GROS ISLET, St Lucia, CMC – West Indies’ two decade-long wait for another victory over South Africa on Caribbean soil continued when they slumped to a heavy innings and 63-run defeat inside 2-½ days of the first Test here yesterday.
Resuming the third day on 82 for four in their second innings and requiring a Herculean effort to save the contest, West Indies collapsed for 162, about 40 minutes after the scheduled lunch interval at the Darren Sammy National Stadium.
Roston Chase top-scored with 62 but no other West Indies batsman reached 20 as energized pacer Kagiso Rabada tore through the innings with five for 34, picking up three of the last six wickets which tumbled for 80 runs.
Fellow seamer Anrich Nortje followed up his four-wicket first innings haul with three for 46 while left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj claimed two for 23.
The defeat was the home side’s seventh in their last 10 Tests against the Proteas, and they are now without a home win against their opponents since 2001 when Carl Hooper’s side won the fifth Test in Kingston.
“We didn’t have a good first innings,” captain Kraigg Brathwaite told media afterwards, referring to his side’s 97 in the first innings.
“But for me, you get good days and bad days, to be honest. So you just have to make sure you learn from both the good days and the bad days.”
West Indies endured two very bad days on Thursday and Friday, and the nightmare continued on Saturday with their batting once again producing an ordinary effort.
Vice-captain Jermaine Blackwood, resuming from his overnight ten, was twice given out by umpire Gregory Brathwaite on 13 in the fourth over of the morning from seamer Lungi Ngidi, but let off on both occasions by DRS.
The first reprieve came off a leg-side catch when replays showed the ball clipping his thigh pad while the second was an lbw verdict, which Hawkeye showed to be going over the top.
Blackwood made little use of his good fortune, however, loosely driving Rabada to Rassie van der Dussen at short cover without adding with the score on 97 for five.
Chase, on 21 at the start, put on 28 for the sixth wicket with Jason Holder (4), the pair seeing out the remainder of the hour safely.
In the second over after the resumption, Holder suffered a fatal error in judgement when he offered no shot to the first delivery of Maharaj’s first spell of the day, and lost his off-stump.
Chase had earlier raised his ninth Test half-century with successive cover-driven boundaries off seamer Wiaan Mulder, off the last two deliveries before the drinks break.
All told, the right-hander struck seven fours and a six off 156 deliveries in just over 3-¼ hours before also misjudging a straighter, faster one from Maharaj, attempting to cut, and dragging on.
Wobbling on 140 for seven, West Indies lost Rahkeem Cornwall without scoring, driving the fourth ball he received to mid off to give Rabada his fourth wicket.
And wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva (9), struck a painful blow on the elbow by Rabada, never really settled and he too shouldered arms, allowing the same bowler to send his off-stump cartwheeling.
Nortje returned to end the game in the first over of his second spell of the day, having debutant Jayden Seales caught at third slip for three.
The second Test starts here on Friday.
