May 3, 2005	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 23, 1426

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ST JOHN’S (Antigua), May 2: Chris Gayle reached his highest Test score and South Africa claimed two wickets from an unexpected source, as West Indies reached 405 for three at lunch on the penultimate day of the fourth and final Test on Monday. At the interval, Gayle was undefeated on 245, his highest Test score, and West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul was not out on 12, as West Indies continued their reply to South Africa’s formidable first innings total of 588 for six declared.

Importantly, for West Indies, they have passed 389 and have comfortably avoided being asked to follow-on, although South Africa, who have already wrapped up the series, got back into the match, when Monde Zondeki removed century-maker Ramnaresh Sarwan for 127 and ‘birthday boy’ Brian Lara for four.

Zondeki, the target for much of the punishment the West Indies’ batsmen handed out, has been South Africa’s most successful bowler with his two wickets for 72 runs from 12 overs. Makhaya Ntini has been the other wicket-taker.

South Africa claimed the second new ball immediately, and they almost had early success, when Gayle, on 185, playing off the back-foot, was deceived by the bounce and movement of a delivery from Shaun Pollock and inside-edged the ball just to the right of wicket-keeper Mark Boucher.

The left-handed Gayle kept his nerve and continued to reach the double hundred mark, when playing a back-foot defensive shot to a rising delivery from Ntini, he edged just wide of second slip for two.

Gayle has been at the crease for a little over 7-1/4 hours now. He has struck 32 fours and three sixes from 359 balls, and may be eyeing a triple hundred, if not Lara’s world record 400 not out set on the same ground last year against England.

Sarwan may have had visions of scaling similar heights, but Ashwell Prince caught him low down at cover point off Zondeki after an hour. The former West Indies vice-captain hit 14 fours and two sixes from 279 balls in just under 6-1/4 hours.

His second wicket partnership with Gayle was the highest for any wicket for the Antigua Recreation Ground, eclipsing 308 that former West Indies captains Viv Richards and Richie Richardson added against Australia 21 years ago.

It was also highest second wicket partnership by any team against South Africa. Sarwan’s departure brought Lara, who is celebrating his 36th birthday on Monday, to the crease with many people expecting him to transport his rich vein of form to a ground that has seen two world record batting performances from him over the last decade.

Lara, with 196 and 176 behind him in the two previous Tests, never looked settled, and Zondeki put him out of his misery, when he had him caught behind trying to run a rising ball down to third man off Zondeki.

On Sunday, before a sizeable Sunday crowd, Gayle completed a pulsating seventh Test hundred, and Sarwan reached a gritty eighth Test hundred that brought West Indies back into the match after South Africa spent a little over two days batting.

Gayle and Sarwan established two other records. They eclipsed the 200 that India’s Anshuman Gaekwad and Mohinder Armanath shared 22 years ago against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies. Their stand is also the highest partnership for West Indies against South Africa, eliminating the 284 that Hinds and Chanderpaul added at Georgetown in the first Test of this series.

The left-handed Gayle turned a short-of-a-length delivery from Monde Zondeki to mid-wicket for a single to reach his hundred, the 50th Test at the ARG that’s hosting its 20th Test.

Right-hander Sarwan flicked an over-pitched delivery on leg-stump from part-time medium-paced bowler AB de Villiers to long leg for a single to reach his second hundred for the series, following his undefeated 107 in the second Test at Port of Spain.