WI vs SA : Alick Athanaze Plays A Gritty Knock to Secure Draw For West Indies In Trinidad In Challenging Conditions Of 1st Test Match

Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi put on a partnership of 57 in good batting conditions. With both batters looking set, the left-hander fell against the run of play. Tony De Zorzi attempted a reverse-sweep but went straight into the hands of first slip. David Bedingham survived a mix-up with Bavuma as Seales failed to collect the ball for a run-out chance.

Kraigg Brathwaite brought on himself and Alick Athanaze to get to the 80-over mark at the earliest and fortunes changed immediately after Tea. West Indies took the second new ball and Roach trapped Rickelton adjacent to the stumps. Verreynne and Bavuma played a watchful partnership, during which the former copped a beamer on his forearm but managed to stay on.

Bavuma survived a close leg-before wicket shout on 82, which was umpire’s call on the stumps and the decision had gone his way. But Bavuma then perished as he missed a full toss, hitting him flush on the pads in front of off-stump.

Mulder raced away with a four and a six before he was judged in front of the stumps. He survived as he had nicked the ball onto his pads. Towards the end of the day, both batters started finding boundaries at relative ease, capitalizing on a tiring bowling attack. However, Warrican picked up Verreynne and Keshav Maharaj off successive deliveries to keep the Test match in the balance. With rain having played spoilsport for most of Day 1, the entire 98 overs were bowled on Day 2.

Tony de Zorzi, South Africa’s opening batter who was dismissed for 78 before lunch, sat on the change-room balcony with a copy of Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Ironic, because what played out in front of him was nothing like the novel’s dystopian reality. Instead, it was as his coach Shukri Conrad predicted: same, old Test cricket. “Traditional” was the word South Africa’s red-ball coach used to describe what he expected would be attritional cricket in Trinidad, and that is what the teams produced.

All but one South African batter, Aiden Markram, got starts. Two, de Zorzi and captain Temba Bavuma, made half-centuries, and there were four 50-plus partnerships, but there were no hundreds. Only one frontline West Indies bowler, left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, conceded at more than 3.5 runs per over and the seamers shared five wickets between them.

They were disciplined most of the time and threatening for some of it, but did not consistently trouble the batters. All these things could have a lot to do with the kind of surface this Test is being played on: docile, fairly dry, and lacking in life in the form of bounce or pace. It was the kind of surface that requires patience, not flair, and rewards those who are willing to grind.

That was evident from the first exchanges when West Indies’ senior seamers Kemar Roach and Jason Holder relied on good lengths to keep South Africa quiet and were punished as soon as they strayed. In the third over of the day, Holder dropped it a fraction short and de Zorzi scored the first boundary when he dabbed it behind point. In the next over, Roach was a touch too full and Tristan Stubbs drove his first and last balls through the covers with confidence.

South Africa’s second-wicket pair were beaten on occasion but were mostly fairly comfortable early on. De Zorzi reached his second Test fifty off 78 balls. Importantly for de Zorzi, it is also his first success in his first attempt at opening in Tests. Stubbs did not quite have the same results at No. 3 and failed to use his feet when Roach angled a length ball in from wide of the crease. With the slip cordon up, Stubbs edged behind and Holder dived across from second slip to take the catch low down.

Roach was pumped and greeted a leaden-footed Bavuma with a delivery that almost kissed the bat before beating the outside edge. He kept Bavuma in the crease throughout that over but the South African captain was happy to bide his time. Bavuma took ten balls to get his first runs but when he did, he got them with confidence. He stepped down the pitch and hit Motie over his head for two runs to bring up 3000 runs in Test cricket.

While Bavuma’s approach remained watchful – understandable given this was his first Test innings since March 2023 – any aggression came from Tony de Zorzi. He was proactive in turning an intended drive off Jayden Seales into a slice over point and reverse-swept Motie to get to 70. With a top score of 85, also scored against West Indies, Tony de Zorzi would have been eyeing a first century but he undid himself with a second reverse sweep off Jomel Warrican and gloved it to Kavem Hodge at slip, 12 minutes before lunch.

After the break, Bavuma again dropped anchor and allowed his partner, David Bedingham, to take the fight to West Indies. Following on from his five centuries in eight matches in the County Championship, Bedingham showed his class when he double-stepped down the track to club Warrican over long-on and then waited for a Seales delivery to late-cut it for four.

That urgency rubbed off on Bavuma, who scored his first boundary in 48 balls when he advanced down to hit Warrican for four. But he quickly went back into his shell when a pull off Seales was almost caught by Hodge at square leg. Instead, it was Bedingham who fell to the pull. He couldn’t keep Seales down and sent him to deep square leg, where Keacy Carty, on debut, took the catch diving forward to give Seales his first Test wicket at his home ground.

Ryan Rickelton started convincingly with a sublime cover drive and then watched as Bavuma reached his 21st Test fifty off 123 balls. Rickelton lived dangerously and hit a full toss from Warrican straight back to him but the left-arm spinner could not hold on. Luckily for West Indies, the drop did not prove too costly. Rickelton added 11 runs to his score and then succumbed to the second new ball: lbw to Roach.

Bavuma was on 80 at that stage and still had one recognized batter, Kyle Verreynne, to accompany him in pursuit of a century. Verreynne faced the first 20 balls of their partnership, including a beamer from Seales that hit him on the left glove, but did not seem to do any damage. Bavuma then survived a West Indies review for lbw off Holder, which was too high on umpire’s call. But two-and-a-half overs later, Seales bowled a full toss and Bavuma’s concentration broke.

He missed the flick, was hit at shin height and given out. Verreynne convinced him to review but only in hope. He had to leave, without a first Test century away from home, a second against West Indies and a third in his career.

South Africa were 271 for 6 and West Indies had the opportunity to run through their lower order. They conceded only 20 runs in 12 overs to frustrate the naturally aggressive Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder, but the pair held firm and as West Indies tired, they cashed in. But just as they started to pull away, Warrican struck twice in two balls.

Verreynne offered him a simple redemptive return catch that he held onto and then Keshav Maharaj chipped one back to him that required a dive to take with both hands but Warrican did that too and suddenly South Africa were in danger of a sub-350 score. Mulder and Kagiso Rabada took them to the brink of that and they will be eyeing slightly more on the third day.

Day 3 and Day 4 : Keshav Maharaj’s 28-Over Spell Applies Squeeze On West Indies On Rain-Affected Day 3 and 4

Keshav Maharaj (3 for 45) was the star of the show on Day 3 as the wily left-arm spinner used the conditions beautifully in Trinidad to keep the Test match in the balance. The West Indies quickly wrapped up South Africa’s proceedings with the bat before showing the grit to hang in there, on a slow surface which will only deteriorate further. Keacy Carty (42) looked positive while Kraigg Brathwaite (35) and Mikyle Louis (35) showed tenacity against the South Africans. Constant rain interruptions meant only 71.4 overs could be bowled.

Keshav Maharaj bowled 28 overs unchanged from the Media Centre End, albeit with weather-related interruptions, as South Africa frustrated West Indies on the third day of a rain-affected Test. The squeeze only brought four wickets, and with 90 minutes lost in the day and more rain on the way, the chances of victory for either side seems slim, but South Africa will consider themselves as having the upper hand.

West Indies openers denied South Africans wickets before Tea session

Kagiso Rabada started the day’s play with two boundaries off Jayden Seales but West Indies continued right from where they left off on Day 2. Rabada played for the turn off Jomel Warrican, which held it’s line and a faint edge found the keeper. Seales came back to send Ngidi’s off-stump for a cartwheel as South Africa were bowled out for 357 in 117.4 overs.

Brathwaite and Louis bided their time and took advantage of any loose deliveries. Keshav Maharaj came on post the drinks break, producing an edge off Brathwaite which was spilled at first slip by Aiden Markram. The openers soon brought up the 50-run stand. Keshav Maharaj slipped an arm-ball through the gate of Louis, on the last ball before Tea, breaking a resilient partnership.

Batting has been labored so far and the early signs on the third morning were that it would become even more difficult. The second ball, from Jayden Seales, kept low and Wiaan Mulder was fortunate that it did not seam back in enough to take out off stump.

Still, South Africa seemed to have a clear directive to score quickly and Kagiso Rabada led the charge. He flicked Seales through backward square leg and then attempted a drive but edged wide of second slip in a productive over. His intent did not last long. Rabada faced five more balls before Jomel Warrican found the edge and Joshua Da Silva did the rest. Seales finished off when he bowled Lungi Ngidi six balls later to end South Africa’s innings 20 minutes into the session. They added just 13 runs to their overnight score.

West Indies were in the field for 117.4 overs and would have had enough time to know that batting would be tough especially against South Africa’s best. Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi shared the new ball and had different but equally testing questions for the openers. Rabada kept it full, Ngidi was more back of a length, and West Indies managed only 23 runs in their first ten overs. Mulder, playing as the third seamer, replaced Ngidi but when Rabada’s spell ended, South Africa were forced to turn to spin early.

Keshav Maharaj’s 28-over spell applies squeeze on West Indies on rain-affected day

The rain came down just before the third session resumed, delaying the restart by 90 minutes. Debutant Keacy Carty came in to bat, who along with Brathwaite hung in there and occupied the crease. Brathwaite smoked Keshav Maharaj for a six over his head to keep the scoreboard ticking. Carty followed suit nicely scoring a boundary through third man off the left-arm spinner.

West Indies continued to score at merely 2 runs per over, thereby not inflicting the pressure back on the South Africans. Carty survived a run-out chance and was also put down by Tristan Stubbs, a difficult chance where the fielder had to run back but grasped it.

Brathwaite who hung in there for so long, was undone by not sliding his bat in time at the bowler’s end just before the tea break. Carty continued to play his shots. He pulled Ngidi for four immediately after tea. Keshav Maharaj came storming back in the next over. He deceived Carty with the arm ball, catching him flush on the pads and ending his debut innings eight short of 50.

This prompted Temba Bavuma to turn to Markram at the other end, which almost worked immediately but Kyle Verreynne couldn’t hang on to the edge off Kavem Hodge.

Keshav Maharaj used the conditions beautifully. He crept doubt into Alick Athanaze’s mind as he got one ball to turn and the second not to. The third didn’t turn either and this found the outside edge, straight to Markram at slip. Jason Holder and Hodge gritted it out in the closing stages of Day 3 to stumps with the West Indies trailing by 212 runs.

Keshav Maharaj was given the ball in the 13th over and came close to an early breakthrough. In his second over, Maharaj drew Kraigg Brathwaite forward and induced the edge, which lobbed low but carried to Aiden Markram at slip. However, he could not hold on. Brathwaite was on 7 off 43 balls at the time. Brathwaite went on to cut Keshav Maharaj through point for his first four but, much like South Africa’s captain Temba Bavuma on day two, was content to spend time at the crease and let the runs come from the other end.

Mikyle Louis was more proactive, particularly through the covers, with four of his five boundaries coming in that region. He hit the single that took West Indies to fifty which was also the fourth half-century opening stand between him and Brathwaite in three Tests and helped West Indies nearly get through the session unscathed. But, the ball before lunch, Louis played for turn to a Maharaj arm ball and was bowled

Play was delayed for 55 minutes after the scheduled second-session restart, but one over later, rain forced another 20-minute break. The interruptions had no effect on Brathwaite’s concentration as he hit Keshav Maharaj for six three overs into the second session, but left it to Keacy Carty to do most of the attacking. On debut, Carty impressed with his assuredness and played the shot of the day when he got up on his toes to punch Rabada behind point for four.

With their options limited to four frontline bowlers, South Africa had to keep Keshav Maharaj at one end – and he kept Brathwaite quiet for a period in which the West Indian captain scored just 6 runs off 37 balls from him – and rotate through the three seamers and matters became pedestrian. None of them looked like taking a wicket but a chance came in the field when Carty, on 28, defended a Mulder ball to point and took off a run but had Ryan Rickelton to contend with.

Carty turned back and if Rickleton’s throw was accurate he would have been caught short of his ground but the ball went wide and Carty batted on. Three overs later, Carty was on 32 and hit Keshav Maharaj aerially to cover. Tristan Stubbs ran back to take the catch over his shoulder but misjudged and spilled it.

Just when South Africa may have become disheartened, a sedate Brathwaite hit Ngidi to Mulder at mid-on and ran for the single but a direct hit found him on the line and out on the stroke of tea. Brathwaite’s 35 runs took 131 balls, and he maintains the lowest strike rate among batters who have scored 5,000 Test runs since 2001. With the interval, came the rain and there was a further 35 minute delay before the start of the last session.

Seven balls into the evening, a Keshav Maharaj ball ended Carty’s debut innings as it skidded and struck him on the front pad. Aiden Markram, operating as South Africa’s second spinner, could have had another five overs later when Kavem Hodge, on 3, edged but Kyle Verreynne did not react quickly enough to hold on.

Instead, Markram was the fielder when Keshav Maharaj struck again in the next over. Alick Athanaze edged an arm ball to Markram at slip. Markram and Keshav Maharaj bowled out most of the rest of the session, apart from a final late burst by Rabada, who could not remove either Hodge or Jason Holder.

Day 5 : Athanaze, rain secure draw for West Indies in Trinidad in 1st test amidst Keshav Maharaj’s superb spell

South Africa showed intent and belief in the face of very little time to earn a miraculous result in Trinidad where rain had been a consistent spoilsport through the five days, but West Indies held on courtesy some rain and a lot of resolute batting from Alick Athinaze. Athinaze scored his career-best 92 and forged fighting stands with Kavem Hodge and Jason Holder to see off a determined South Africa on the final day.

South Africa began the day in a purposeful manner as Tony de Zorzi and Aiden Markram came out swinging. They took 13 runs off Jayden Seales as they managed to add 48 in the first 10 overs. Left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican struck in his first over of the day to send de Zorzi packing but Tristan Stubbs strutted out and took the game by the scruff of its neck. He hit six fours and two sixes in his 50-ball 68 even as Markram departed soon.

Temba Bavuma played second fiddle to the high-flying Stubbs who got to his maiden Test fifty – off 42 balls. Around the time it seemed like declaration was imminent, Stubbs went after Kemar Roach, hitting a six over mid-wicket and following it up with an audacious lap over the keeper for a four two balls later. In the same over, Roach knocked back Stubbs’s leg-stump, triggering South Africa’s declaration on 178/3.

West Indies had to negotiate 20 minutes of the first session and had two more to bat out with a target of 298. South Africa once again started well as Keshav Maharaj opened the bowling and lured Kraigg Brathwaite into a false shot that led to his dismissal for a third-ball duck. Kagiso Rabada also ruffled a few feathers as South Africa played with their tails up in search of early wickets. Rain, however, came as a respite for West Indies and forced an hour’s delay before second session could commence.

When play eventually resumed, Rabada continued from where he left off. He quickly snuffed out Mikyle Louis with a short ball which the batter pulled to Stubbs at mid-wicket. Keacy Carty and Athanaze put on the first instalment of resistance for West Indies as they fought on to play out 8.5 overs while South Africa pushed for wickets in their race against time. Keshav Maharaj, South Africa’s best bowler of the game, forced open the stand when he had Carty driving low towards cover where Wiaan Mulder took a sharp catch.

Alick Athanaze tried to put the pressure back on South Africa as he played his shots at times, while the visitors had to turn to part-time spin of Aiden Markram as they picked an extra batter for the game. It didn’t help South Africa’s case that they dropped two catches – Markram put one down of Kavem Hodge off his own bowling and then Bavuma didn’t get to it at second slip when Maharaj got the batter to nick one. In the first over after Tea however,  Keshav Maharaj struck as Hodge nicked one behind to Kyle Verreynne, departing for 29.

Alick Athanaze then saw out South Africa’s best bowlers and was even on course for a century before top-edging an attempted sweep off Maharaj and falling for 92. His effort helped South Africa push past 200 and with light beginning to fade, Bavuma shook hands with Jason Holder – batting in the middle – for a draw.

South Africa came out with clear intent on the fifth morning: to get runs and get them quickly. Tony de Zorzi and Markram scored 48 in the first 10.2 overs and the 13 they took off Jayden Seales’ third over best illustrated their approach. De Zorzi appeared to defend the first ball but somehow timed it well enough to get through mid-off and almost to the boundary and the pair ran three. Then Markram smashed a short ball through midwicket and drove a full one over mid-on for two fours. Timing, power and finesse all went into their 78-run opening stand.

When Jomel Warrican was introduced in the 16th over, de Zorzi tried to be innovative and paddle him away fine but gloved a leg-stump delivery to Joshua Da Silva, ending his 60-ball stay. He fell five runs short of scoring successive half-centuries in this Test and has put a peg in the ground as an enterprising opening option.

Tristan Stubbs was in at No.3 and edged the fourth ball he faced past the only slip to frustrate Holder, but Stubbs calmed his nerves with a sweep off Warrican in the next over. The sweep shot was profitable for him and Warrican was a clear target. Markram hit Warrican for six over long-on once but when he tried it a second time, he did not get enough behind the shot and was caught on the boundary by Holder.

Temba Bavuma stayed in his No. 4 spot and provided a foil to Stubbs, who was given a license to thrill. He reverse swept and advanced on Warrican to hit him over the leg side and scored 36 runs off the 25 balls he faced from him. In the process, he reached his first Test fifty, off 42 balls – the second-fastest maiden half-century by a South African after Dudley Nourse’s 40-ball fifty on debut.

Stubbs also took on the senior seamer, Kemar Roach, and scored 13 runs off three balls from him before Roach took out his leg stump, and South Africa declared half an hour before lunch.

They gave their bowlers 20 minutes in the first session but only had 15 before the rain came down. Maharaj opened the bowling and, with his third ball, had the usually sedate Kraigg Braithwaite attempting a big shot from a full ball and caught at sweeper cover. Stubbs judged his run from the boundary well to hold on to the catch.

At the other end, Rabada tested Keacy Carty by beating his outside edge, almost having him played on, and thought he had him caught behind but didn’t. He then reviewed an lbw appeal that hit Carty’s front pad in line with off-stump. Ball-tracking showed it was clipping the top on umpire’s call and Carty survived but then rain arrived.

An hour was lost and when play resumed, Rabada returned with a plan. He set up Mikyle Louis with a series of full deliveries including a fabulous yorker that was well kept out and then bowled a short one. Louis got a top edge to midwicket where he found Stubbs, who held on to a second good catch.

With Carty and Athanaze at the crease, South Africa would have hoped to exploit their inexperience but the young pair survived and then thrived. Athanaze became comfortable sweeping and Carty took 12 runs off Ngidi’s second over. The third-wicket stand grew to 46 before Carty hit Maharaj towards cover where Mulder dived forward to take a low catch.

South Africa could not prize West Indies open in the second session and put down two chances. Hodge offered Markram a return catch when on 9 and survived again on the last ball before tea when, on 24, he gloved a Maharaj delivery in Bavuma’s direction at second slip. Bavuma went to his right but the ball evaded him. Hodge’s dance with danger ended in the first over after tea when Maharaj found turn and bounce and Hodge got the faintest of edges to Kyle Verreynne.

But Alick Athanaze was not easily moved and was excellent against the short ball. He scored quickly, reached 50 off 58 balls and took on South Africa’s main bowlers. He scored 18 runs off 19 balls he faced from Rabada and 47 off 62 from Maharaj and had three figures in his sights until he top-edged a sweep from Maharaj to Ryan Rickelton at deep-backward square leg. By then, West Indies were on safe ground and it was too late for South Africa to push for a result. The captains shook hands on a draw in fading light with 6.4 overs of play remaining.

Presentations and Road Ahead

Kraigg Braithwaite the West Indies skipper said :  Happy with the intent we had as a batting group. The guys were quite positive. We believed we could get the runs. We knew it wouldn’t be easy. We had a gameplan and fully backed it. Liked how Alick (Athanaze) went about it. Keacy as well, fully committed to his plans.

We were up for the challenge today. It’s a balance. Pitches are always different here, bit slower. There are times when you need to accelerate and times when you need to build a foundation. It’s all about belief and planning. It’s about believing in the plans.

Alick (Athanaze) showed us how to do it and Hodge did it in England. Must commend how he went about his planning and he stuck to it. (On workload management) We’ll assess some of the boys when we get to Guyana. We have a 15-man squad. We’ll assess how the bowlers are.

Temba Bavuma the South Africa skipper said : We tried our best from our side. Just wasn’t enough time in the end. Wicket didn’t break up as much as we expected as well. The elements got the better of a good competitive game of cricket. Went with an extra batter to cushion our inexperience. We’d like to be more ruthless as batters.

Guy like Stubbs will take a lot of confidence from a knock like that. Lot of positives. We lost time because of the weather. We’d have liked the wicket to deteriorate a bit more but it didn’t. We tried our best with the resources we had. Little bit more time and we could be saying something different. On that wicket, felt like Keshav and KG were best suited to get wickets. The rest of the bowlers did their jobs well. Two guys to attack and the rest to support.

Keshav Maharaj Player of the Match said : Pride myself in Test cricket. Always ready to bowl. Was happy and just soldiered through Try and read conditions and see how I can get the best assistance. Then I try and keep it simple with my lines and lengths. Full credit to Athanaze, I just stuck to my guns, varied the lengths a bit and got the result.

While there was a slim chance of a result today with South Africa pushing for a win, as it turns out, rain had done too much damage. The West Indies, after a little scare, manage to hold out. The day started with South Africa adding some quick runs before declaring. The West Indies lost a wicket in the few overs they had to bat before lunch and the second session was delayed by an hour due to rain. The second wicket came early in the second session but then the West Indies batters stepped up.

Athanaze batted really nicely at one end, showed intent right from the start and the others batted around him. Athanaze looked set for his maiden century before getting desperate and throwing it away late in the day. Even still, there was too much work for South Africa to do in too few overs so they decided to shake hands and call it a day.

Just one more session in this game and we could’ve had a result. Too much time was lost to rain in the end. As Bavuma mentioned, the surface was docile too. While it wasn’t great for strokeplay, it didn’t offer much for the bowlers either. So all in all, a pretty dull Test match. They’ll be hoping for better conditions in Guyana. All to play for, the winner of that game will also win the series.  This was the first drawn Test worldwide in 28 matches, since July last year.

Weather aside, questions will be asked of South Africa’s selection after they chose an extra batter at the expense of a fifth frontline-bowling option and were forced to rely heavily on two players. Keshav Maharaj bowled 66.2 overs and Kagiso Rabada 30 out of the 148.1 West Indies faced across both innings, while Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder contributed 30.5. In the absence of a second specialist spinner, Aiden Markram delivered 21 overs.

There may also be some scrutiny on the Queen’s Park Oval pitch. It lacked pace and bounce and did not facilitate a free-flow of runs, ostensibly because the square has already been used extensively for club cricket this season. Whatever the reason, it made for an attritional style of play, emphasized by the amount of time lost, and both teams did well to turn most of the final day into a cat-and-mouse battle with all four results possible.

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