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 Tony de Zorzi‘s 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.
Fifties from Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi, along with useful contributions from Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder headlined the batting performance for South Africa as they ended Day 2 at 344 for 8.
The track had very little for the bowlers but West Indies hung in there to pick up four wickets in the final session, keeping the Test match in the balance. South Africa registered a highest partnership of 57, and none of their batters breached the three-figure mark which would have disappointed them. Jomel Warrican (3 for 66) was the star for West Indies with the ball.
Pitch and Toss
“If you’re a batsman, you want to get your pads on and get first use of this wicket. Bit of grass and there might be bit of bounce. They use the Duke’s ball so overhead conditions matter. It’s a little bit overcast” says Vernon Philander.
South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma won the toss and chose to bat. South Africa were offered an invaluable opportunity to get some vital training and a grip on conditions through the tour match that was scheduled – rarity these days. All of Markram, Bedingham, Bavuma, Rickelton and Verreynne struck fifties while Rabada, Maharaj, Piedt and Ngidi were amongst the wickets.
The West Indies too used the game to offer some game-time to the returning Kemar Roach and Keacy Carty who’s set to make his debut. Kirk McKenzie, after a string of failures in England and prior, has faced the axe and Carty is set to be the new no.3.
Day 1 : Rain allows only 15 overs on opening day
Trinidad’s temperamental weather claimed the bulk of the opening day between South Africa and West Indies where only 15 overs of play was possible. Play was called off five minutes into the scheduled tea time and will resume half an hour early on the second day after 75 overs were lost on the first.
With an extra batter in their XI, South Africa opted to bat first after winning the toss and hoped to bed in on a surface their captain Temba Bavuma said he “did not see a blade of grass on”. A bare, lifeless surface demanded good discipline from West Indies and the experienced Kemar Roach did not disappoint.
Given three slips and a gully, his first ball angled into Aiden Markram and beat him on the back foot, which was exactly where Roach wanted him. In Roach’s next over, Markram stayed back and tried to cover-punch but, with no bounce on offer, looked fortunate to get the ball over gully for South Africa’s first boundary. Roach continued to deliver a testing opening spell, after which he had figures of 5-3-6-0.
At the other end, Tony de Zorzi looked more comfortable playing the ball off the front foot against Jayden Seales and timed well enough down the ground to get a three. Seales’ pace was in the mid-130kph range and he offered little threat in the first three overs, which saw Kraigg Braithwaite turn to Gudakesh Motie in the eighth over.
And Tony de Zorzi could not have asked for anything better. His eyes lit up when Motie flighted his fourth ball, and he went down on one knee to swipe it over midwicket. He repeated the shot two balls later and Motie was only kept on for another over, and de Zorzi hit him for four in that one, before Braithwaite went to Jason Holder.
Now remember Markram had been camping back in the crease against Roach. That’s where he was for Holder’s first delivery, which seamed in through the bat-pad gap and took out off stump to dismiss him for 9. Markram’s last three first-innings scores in Test cricket have been in single figures, which could be something he will want to address as the season moves on.
His dismissal brought South Africa’s new No. 3 Tristan Stubbs to the middle. He was off the mark when he tucked Holder to square leg and faced four more balls before the rain began, at 11.10am local time. An early lunch was taken 40 minutes later as showers came and went intermittently.
Two hours later, images of covers decorated with puddles and ominously grey skies were beamed around the world but the clean-up began. A 2pm inspection could not take place as the rain returned just as the umpires were about to begin their rounds and 45 minutes later the day was deemed unsalvageable.
The outcome will be particularly disappointing for South Africa, who have not played Test cricket with a first-choice side since January, and have a lean red-ball schedule. After this Test, they have only seven matches left in this World Test Championship cycle and all their series in the 2023-2025 period have been limited to two Tests.
Day 2 : Warrican’s late strikes keep WI in contest after fifties from Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi
South Africa continued to be positive as they had been on Day 1. Stubbs took advantage of Kemar Roach’s overpitched deliveries, with two boundaries back past the bowler. This prompted a change in bowling from Roach to Jayden Seales, who got the ball to beat Stubbs on a few occasions. Tony De Zorzi brought up his fifty nudging the ball to the legside. Stubbs then departed as he nicked one to first slip.
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.