just have to wait and see. It is not an injury with which we can take any risks."
Dwayne Bravo has been leading the team in Gayle's absence since the third ODI against Zimbabwe at Harare earlier this month. He led West Indies to a 3-1 series victory and a five-wicket win in the first Twenty20 international against South Africa at Port Elizabeth on December 16.
© Cricinfo

South Africa v West Indies, 1st Test, Port Elizabeth, 3rd day
West Indies collapse gives South Africa hope
The Bulletin by S Rajesh
December 28, 2007
West Indies 408 and 146 for 8 (Ganga 45, Steyn 3-53) lead South Africa 195 (de Villiers 59, Bravo 4-24) by 359 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

AB de Villiers was one of the victims for Dwayne Bravo, who finished with fine figures of 4 for 24 © Getty Images

After being outclassed through most of the first three days of the Test, South Africa fought back superbly in the field to give themselves a chance - a slim one, admittedly - of pulling off an incredible victory. They seemed to have fallen behind irretrievably after being bundled out for 195 to concede a first-innings lead of 213, but the bowlers struck repeatedly in the last 45 minutes of the day to reduce West Indies to 146 for 8, an overall lead of 359.
There was little sign of the collapse through the first six hours of the day, as West Indies turned in another mature performance with both bat and ball. Dwayne Bravo was outstanding with the ball, seaming it around at brisk pace to take the last four South African wickets and finish with superb figures of 4 for 24.
West Indies then started their second innings like they had the first, with Chris Gayle smacking boundaries all around the park, carting the hapless Dale Steyn for a six and three fours in his third over. Though he fell soon after for a 22-ball 29, Daren Ganga and Marlon Samuels were so assured in their 65-run third-wicket stand that all talk veered inevitably towards when West Indies might plan a declaration, and what target they would feel safe with. The South African bowlers steamed in, especially Steyn and Andre Nel, but Ganga, displaying a watertight defensive technique, and Samuels, continuing from where he had left off in the first innings, hardly gave the South Africans a sniff.
Then, Ganga played Harris square on the off side, took off for a single after some hesitation, and was beaten by a direct hit from Herschelle Gibbs. In the next over, Samuels bottom-edged a pull off Steyn on to his stumps - West Indies suddenly had two new batsmen at the crease, and South Africa, sensing an opportunity, went for the jugular.
Steyn hadn't had a match to remember, but he charged in, got plenty of pace and bounce, and soon had some successes to celebrate as well. The most important scalp was that of Shivnarine Chanderpaul - his run of successive fifties was finally broken as Steyn got one to angle away and take the edge on the way to second slip. He struck again off his last over of the day with a vicious lifter that climbed on Denesh Ramdin and took his glove. From the other end, Paul Harris did his bit too, inducing a miscue from Bravo, which spoilt what was otherwise a good day for him, and trapping Darren Sammy in front with one that spun viciously. West Indies had lost their last six wickets for 22 runs in less than ten overs, as South Africa finished the day sensing they might just have given themselves the opportunity to sneak an unlikely victory.
That possibility seemed almost out of the question through most of the day. Resuming at 122 for 5, South Africa needed the partnership between AB de Villiers and Mark Boucher - the last recognised batting pair - to flourish, but Boucher perished to an injudicious pull in the third over, and though de Villiers and Harris resisted with a dogged 43-run stand, neither could keep Bravo at bay.
de Villiers did his best to reduce the deficit, though. He was easily the best batsman among the South Africans, driving crisply when offered the width, and cutting and pulling with equal felicity. The shot selection was excellent, as was the defensive technique. The three West Indian fast bowlers had a less-than-impressive day, and de Villiers cashed in, punishing both Daren Powell and Jerome Taylor on the way to a 102-ball half-century, his 12th Test fifty.
South Africa were chugging along fairly comfortably, but Bravo's introduction into the attack brought about a dramatic transformation. Working up a fair amount of pace - he consistently topped 130 kph - and also keeping excellent control over line and length, he first checked the runs, conceding just four in his first four overs of the day, and the wickets followed. de Villiers perished in his fifth, clueless against one that straightened after pitching, beat the edge and sent off stump cartwheeling. Harris' stodgy innings ended soon after, and returning after the lunch break, Bravo needed just seven more deliveries to dismiss the last two and wrap up the South African innings. His figures for the day read a fantastic 8.1-2-14-4, and they didn't flatter his performance. West Indies' batting later in the day meant, though, that his display might yet not be the defining performance of the match.
S Rajesh is stats editor of Cricinfo
© Cricinfo

Steyn burst puts S Africa on top

Second Test, Cape Town (day one, stumps):
South Africa v West Indies 240-8 Match scorecard

Steyn (centre) was the star for South Africa at Newlands

Dale Steyn took 4-60 as South Africa reduced West Indies to 240-8 on day one of the second Test in Cape Town.
The tourists, who won the opener, were 183-3 after Marlon Samuels (51) and Shiv Chanderpaul put on 106 carefully.
But Samuels edged Makhaya Ntini behind and Dwayne Bravo guided him to slip before Steyn had Denesh Ramdin lbw and bowled Rawl Lewis off successive balls.
Jerome Taylor ballooned a return catch to Steyn and much will depend on how many more Chanderpaul (64no) can add.
It was a reality check for the Windies, who were celebrating a momentous triumph a few days ago.
They brought back spinner Lewis for all-rounder Darren Sammy, while South Africa recalled Neil McKenzie for his first Test since March 2004 in place of out-of-sorts batsman Herschelle Gibbs.
On a lively Newlands surface, the hosts had an early breakthrough in the fifth over when Steyn found Daren Ganga's outside edge with a good delivery.

606: DEBATE Any runs Chanderpaul can scrape together will be crucial now and 280 should be the first target CC

Captain Chris Gayle, who cracked two sixes in his 46 off 49 balls, and Runako Morton (23) put on 59 before the latter mis-timed a drive off Jacques Kallis to Ntini at mid-off.
When the skipper drove Andre Nel to a diving McKenzie at gully his team was in some bother.
Samuels, who took 73 balls to score his first two runs, could have been dismissed on that score but Ntini failed to grasp the ball when it was driven back firmly at him.
He survived to help the Windies avoid any casualties during the middle session thanks to a cautious approach matched by the dogged Chanderpaul.
Their stand was broken through a fine ball from Ntini which straightened before catching Samuels' edge and Bravo steered one that was angled in to Kallis at second slip in the paceman's next over.
Steyn then took over to produce full swinging deliveries with the second new ball which were too good for Ramdin and Lewis, while Taylor was undone by a rapid short one.
Amid all that, left-hander Chanderpaul stood firm and eschewed any risks to strike only six boundaries in 214 balls of defiance.

---

West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels:
"South Africa came with a plan to starve us as much as possible, to bowl outside off stump and not give away any runs. They kept it tight so we had to be patient. "It's not the target we set out to get but we are still on track, knowing that Shiv as a set batter is still there.
"The outfield took a lot of runs away from us. It's not often we play on an outfield so thick. We played a lot of shots that could have gone for four but we only got two runs for them."


South Africa's Neil McKenzie:
"It was hard work for the bowlers running in. Their speeds weren't quite as quick as they normally are because it was quite heavy underfoot. "It looks like a really good pitch so we will look to bat big and bat big once."

BBC

South Africa v West Indies, 2nd Test, Cape Town, 1st day
Steyn and Ntini spark South Africa fightback
The Bulletin by Andrew McGlashan
January 2, 2008
West Indies 240 for 8 (Chanderpaul 64*, Samuels 51, Steyn 4-60) v South Africa
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Dale Steyn's late burst gave the first-day honours to South Africa after West Indies threatened to build a strong total © Getty Images

South Africa fought back on the opening day in Cape Town as Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini shared six wickets to limit West Indies to 240 for 8. A 106-run stand between Marlon Samuels and Shivnarine Chanderpaul had taken the sting out of the home side during a wicketless afternoon session before Ntini changed the complexion with a highly-charged spell. Steyn then began an efficient mopping-up job with his explosive mixture of yorkers and bouncers.
West Indies, though, are still in contention on a tricky surface which made batting hard work throughout with 20 fours and two sixes in the day. A slow, bumpy outfield also cut down the value of shots as the Newlands playing area again raised questions and 240 is a better total than it appears. There was a period during the afternoon session, as Samuels and Chanderpaul began a repeat of last week's performance in Port Elizabeth, when South African shoulders started to slump. Trailing in the series it was down to them to force the issue and Graeme Smith spent large parts of the day trying to stir his players into action.
Ntini isn't someone who usually needs much encouragement and when Smith brought him back after tea he lifted spirits. Samuels was providing another example of his new-found diligence at the crease with a 144-ball innings, but was eventually drawn into a push outside off stump and sent an edge through to Mark Boucher. Dwayne Bravo soon followed, another uncertain shot away from the body, this time collected by Jacques Kallis at second slip, as the momentum swayed. Bravo failed twice in Port Elizabeth and his dismissal exposed the lower order, which was unable to cope with Steyn's new-ball burst.
Denesh Ramdin was caught plumb after he was beaten by a full, swinging delivery and a repeat performance made a mess of Rawl Lewis's stumps first ball. Jerome Taylor survived the hat-trick, but Steyn's pace was again too much when he tried to defend a short ball and offered the simplest of return catches. The collapse of 5 for 54 highlighted the value of the earlier graft and West Indies were again indebted to Chanderpaul who steadied the innings following three wickets before lunch.
They overcame the early loss of Daren Ganga, squared up by a beauty from Steyn, to tick along at a healthy rate. Chris Gayle didn't need a second invitation to throw the bat and was in typical stand-and-deliver mode. His running wasn't helped by the hamstring problem which has dogged him since Zimbabwe, but singles were not his main thought as he twice lifted the ball over the boundary.
Smith gave his team their first talking-to at the drinks interval, clearly unimpressed by what he felt was a half-hearted effort from the quicks. The words appeared to have the desired effect and the scoring rate slowed while frustration grew for Runako Morton, who gave his wicket away with a lazy drive straight to mid-off as Kallis showed his partnership-breaking skills with another opening-over strike. A tight spell from Andre Nel was rewarded with the key wicket of Gayle, edging low to gully without any footwork where Neil McKenzie, recalled after three-and-half-years to replace Herschelle Gibbs, clung onto an excellent catch to his right.
The stand between Samuels and Chanderpaul spanned 42 overs and once the hardness disappeared from the new ball it became a war of attrition as 77 runs came during the afternoon session. Samuels took 28 balls to open his account, although still pulled out a couple of piercing drives when the ball was overpitched, and offered a tough chance, on 2, when he chipped a return catch high to Ntini's right in his follow through.
Chanderpaul, too, didn't set pulses - or the scoring rate - racing and in his first 101 balls managed one boundary. However, shortly before tea he took consecutive fours off Paul Harris, who bowled a 19-over spell split by tea, as the earlier hard work began to bring rewards. His technique is perfectly suited to conditions that call for grinding with the ball not coming onto the bat. After the middle-order slump his presence became even more important for West Indies as he registered another half century off 184 balls.
His job is to eke out as many as he can from the last two wickets before the West Indies bowlers are given a chance. South Africa struggled in both innings on a friendlier surface in Port Elizabeth and only when they have had a turn will their chances of levelling the series become clear.
Andrew McGlashan is a staff writer at Cricinfo
© Cricinfo