South Africa and the West Indies battled each other in the 3rd and last 5-Day Cricket Test at Newlands, Cape Town. The Test ran from 2 to 6 January 2015.
The 2nd Test in Port Elizabeth was a bit of a disapointment, with wet weather spoiling the Test and forcing a draw. Better weather was expected and delivered in Cape Town for the 3rd Test.
Play started on schedule on Day 1, at 10:30 SA Time (08:30 GMT).
The score cards were updated at regular intervals, here on Rugby-Talk.com.
The West Indies won the toss and elected to bat.
The first West Indies wicket fell with their score on 30. At Lunch on Day 1 the West Indies were on 80 / 2 after 27 overs and at Stumps on Day 1 the West Indies were 276 / 6, after the day’s 90 overs.
The Proteas wrapped up the West Indies tail relatively quickly on Day 2 (within 9.5 overs), with the West Indies all out for 329 after 99.5 overs. The Proteas started batting and lost the wicket of Dean Elgar at 48 / 1. At Tea on Day 2 the Proteas were 135 / 2, after 42 overs. With the Proteas on 227 / 3, rain interrupted play… which should lead to Stumps – Day 2.
On Day 3 the Proteas resumed batting and lost the wicket of Hashim Amla on 63, with the Proteas on 254 / 4. Proteas were on 313 / 5 at Lunch – Day 3, still 16 runs behind. AB de Villiers easily reached his TON after Lunch on Day 3 and eventually perished on 148 as he tried to hit it out of the park. Proteas lead by 92 at the Innings break, having scored 421 All Out.
The West Indies 2nd Innings started off well for them and after the first 10.5 overs they were on 23 / 0 before Morné Morkel struck, making it 23 / 1 after 11 overs. The 2nd wicket fell shortly afterwards, on 27. The West Indies soldiered on and were 88 / 2 at Stumps – Day 3.
Morning Day 4… it is raining and the outfield is soaked. Prospects of play did not look good for the rest of Day 4. Play eventually resumed at 15:00 on Day 4. The West Indies hung in for most of the afternoon, till the wickets started falling rather fast, losing the last 7 wickets for just 33 runs. West Indies All Out for 215 in their 2nd Innings, a lead of 123. This leaves the Proteas needing 124 for the win, with a Day and a few overs remaining in the Test. Alviro Petersen falls without troubling the scorecard, with the Proteas on 9 / 1 after 2.3 Overs, as Stumps was called on Day 4.
The Proteas needed 115 runs for the win on Day 5 of the Test and lost the wicket of Faf du Plessis with the score on 51 / 2, leaving 73 runs to win. South Africa won the Test before Lunch on the final Day, a win by 8 wickets.
West Indies:
First Innings – 329 All Out (99.5 Overs)
Second Innings – 215 All Out (79.5 Overs)
South Africa:
First Innings – 421 All Out (122.4 Overs)
Second Innings – 124 / 2 (37.4 Overs)
South Africa won by 8 wickets
| West Indies 1st innings | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC Brathwaite | c Elgar b Steyn | 7 | 58 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 20.00 | |
| DS Smith | b Harmer | 47 | 119 | 86 | 8 | 0 | 54.65 | |
| LR Johnson | lbw b Harmer | 54 | 109 | 84 | 9 | 0 | 64.28 | |
| MN Samuels | c du Plessis b van Zyl | 43 | 106 | 70 | 6 | 0 | 61.42 | |
| S Chanderpaul | st †de Villiers b Harmer | 9 | 72 | 48 | 1 | 0 | 18.75 | |
| J Blackwood | lbw b Steyn | 56 | 168 | 113 | 6 | 0 | 49.55 | |
| D Ramdin*† | c & b Steyn | 53 | 113 | 103 | 6 | 0 | 51.45 | |
| JO Holder | c van Zyl b Steyn | 23 | 52 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 67.64 | |
| JE Taylor | c Steyn b Morkel | 13 | 17 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 108.33 | |
| SJ Benn | c Bavuma b Morkel | 5 | 19 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 45.45 | |
| ST Gabriel | not out | 4 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 80.00 | |
| Extras | (lb 5, w 8, nb 2) | 15 | ||||||
| Total | (all out; 99.5 overs; 424 mins) | 329 | (3.29 runs per over) | |||||
Fall of wickets: 1-30 (Brathwaite, 13.2 ov), 2-80 (Smith, 26.6 ov), 3-131 (Johnson, 38.3 ov), 4-162 (Samuels, 51.1 ov), 5-172 (Chanderpaul, 56.1 ov), 6-266 (Ramdin, 85.2 ov), 7-299 (Blackwood, 94.1 ov), 8-316 (Holder, 96.3 ov), 9-319 (Taylor, 97.1 ov), 10-329 (Benn, 99.5 ov)
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | 0s | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DW Steyn | 25 | 6 | 78 | 4 | 3.12 | 119 | 9 | 0 | (3w) | |
| VD Philander | 19 | 2 | 73 | 0 | 3.84 | 83 | 12 | 0 | (1nb) | |
| M Morkel | 19.5 | 1 | 83 | 2 | 4.18 | 81 | 12 | 0 | (1nb, 1w) | |
| SR Harmer | 26 | 5 | 71 | 3 | 2.73 | 120 | 10 | 0 | ||
| S van Zyl | 8 | 2 | 13 | 1 | 1.62 | 38 | 1 | 0 | ||
| D Elgar | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.00 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| South Africa 1st innings | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AN Petersen | run out (Blackwood) | 42 | 130 | 85 | 3 | 1 | 49.41 | |
| D Elgar | lbw b Holder | 8 | 58 | 30 | 1 | 0 | 26.66 | |
| F du Plessis | st †Ramdin b Benn | 68 | 150 | 122 | 8 | 0 | 55.73 | |
| HM Amla* | c †Ramdin b Holder | 63 | 189 | 150 | 7 | 0 | 42.00 | |
| AB de Villiers† | c Gabriel b Samuels | 148 | 323 | 194 | 15 | 1 | 76.28 | |
| T Bavuma | b Gabriel | 15 | 53 | 41 | 2 | 0 | 36.58 | |
| S van Zyl | lbw b Samuels | 33 | 91 | 63 | 3 | 0 | 52.38 | |
| VD Philander | run out (Holder/Benn) | 0 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| SR Harmer | lbw b Taylor | 10 | 37 | 48 | 2 | 0 | 20.83 | |
| DW Steyn | run out (Johnson) | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| M Morkel | not out | 4 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 | |
| Extras | (lb 7, w 13, nb 10) | 30 | ||||||
| Total | (all out; 122.4 overs; 521 mins) | 421 | (3.43 runs per over) | |||||
Fall of wickets: 1-48 (Elgar, 11.5 ov), 2-104 (Petersen, 27.1 ov), 3-157 (du Plessis, 49.1 ov), 4-254 (Amla, 75.1 ov), 5-288 (Bavuma, 86.5 ov), 6-384 (van Zyl, 108.2 ov), 7-385 (Philander, 109.4 ov), 8-404 (Harmer, 119.5 ov), 9-408 (Steyn, 120.4 ov), 10-421 (de Villiers, 122.4 ov)
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | 0s | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JE Taylor | 20 | 2 | 80 | 1 | 4.00 | 83 | 9 | 0 | (1nb, 1w) | |
| ST Gabriel | 17 | 2 | 64 | 1 | 3.76 | 70 | 3 | 0 | (7nb, 3w) | |
| JO Holder | 24 | 4 | 87 | 2 | 3.62 | 107 | 12 | 0 | (2nb, 1w) | |
| MN Samuels | 16.4 | 0 | 68 | 2 | 4.08 | 68 | 8 | 1 | ||
| SJ Benn | 45 | 9 | 115 | 1 | 2.55 | 202 | 9 | 1 |
| West Indies 2nd innings | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KC Brathwaite | b Harmer | 16 | 64 | 45 | 1 | 0 | 35.55 | |
| DS Smith | c †de Villiers b Morkel | 7 | 50 | 36 | 1 | 0 | 19.44 | |
| LR Johnson | c Amla b Morkel | 44 | 112 | 76 | 6 | 0 | 57.89 | |
| MN Samuels | c Elgar b Harmer | 74 | 225 | 150 | 9 | 2 | 49.33 | |
| S Chanderpaul | run out (Bavuma) | 50 | 203 | 113 | 5 | 0 | 44.24 | |
| J Blackwood | b Steyn | 13 | 35 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 50.00 | |
| D Ramdin*† | c Harmer b Steyn | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| JO Holder | c Amla b Harmer | 2 | 16 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 | |
| JE Taylor | c Elgar b Harmer | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| SJ Benn | c †de Villiers b Steyn | 0 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| ST Gabriel | not out | 2 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 20.00 | |
| Extras | (b 4, lb 3) | 7 | ||||||
| Total | (all out; 79.5 overs; 355 mins) | 215 | (2.69 runs per over) | |||||
Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Smith, 10.6 ov), 2-27 (Brathwaite, 13.5 ov), 3-95 (Johnson, 36.5 ov), 4-182 (Samuels, 64.5 ov), 5-202 (Blackwood, 71.6 ov), 6-204 (Ramdin, 73.1 ov), 7-213 (Holder, 76.3 ov), 8-213 (Taylor, 76.5 ov), 9-213 (Benn, 77.4 ov), 10-215 (Chanderpaul, 79.5 ov)
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | 0s | 4s | 6s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DW Steyn | 23.5 | 3 | 75 | 3 | 3.14 | 110 | 11 | 0 | |
| VD Philander | 16 | 4 | 27 | 0 | 1.68 | 81 | 1 | 0 | |
| M Morkel | 14 | 7 | 18 | 2 | 1.28 | 74 | 2 | 0 | |
| SR Harmer | 24 | 7 | 82 | 4 | 3.41 | 106 | 9 | 2 | |
| S van Zyl | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 3.00 | 9 | 1 | 0 |
| South Africa 2nd innings (target: 124 runs) | R | M | B | 4s | 6s | SR | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D Elgar | not out | 60 | 103 | 7 | 1 | 58.25 | ||
| AN Petersen | b Benn | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | |
| F du Plessis | c Blackwood b Benn | 14 | 77 | 69 | 2 | 0 | 20.28 | |
| HM Amla* | not out | 38 | 49 | 6 | 0 | 77.55 | ||
| Extras | (b 8, lb 2, nb 2) | 12 | ||||||
| Total | (2 wickets; 37.4 overs) | 124 | (3.29 runs per over) | |||||
Did not bat: AB de Villiers†, T Bavuma, S van Zyl, VD Philander, DW Steyn, M Morkel, SR Harmer
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Petersen, 2.3 ov), 2-51 (du Plessis, 22.5 ov)
| Bowling | O | M | R | W | Econ | 0s | 4s | 6s | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JE Taylor | 7 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 2.85 | 34 | 3 | 0 | ||
| MN Samuels | 3.4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 6.54 | 11 | 4 | 0 | ||
| SJ Benn | 17 | 8 | 24 | 2 | 1.41 | 89 | 1 | 1 | ||
| JO Holder | 5 | 0 | 19 | 0 | 3.80 | 23 | 3 | 0 | ||
| ST Gabriel | 5 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 5.40 | 20 | 4 | 0 | (2nb) |
Match details
Player of the match – tba
TV umpire – BF Bowden (New Zealand)
Match referee – RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka)
Reserve umpire – JD Cloete
Close of play
- – day 1 – West Indies 1st innings 276/6 (J Blackwood 45*, JO Holder 5*, 90 ov)
- – day 2 – South Africa 1st innings 227/3 (HM Amla 55*, AB de Villiers 32*, 68.3 ov)
- – day 3 – West Indies 2nd innings 88/2 (LR Johnson 37*, MN Samuels 26*, 34 ov)
- – day 4 – South Africa 2nd innings 9/1 (D Elgar 5*, 2.3 ov)
Match Notes – Day 5
- South Africa: 50 runs in 21.5 overs (131 balls), Extras 5
- Drinks: South Africa – 51/2 in 22.5 overs (D Elgar 32)
- Over 29.4: Review by West Indies (Bowling), Umpire – PR Reiffel, Batsman – HM Amla (Struck down)
- D Elgar: 50 off 86 balls (6 x 4, 1 x 6)
- South Africa: 100 runs in 34.6 overs (212 balls), Extras 12
- 3rd Wicket: 50 runs in 78 balls (D Elgar 22, HM Amla 24, Ex 7)
Senseless going to Lunch now… just finish it and get it over.
5 Runs needed… make that 4
Congrats Captain Amla!
There it is… with a 4.
Blomme win the Series 2 / 0 and the Test by 8 Wickets
Hashim Amla gets Man Of The Series, AB de Villiers gets Man Of The Match.
11 406 News / Game Articles already here on Rugby-Talk.com!
So Alviro officially retired… so who is next in line to open?
Alviro Petersen – an honourable man
Walk Tall, bro
**
next Test is in July – so plenty can happen till then, but Stiaan must (at this stage) be the front runner to replace Alviro
**
Happy New Year, all
@ Angostura:
I would agree with that about Stiaan. Andrew Hudson said to him prior to the series, at the warm up match, that there could be a position at the top of the order for him. Lets wait and see.
Oh yes.
A belated Happy New Year to all of you from me as well.
Hope we have a Storming good year. 😆
NZ Black Caps now ranked #5 in world Test cricket (well done!)
and the prima donna Indians are on the brink of being relegated to #7 in the same cricket format (the only true one); what a change in relative fortunes!
Indian Test cricket has regressed at a rapid rate since their almost religious fascination with & devotion to Indian baseball (IPL 20/20).
Is it just me, or are NZ pitches recently offering pace bowlers much more than previously?
Also, I read or heard somewhere that the pace men of the Black Caps bowl on a fuller length than those of any other current International team; it sure seems to work for them … perhaps the currently disappointing Philander can benefit from their example?
@ Angostura:
I was looking at all the other domestic openers and they are all pretty much below average.
Apparantly Stiaan would be a gammble as an opener as he generally goes in at no3. I may not know the science of opening batsmen, but there should be no reason why he wont fit in there, in fact we pretty much have no other choice if you look locally, especially young players at this stage.
No better chance to cement your spot as an opener than in Bangladesh where Neil Mac and Smithie last broke the world record for an opening partnership.
Hash should move back to opener
Reeza Hendricks to open against Bangladesh.
If his fit to play it’s a given.
Poppycock you don’t move the second best batsman in your team to the top of the order.
Leave Amla where he his and find an opener.
@ Jeraldjay:
With a first class average in the mid thirties I’m not sure he’s the way forward.
@ gunther:
@223
Fully agree.
224 @ gunther:
His recent form has been impressive.
Let’s see if he has the temperament for international cricket in these Windies T20 games and we can judge from there.
Reeza Hendricks has a 1st class batting average of 34.84; (&Temba Bavuma has a 1st class batting average of 35.49) …
‘Its a given’…
that those are batting averages not befitting specialist Test calibre batsmen (in fact those are merely “mediocre-to-OK” batting averages even at 1st class level)
Let’s not kid ourselves, Stiaan van Zyl & Rilee Rossouw are the only current worthy contenders for Alviro Petersen’s vacant position as specialist Test batsman (based on proven 1st class merit, 1st class level experience, & relative youthfulness & thus potential for extended future utility) .
Problem is both are (like Dean Elgar) left handers (a right/left opening pair is preferable), & both seem more accustomed to batting at #3 than opening the innings.
I’m with Charo on this one: Shift Hashim to opening batsman …
& then bring Stiaan (or Rilee, form depending) in at #3, #4 or #5.
Stiaan & Rilee’s 1st class batting stats compare favourably with those of Dean Elgar (who has seemingly now established himself as a Proteas’opening batsman), & they therefore have the potential to do likewise.
For the time being my preferred Proteas’ Test batting order would be –
1. Hashim Amla
2. Dean Elgar
3. Faf du Plessis
4. AB de Villiers
5. Stiaan van Zyl
6. Quinton de Kock (w/k)
7. JP Duminy
It’s madness to move Amla. Australia flourished for years with two left handed openers.
Amla and de Villiers are the Rock upoon which our batting strength rests tinker with them at your peril.
Make Amla open and watch his average fall like a flying piano.
Van Zyl bats at 3 which is a much smaller adjustment to make.
Hendricks recent form in our domestic 4 day competition has been outstanding after he was given a taste of international cricket.
David Warner was elevated to international cricket without any domestic form.
I wouldn’t risk one of our best batsmen to become a make shift opener when a specialist in that position is needed.
I’m sorry computer says no.
Amla has only recently started batting regularly at #4, & he has indeed much more experience in batting at #3 or as an opener (when considering all forms of cricket at international, domestic 1st class & A levels).
If we are talking of a small adjustment, then Amla as Test opener is a smaller adjustment than Stiaan as Test opener.
Amla’s Test record per batting position is as follows:
#1 – Ave 43.00; SR 51.60; HS 43 (2009, 1 innings, vs. AUS, Durban)
#2 – Ave 62.00; SR 96.87; HS 62 (2010, 1 innings, vs. PAK, Abu Dhabi)
#3 – Ave 56.40; SR 52.95; HS 311* (2006 – 2014, 113 innings)
#4 – Ave 46.50; SR 43.82; HS 208 (2006 – 2015, 20 innings)
His record as a #4 batsman is on average less impressive than that as an opener. So what’s the problem?
Like Dean Elgar before him, Stiaan should be groomed for the Proteas opening berth, i.e. he should bat in the middle or top order for the Proteas, & open the batting for his franchise, until such time as he is ready to perform as opening bat at international level.
Ultimately I would ideally like to see Hashim Amla revert to #3 at Test level – this batting position is arguably the most demanding in cricket, & of our current crop of batsmen Hashim’s temperament is imo best suited to #3. Despite the rankings, I regard Hashim as our best batsman (of the current crop). I believe that in time he’ll establish himself as such.
How can you quote stats from his 2 innings as an opener?
😯
In terms of a test average those two innings mean nothing.
Amla opening is not going to happen.
Never ever would i move Amla our second best batsman to open no ways.
Elgar
Van zyl
Faf
Amla
Ab
Jp
Qdk
Verne
Steyn
Abott
Morkel
For about 90% of our home games home games
Van zyl
Elgar
Faf
Amla
Ab
Jp
Qdk
Harmer/piedt
Verne
Steyn
Morkel
for the sub continent
A belated happy and prosperous New Year to all.
I see that there is no mention of Quinton de Kock as a possible opener. Good…I once was accused of not “rating” him when I said that he should not be considered as an opener for the test team.
I agree with Stiaan as the replacement for Alviro. Reeza needs to become more consistent in the longer version before he can really stake a claim for a test spot.
People who keep on pointing to the first class average of Bavuma (and Reeza) conveniently forget that De Kock’s first class average was also not too flash when he made his test debut.
@ Nama:
Too be fair qdk was fast tracked to be the keeper
@ Nama:
Best wished on a good new year nama. And may next year be your year 😈
237 @ MacroBlom:
Hahaha…hopefully we can spoil the Sharks’ year as “this year” is suppose to be their year. 😆
@ MacroBlom:
One can then probably also argue that Bavuma was also fast tracked, albeit for different reasons. 😈
To be fair de Kocks average was mid forties and hed just scored 3 ODI hundreds against India but Ja otherwise pretty similar.
😀
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