BENONI, South Africa, CMC:ONCE PROUD standards of West Indies cricket continued to be lowered on the second day of the four-day tour match against Easterns yesterday, with the hosts capitalising on a listless bowling and fielding display to pull within 21 runs of the visitors' first innings total of 334.
The West Indies enter the third day today on 27 without loss, a lead of 48, with Chris Gayle on 20 and Daren Ganga on seven.
All-rounder Albie Morkel smashed a career-best 132 only his second first-class century - adding 144 for the ninth wicket with younger brother, Monde, who marked his debut with an unbeaten 44, as South Africa's defending first-class champions rallied from 169 for eight in mid-afternoon to 313 all out an hour before the close of play.
While credit must be given to the brothers for their determination and fighting spirit, their task was made immeasurably easier by a side that lacked purpose.
Ravi Rampaul, the only member of the touring party not to feature in the Test series so far, pressed his claims for inclusion in this week's finale at Centurion with figures of four for 63 from 20 overs.
It was the 19-year-old Trinidadian who eventually broke the resistance of the Morkel brothers, having Albie caught behind after almost four hours at the crease in which he crashed 18 fours and two sixes.
Seven of those boundaries came in two overs off Adam Sanford, who seemed to be such an admirer of the stocky left-hander's cross-batted shots that he consistently presented him with opportunities to practice the pull and cut against the second new ball.
Ramnaresh Sarwan was incapable of maintaining any level of cricketing discipline among his players as wayward bowling, untidy fielding and the inevitable dropped catches blotted their performance.
The acting captain himself missed one of the chances offered just before Vasbert Drakes wrapped up the innings, but in keeping with the lackadaisical mood of the Caribbean side, the error provoked only a broad grin from the culprit and general mirth from his equally laidback teammates.
Coach Gus Logie, who spent much of the day on the field substituting for a succession of players who took turns heading to the dressing room, did not need to be at such close quarters to appreciate the degree of lethargy among nominally young men.
Yet it all seemed to be going according to plan in the morning when Rampaul struck three key blows and Corey Collymore claimed his first wicket of the match in reducing Easterns to 81 for six.
Zander de Bruyn gloved a lifter down the legside to the wicketkeeper, skipper and former Test batsman Daryll Cullinan mistimed an attempted pull and offered a head-high caught-and-bowled chance, and Pierre de Bruyn fell first ball, edging to Shivnarine Chanderpaul at first slip.
Collymore ended the tenure of Andrew Seymore when the opener hung his bat outside the off-stump and gave a simple catch to wicketkeeper Carlton Baugh.
It was then that the resistance started with Geoffrey Toyana, a talented black left-hander, benefiting from a dropped chance by Gayle at slip off Dave Mohammed in adding 56 runs with the elder Morkel.
Toyana eventually fell for 22 when he sliced a drive off the left-arm spinner to Ridley Jacobs at backward point, but Easterns' other debutant, Sean O'Connor, was actually the senior contributor in a 32-run, seventh-wicket stand with Morkel, also reaching 22 before Sarwan brought himself on and lured O'Connor into the drive with Chanderpaul taking the catch at second slip.
With only two wickets left and the follow-on still 16 runs away at that stage, it should have been almost a formality for any Test-standard bowling attack to give their captain the option of deciding whether or not to put the opposition in again.
But even taking into consideration the sparing use of Drakes - who did not bowl until the advent of the second new ball - the long list of injuries and the benign nature of the pitch, this was the standard normally associated with a friendly club side coming to the end of a long season, not an international squad preparing for a Test match.
West Indies first innings 334
Easterns first innings
(Resumed at 30-2)
A. Seymore c Baugh b Collymore 34
Z. de Bruyn c Baugh b Rampaul 18
D. Cullinan c&b Rampaul 10
P. de Bruyn c Chanderpaul b Rampaul 0
G. Toyana c Jacobs b Mohammed 22
A. Morkel c Baugh b Rampaul 132
S. O'Connor c Chanderpaul b Sarwan 22
M. Morkel not out 44
J. Malao lbw Drakes 2
Extras (b9, lb8, w2, nb3) 22
TOTAL (all out) 313
Fall: 1-9, 2-15, 3-59, 4-69, 5-69, 6-81, 7-137, 8-169, 9-310.
Bowling: Sanford 20-4-78-2 (w1); Rampaul 20-3-63-4 (nb2, w1); Collymore 11-2-36-1; Mohammed 21-4-74-1; Gayle 6-3-10-0; Sarwan 3-1-3-1; Chanderpaul 1-0-2-0; Ganga 4-0-19-0; Drakes 2.4-0-11-1 (nb1).
West Indies second innings
C. Gayle not out 20
D. Ganga not out 7
TOTAL (without loss) 27
Bowling: A. Morkel 6-1-20-0; Z. de Bruyn 3-0-5-0; Malao 3-2-2-0.
