Ken Borland

Stiaan van Zyl completed an express century on debut and Hashim Amla made 208 as South Africa declared on 552 for five on the second day of the first Test against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.

A thrilling day’s action was then cut short, however, as rain washed out the entire final session.

Van Zyl needed just 129 balls to reach three figures and stroked 15 fours, most of them in elegant fashion through the off side, off both front and back foot, and becomes the fifth batsman to score a hundred on Test debut for South Africa.

The others were Andrew Hudson (Bridgetown, 1992), Jacques Rudolph (Chittagong, 2002), Alviro Petersen (Kolkata, 2010) and Faf du Plessis (Adelaide, 2012), and Van Zyl is the first to achieve the feat on home soil.

Van Zyl was on 101 not out when Amla declared, and Quinton de Kock had just hit left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn for successives sixes to go to 18 not out.

Meanwhile Amla went methodically to his double century as if it were a daily routine, after six-and-a-half hours and 359 balls at the crease, once again showing he has remarkable stores of concentration and patience.

Amla had already made the highest Test score at Centurion, surpassing Jacques Kallis’s memorable 201 not out against India in 2010/11, when he was dismissed, searching quick runs before the declaration and holing out at long-on off Benn.

Kemar Roach and Benn each took two wickets for the West Indies, but they paid heavy prices for limited success, Roach limping off midway through the last session on the first day with an ankle injury and Benn conceding 148 runs in 46 overs.

The West Indies were at least given a valid excuse for delaying their reply against the fearsome South African pace quartet as rain began to fall and an early tea was taken, but the rain was heavy enough to prevent any further play.

Captain Amla was still at the crease with a superb 178 not out as he took South Africa to a commanding 449 for four at lunch.

Amla, who began the day on 133 off 242 balls, applied himself diligently on the second morning, adding 45 runs off 88 deliveries to ensure South Africa did not waste a rousing first day to the Test in which he and AB de Villiers added an unbroken 283 for the fourth wicket to take them to 340 for three at stumps.

The pair took their partnership to 308, the highest for any wicket at Centurion in 19 Tests, before De Villiers was dismissed in the 100^th over, the ninth of the day.

De Villiers was once again in inspired form as he cruised to 152 in five hours and 18 minutes, facing 235 balls and stroking 16 fours and two sixes. But totally against the run of play, he then edged an expansive lofted drive at Benn, who obtained a smidgen of turn, and the ball skewed comfortably into the hands of cover-point.

Debutant Van Zyl then came in and was in trouble early on, almost turning his first ball from Benn into the hands of leg-gully, playing and missing outside off stump against the quicks and even being dropped by Kraigg Braithwaite at leg-gully off Benn when he had just two.

But the left-hander then settled and played some impressive strokes through the off-side, reaching a half-century on debut in good time, off 74 balls with eight fours.

 http://citizen.co.za/295957/sa-v-west-indies-1st-test-2nd-day-stumps/

Captain Hashim Amla was still at the crease with a superb 178 not out as he took South Africa to a commanding 449 for four at lunch on the second day of the first Test against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Thursday.

Amla, who began the day on 133 off 242 balls, applied himself diligently on the second morning, adding 45 runs off 88 deliveries to ensure South Africa did not waste a rousing first day to the Test in which he and AB de Villiers added an unbroken 283 for the fourth wicket to take them to 340 for three at stumps.

The pair took their partnership to 308, the highest for any wicket at Centurion in 19 Tests, before De Villiers was dismissed in the 100th over, the ninth of the day.

De Villiers was once again in inspired form as he cruised to 152 in five hours, 18 minutes, facing 235 balls and stroking 16 fours and two sixes.

But totally against the run of play, he then edged an expansive lofted drive at left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn, who obtained a smidgen of turn, and the ball skewed comfortably into the hands of cover-point.

Debutant Stiaan van Zyl then came in and was in trouble early on, almost turning his first ball from Benn into the hands of leg-gully, playing and missing outside off stump against the quicks and even being dropped by Kraigg Braithwaite at leg-gully off Benn when he had just two.

But the left-hander then settled and played some impressive strokes through the off-side, reaching a half-century on debut in good time, off 74 balls with eight fours.

Fast bowler Kemar Roach is expected to make an appearance in the second session, but having spent the best part of a session-and-a-half off the field having an ankle ligament niggle treated, he won’t be allowed to bowl before South Africa, in firm control, have surely declared.

 http://citizen.co.za/295798/sa-v-west-indies-1st-test-2nd-day-lunch/

The Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers record partnership was like an express train gaining momentum as they powered South Africa to a commanding 340 for three at stumps on the first day of the first Test against the West Indies at SuperSport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

The pair looked unstoppable as they added an unbroken 283 for the fourth wicket, a record for South Africa against all teams, beating the 249 Jacques Kallis and Gary Kirsten put on against the West Indies in Durban in 2003/04.

They were brought together when South Africa had been rocked by three quick wickets, pacemen Kemar Roach and Sheldon Cottrell striking three times in three overs as the hosts slumped from 57 without loss to 57 for three.

But with superb shot-selection, a positive mindset and magnificent skill, Amla and De Villiers completely turned the momentum around.

Amla finished the day on 133 not out, his 23^rd Test century and first against the West Indies, batting for 290 minutes, facing 242 balls and stroking 17 fours.

De Villiers came to the crease five minutes later than his captain and reached stumps on 141 not out, his 20^th Test century and fifth against the West Indies, having faced 211 deliveries, hitting 15 fours and two sixes.

“The pitch flattened out a little bit in the afternoon and we made it work for us. It was a pretty decent day although it felt a bit weird in the beginning because we haven’t played Test cricket in such a long time. I told Hash that the first minutes we spent out there felt like a full day already, it really felt very long, and I just tried to take it one ball at a time,” De Villiers said after the close of play.

“We were in trouble at 57 for three, they bowled well up front. We tried to just hang in there as much as possible and leave well because there was some juice in the pitch and the ball was shaping quite a bit. The second and third session the wicket flattened out a bit and we managed to capitalise. I hope we can go on, 340 is a good total on the first day and if we can get close to 500 it would be ideal,” Amla said.

Amla was being kind because the West Indies horribly wasted a good toss to win and the new ball in overcast, bowler-friendly conditions. Their lack of control meant openers Alviro Petersen and Dean Elgar weren’t just happy for their daily bread but rather a boundary ball practically every over as they raced to 50 in the 10^th over.

But neither opener had the considerable stores of patience and concentration that mark Amla and De Villiers out as greats of the game and they both departed within seven balls of each other.

Petersen had moved briskly to 27 with six fours before getting out when well set, as he has done so often in the recent past, edging a back-foot push at an innocuous delivery from Roach to first slip.

Elgar’s decision to flash loosely at a short, wide delivery from left-armer Cottrell in the next over was not a smart one and he was caught in the gully for 28.

The West Indies’ decision to bowl first then looked fully justified as Faf du Plessis followed a Roach delivery that shaped away from him, edging behind to captain Denesh Ramdin for a duck and South Africa were vulnerable to a knockout punch on 57 for three.

“At 57 for three, it didn’t look as if there was any gulf between the sides and bowling first looked a good option with the pitch under covers for all day yesterday. We were starting to abuse Hashim for losing the toss!” Proteas coach Russell Domingo joked.

By lunch, Amla and De Villiers had taken South Africa to 102 for three – the West Indies still ahead on points – but by tea it was the tourists who had been knocked to the canvas as the home side had cruised to 225 for three.

Amla had two moments of good fortune, Roach hitting the stumps in the first over after lunch when he had 25 but extraordinarily failing to dislodge the bails, and left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn also coming very close to bowling him with an arm-ball when he had 33.

By stumps the battering was complete, the West Indies having lost Roach, their best bowler, to injury, and the first day’s action certainly points to the fragile West Indian batsmen having a massive total to match.

 http://citizen.co.za/295503/amla-de-villiers-partnership-like-express-train/

Having just claimed their first title of the season in the RamSlam T20 Challenge, the smart money will be on the Nashua Cape Cobras to also mount a strong defence of their crown in the Sunfoil Series and the Western Cape side start their campaign today against the bizhub Highveld Lions at Newlands.

The Lions are already handily placed in the competition, just four points behind the leaders, the Chevrolet Knights, but coach Geoff Toyana has been a shopper for batsmen this week with Alviro Petersen, Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma all with the national side for the first Test against the West Indies at Centurion.

They will, however, welcome back Neil McKenzie and the experienced Jean Symes is also able to fill in, while the Lions will have a strong attack with Hardus Viljoen, Chris Morris and Lonwabo Tsotsobe joined by Kagsio Rabada, who was released by the national team while Bavuma inexplicably was not. Spinner Eddie Leie has also been in great form with the ball, so it all points to an intriguing contest against the powerhouse Cobras side, who have recalled Richard Levi to replace Stiaan van Zyl.

The Knights are hosting the Unlimited Titans in Bloemfontein and they too will want to take their T20 form, where they reached the final, into the four-day competition.

The Titans, by way of contrast, are looking to rebound from a disappointing T20 campaign, in which they finished last, and their well-balanced attack gives them hope.

David Wiese markets himself as a genuine all-rounder and his skills with the new ball, backed by the often scary pace of Marchant de Lange, the steadiness of Ethy Mbhalati and the exciting talent of Junior Dala, plus two spin options in Shaun von Berg and Roelof van der Merwe, means coach Rob Walter is comfortable that he has all the bases covered.

“There’s no substitute for pace and Junior, David, who also brings the quality of his skills, and Marchant all have that. Shaun von Berg also bowled beautifully in a couple of the T20 games,” Walter told The Citizen.

The Knights family was emotionally bruised by their disappointing defeat in the T20 final and coach Sarel Cilliers will also have to dig into his stores of replacement players as Rilee Rossouw, Dillon du Preez and Tumelo Bodibe are all unavailable due to injury.

The Sunfoil Dolphins will be out to arrest a mini-crisis after their poor run in the T20 Challenge as they host the Chevrolet Warriors in Pietermaritzburg.

It’s the Dolphins’ first game in the competition this season and they will want to make their mark. Coach Lance Klusener will be hoping David Miller hits top form again after scoring 364 runs in five innings last season, while Imran Tahir will be eager to rebound quickly from his dropping from the Test side.

The match is the first for the Warriors with new coach Malibongwe Maketa in charge, Piet Botha having resigned after a troubled season thus far.