PORT-OF-SPAIN (Trinidad), April 7: West Indies, buoyed by their performance in the first Test and the return of four key players, will be looking to go the full distance and win the second Test against South Africa that starts on Friday.

West Indies defied the gloom merchants to outplay South Africa for all but the last two periods of the drawn first Test.

And with Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo back after settling their sponsorship dispute, West Indies will be hoping to for victory.

“We went in as underdogs and we nearly pulled off a victory and that’s a big positive,” said Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has been appointed West Indies captain for the remainder of the series against the Proteas and Pakistan to follow.

“I do not think we would want to change much about the first Test except the outcome, and this is what we will be hoping to do in Trinidad.”

But from their bowling performance on the second day and their batting over the last five periods of the match, South Africa gave evidence that they were not prepared to roll over and play dead.

A decision not to play a warm-up match prior to the first Test, and a lack of appreciation for the benign nature of the Bourda Oval pitch, almost cost them the match, but they played diligently to bring themselves back into the match.

“A lot of us had not switched on to the West Indies, to the pitches, and the way we had to play, and I think we let ourselves down,” South Africa captain Graeme Smith acknowledged.

“We’re just grateful that we got out of the Test match in Guyana without losing. If you do not play well and you manage to get out of the game without losing, it gives you a bit of confidence, and we hope to build on this in Trinidad.”

Batting is the obvious strength for both sides, but the bowling will be the key to decide the outcome.

West Indies have retained Pedro Collins, Daren Powell and Reon King, the same fast bowling personnel they played at Georgetown, but Bravo with his up-tempo medium-pace, Gayle with his off-spin darts, and Sarwan with his leg-spin floaters offer Chanderpaul a bit more variety, if not penetration.

The home team will however, miss the steady left-arm spin bowling of Ryan Hinds, who fell ill on Wednesday, and has been replaced by Test newcomer Donovon Pagon.

South Africa will again be without veteran fast bowler Shaun Pollock. The selectors have asked him to prove his fitness in a domestic match before dispatching him to the Caribbean, but there are adequate bowling choices for Smith with Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel to lead the way.

The Queen’s Park Oval pitch is not likely to play as slow as the Bourda Oval strip. It was well covered in grass, some of which is to be removed, and a result looks more than likely.

Teams (from):

WEST INDIES: Shivnarine Chanderpaul (captain), Courtney Browne (vice captain), Dwayne Bravo, Pedro Collins, Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Reon King, Brian Lara, Donovon Pagon, Daren Powell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dwight Washington.

SOUTH AFRICA: Graeme Smith (captain), Nicky Boje (vice-captain), Mark Boucher, Abraham de Villiers, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Ashwell Prince, Jacques Rudolph, Monde Zondeki.

Umpires: David Shepherd (England) and Aleem Dar (Pakistan).

TV umpire: Basil Morgan (West Indies).

Match referee: Jeff Crowe (New Zealand).—AFP