Markram keeps Proteas in control

So, it’s a last-session pitch then? All the action across the first two days of this opening Test between the West Indies and SA has taken place after tea, and while the Proteas are still in control heading into Thursday, it’s not of the complete variety.

SA lead by 179 runs, but with just six second innings wickets in hand after the final session bug bit them hard on Wednesday evening. Thank goodness for Aiden Markram. He finished the day not out on 35, and appeared to be batting on a different surface to everyone else.

In all, 18 wickets have fallen in the final session over the first two days for 233 runs. On Tuesday, the West Indies had raised their spirits after inducing a Proteas collapse, on Wednesday that hope was snuffed out when they lost their last seven wickets for 66 runs.

But then SA struggled too, with Temba Bavuma and debutant Tony de Zorzi both caught behind first ball and Bavuma registering a three-ball pair in his first match as Test captain.

For much of day two the Proteas had control, even if a breakthrough in the first two sessions was difficult. They picked up three wickets — two before lunch.  That control came via a relentless assault from their four-pronged pace attack, with Anrich Nortjé earning the most reward with a fourth Test “‘five-fer”.

But even the hosts will admit, they got a fair amount of assistance from the West Indies batters.

That the conditions change so much, results from the sun baking the surface, hardening divots caused on the first day, which would make the bounce inconsistent.

However, the difference in approach from the two teams with the bat has been stark. SA showed greater intent in their first innings, reaching 200 at tea, before their collapse lost them their last nine wickets for 121 runs.

The West Indies were not as assertive, though the Proteas would argue they did not allow as many loose deliveries as the visiting attack did on Tuesday. By tea on the second day, the West Indies had reached 136/3, scoring only 65 runs in the middle session in 29 overs.

That is not the way for Test cricket in 2023. Bavuma said before the match that the West Indies play an old-fashioned style of Test cricket, and the downside could be seen on Wednesday.

SA knew that in the afternoon the ball would start misbehaving and with the pace at their disposal any inconsistency would make batting tricky. Perhaps the West Indies felt that too, because they played too tentatively, with several gifting their wickets.

Raymon Reifer top-scored with 62, an innings that lasted more than three-and-half hours, in which he offered one chance — a very difficult one to Kagiso Rabada — on 26. He was one of the few the South Africans got out, with Marco Jansen, who otherwise struggled, getting reward for a fine, probing over.

Nortjé’s pace was unsettling, with Joshua da Silva, Kyle Mayers and Alzarri Joseph all giving their wickets away softly. Nortjé finished with 5/36.