Monday, June 28, 2010

South Africa on verge of victory

Third Test, Barbados, day three (close):
West Indies 231 & 134-7 v South Africa 342
Match scorecard


Dale Steyn celebartes the wicket of Narsingh Deonarine
Steyn (left) bowled well but was involved in an unsavoury incident

Dale Steyn ripped out the West Indies top order before the spinners took over as South Africa took a decisive grip of the third and final Test on day three.

Ashwell Prince ground his way to 78 not out off 262 balls as South Africa secured a first innings lead of 115.

Steyn's three-wicket burst then put the hosts on the back foot before the spinners chipped in after tea.

Only Shivnarine Chanderpaul (57 not out) offered much resistance as they ended on 134-7, a lead of 19 runs.

With only three wickets in hand the Windies' slender advantage is unlikely to be of much value and the home side are surely facing a heavy defeat on day four, which would give South Africa the series 2-0.

The day was marred by an unsavoury incident when Steyn appeared to spit on the ground as he walked past Suleiman Benn after being bowled by an absolute peach of a delivery from Kemar Roach in the South Africa innings.

606: DEBATE
shivfan

The tourists started the day on 285-6 and Prince ensured they would establish a sizeable lead given the flimsiness of the West Indies' batting.

He had a moment of good fortune, with the umpire ruling in his favour after he appeared to glove a catch attempting a reverse sweep, but Prince ensured he made the most of his reprieve.

The towering Benn was a handful on a pitch offering both turn and bounce and the giant left-arm spinner picked up the wickets of Johan Botha and Morne Morkel as he took 6-81, his third five-wicket haul in Tests.

Facing a three-figure deficit the Windies needed to show they could graft but Steyn soon removed the top order in a flurry of attacking strokes.

Dale Richards failed to control a pull off the South African paceman before Narsingh Deonarine drove the next delivery - his first - straight to extra cover.

Gayle then edged a beauty to keeper Mark Boucher before the spinners struck soon after tea.

Chanderpaul, who scored 166 in the drawn second Test, was in typically obdurate form and collected his 54th Test fifty.

But Brendan Nash, who scored 114 in their partnership of 220 in the previous match, fell only three balls after the resumption, edging a good one from Botha to slip, and the slide was on.

Three overs later Bravo played on as he failed to deal with bounce and turn from Paul Harris and in the very next over Denesh Ramdin feathered an attempted cut to Mark Boucher behind the stumps to give Botha his second victim

It looked as though the Windies might fall to defeat inside three days but Chanderpaul and Shane Shillingford set about edging the hosts into a narrow lead.

Shillingford finally fell lbw to Botha after a gritty 25 shortly before the close and Chanderpaul is left to hope that Benn can offer support as he tries to produce something extraordinary on Tuesday in order prevent South Africa winning the three-match series 2-0.

The tourists won the first Test by 163 runs in Trinidad before drawing the second, in St Kitts, to ensure they retained the Vivian Richards Trophy with a game to play.

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