Amla, van Zyl prosper before rain halts play in Centurion

Published December 19, 2014
SOUTH African captain Hashim Amla plays a shot on the onside during his marathon knock in the first Test against the West Indies on Thursday.—AFP
SOUTH African captain Hashim Amla plays a shot on the onside during his marathon knock in the first Test against the West Indies on Thursday.—AFP

CENTURION: Hashim Amla’s third double-ton for South Africa and Stiaan van Zyl’s unbeaten century on debut against West Indies helped the hosts declare on 552 for five before rain brought an early end to day two of the first Test on Thursday.

A heavy downpour that started just after the Proteas’ declaration some 30 minutes before tea meant no more play and an early 10:00am (0800 GMT) start on Friday.

It was a day to remember for Amla and Van Zyl, who are on opposite ends of spectrum in terms of Test experience but can be equally pleased with their efforts in helping South Africa to their massive total at SuperSport Park.

Amla showed all of his famous powers of concentration and stamina to bat for almost eight hours in compiling 208 from 371 balls before he holed out to long-on off the bowling of left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn as the hosts tried to up the tempo.

The impressive Van Zyl, long tipped as an international cricketer, grabbed his moment by smashing 15 boundaries to end the innings on 101 not out from 130 balls.

He is the fifth South African to score a Test hundred on debut, but his total is far short of the record set by Jacques Rudolph of 222 not out against Bangladesh in 2003. Others to score hundred debut for the Proteas were Andrew Hudson, Alviro Petersen and Faf du Plessis.

The 27-year-old Van Zyl was nearly out first ball though as he tickled a leg-side delivery from Benn that fell just short of the leg slip.

He was then dropped on two by Kraigg Brathwaite in the same position off Benn again but after that he grew in confidence with every run scored.

The only other wicket to fall in another dominant day for South Africa was A.B. de Villiers, for 152, when he became a first victim in the Test for the luckless Benn when a thick outside edge was caught by Jermaine Blackwood at point.

His dismissal ended a record fourth-wicket stand in Tests for South Africa of 308, the partnership with Amla digging the side out of trouble on the first morning when the hosts lost three quick wickets to slip to 57-3.

Amla, who had a remarkable escape on Wednesday when a ball from Roach brushed his off stump but did not dislodge a bail when his score was on 25, was content to let Van Zyl play the dominant role in their partnership.

He had a let-off on 180 when he flicked Taylor to midwicket, where Blackwood leapt high and got both hands to the ball but could not hold on.

Amla’s two previous Test double centuries, including a South African record 311 not out against England at The Oval in 2012, were made overseas.

His first home double century — in his first Test as captain in South Africa — was a Test record for Centurion, beating the 201 not out by Jacques Kallis against India in 2010-11.

West Indies’ bowling attack toiled without their main weapon Kemar Roach, who is unlikely to feature again in the Test.

He limped off on day one and an MRI scan showed slight ligament damage but West Indies have said he will bowl in the second innings if needed.

Although Taylor and Cottrell bowled with more control than on the first day, the West Indies were unable to prevent the total from mounting steadily, despite captain Denesh Ramdin setting defensive fields.

Roach was not the only casualty for the touring side as batsman Assad Fudadin has been ruled out of the tour after fracturing a finger in fielding practice on Wednesday.

The 29-year-old fractured the little finger on his right hand during the warm-ups on the opening morning of the Test series, the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said on Thursday.

Fudadin, who came into the squad after Darren Bravo declined selection for personal reasons, has played in three matches starting with the England Test in 2012.

The WICB are due to name a replacement at a later date.

Scoreboard

SOUTH AFRICA (1st Innings, overnight 340-3):

A.N. Petersen c Smith b Roach 27 D. Elgar c Samuels b Cottrell 28 F. du Plessis c Ramdin b Roach 0 H.M. Amla c Taylor b Benn 208 A.B. de Villiers c Blackwood b Benn 152 S. van Zyl not out 101 Q. de Kock not out 18

EXTRAS (B-8, LB-6, W-2, NB-2) 18

TOTAL (for five wkts decl, 122 overs) 552

FALL OF WKTS: 1-57, 2-57, 3-57, 4-365, 5-520.

DID NOT BAT: V.D. Philander, D.W. Steyn, K.J. Abbott, M. Morkel.

BOWLING: Taylor 26.1-5-108-0; Cottrell 28-1-124-1 (2nb, 1w); Roach 15.5-4-52-2 (1w); Benn 46-7-148-2; Samuels 20-0-89-0; Brathwaite 1-0-2-0; Blackwood 3.2-0-15-0.

WEST INDIES: K.C. Brathwaite, D.S. Smith, LR. Johnson, M.N. Samuels, S. Chanderpaul, J. Blackwood, D. Ramdin, K.A.J. Roach, J.E. Taylor, S.J. Benn, S.S. Cottrell.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2014

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