West Indies batsman Brenton Parchment takes evasive action against a bouncer on the second day of their final Test cricket match against South Africa at Kingsmead Stadium, Durban, South Africa, yesterday - APDURBAN, South Africa (CMC):
With their bowlers having endured yet another mauling on the second day of the third and final Test against South Africa yesterday, the West Indies batsmen now have the monumental challenge of earning their team a modicum of respectability with a sturdy rearguard effort.
Making the most of a docile pitch, predominantly indisciplined bowling and gloriously sunny weather, South Africa picked up from where they left off on the first afternoon in continuing to pummel the visitors until Graeme Smith felt he had enough and declared their first innings at 556 for four.
Trailing by a mammoth 417 runs, West Indies survived 11 overs to the close of play without any mishaps and resume on the third morning at 23 without loss, needing another 394 runs just to avoid an innings defeat.
Openers Brenton Parchment and Daren Ganga, as well as the rest of the batting to come, will need much more than just the resolute defiance the opening pair showed against the threat of Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, and Shaun Pollock on a golden evening.
They must also get runs on the scoreboard or face the inevitability of one of the worst defeats the West Indies would have ever suffered in Test history.
DISPIRITED TEAM
Jerome Taylor apart, none of the other bowlers managed to achieve any consistency of line and length to restrain the South Africans, as Ashwell Prince scored an undefeated 123 and Abraham de Villiers an unbeaten 103 made an increasingly tired and dispirited team look a beaten lot long before Smith called them in to end an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 182.
The captain himself had led the way on the first afternoon, and amid much overnight talk about going on to become South Africa's first triple century-maker in Tests, added only another 25 runs before falling to the excellent Taylor for 147, Denesh Ramdin continuing his impressive glovework so far on the tour in taking the catch diving to his left in front of first slip.
Smith's was the second wicket to fall with the score at 252, since in the previous over, Hashim Amla's dream of reaching a Test century on his home ground ended at 69 via a sharp catch by Dwayne Bravo at the unusual position of short, straight mid-off as the right-hander's attempted on-drive to Darren Sammy flew of the leading edge of his bat.
Despite that double-strike, the 199-run, second-wicket stand between Smith and Amla had taken its toll on the West Indies bowlers, and made it easier for the batsmen who followed to continue to dominate as a scoring rate in excess of 4.5 runs per over was maintained throughout the 120 overs of the innings.
Daren Powell, Fidel Edwards and Sammy all conceded over 100 runs, with Edwards feeling the worst of the assault as his 23 wicketless and wayward overs were plundered for 129 runs.
Coming to the crease with the luxury of such an impressive platform, Jacques Kallis and Prince piled on the agony in a 122-run fourth-wicket stand.
Kallis, who lifted his tally of Test runs against the West Indies to 2,000 when he got off the mark, seemed destined to complete the hundred that had eluded him so far in the series, when he slashed at a wide delivery from Marlon Samuels and Runako Morton's safe hands at slip claimed the catch to send the big right-hander marching back to the dressing room furious at his dismissal for 74.
Given the state of the match, Kallis, who was 26 runs away from becoming the first South African to score 30 Test centuries, now faces the prospect of going through the series without a hundred after compiling centuries in each of the four Tests of the corresponding series four years earlier.
WORLD AWAY
The bowlers' struggles seemed a world away from their excellent efforts during the shock victory in Port Elizabeth and the battling performance in Cape Town.
Yet it represented the 30th time in West Indies' Test cricket history that over 550 runs had been conceded in an innings, 15 of those occasions being experienced since the turn of the century.
For long-suffering West Indians and fans of Caribbean cricket worldwide, this deciding Test has been a rude awakening from the seemingly impossible dream of a Test series triumph in South Africa after the upset win two weeks ago.
On the evidence of their swift first innings demise and the reality that Shivnarine Chanderpaul will not be able to bat before seven in the order, as he remained off the field all day yesterday - suffering from the flu - only dreamers will be seriously contemplating an escape from this predicament without considerable assistance from the weather.
Parchment faces charge
West Indies opener Brenton Parchment has been charged under Level 2 of the International Cricket Council's Code of Conduct following an alleged incident that took place during the third Test between South Africa and West Indies at Kingsmead, Durban.
The charge was laid by the four on-duty umpires, on-field officials Simon Taufel and Aleem Dar, third umpire Brian Jerling and reserve umpire Zed Ndamane, after the close of play on day two of the match yesterday.
The umpires reported that in the eighth over of West Indies' second innings Parchment ran into opposition fast bowler Dale Steyn.
Under the terms of the Code of Conduct, a hearing must take place within 36 hours of the charge being lodged and match referee Roshan Mahanama has scheduled the hearing to take place after the close of play on day three. All interested parties have been informed.
The alleged offence falls under 2.4 of the ICC Code of Conduct which refers to 'inappropriate and deliberate physical contact between players in the course of play'.
If found guilty, Parachment could face a fine of the equivalent of between 50 per cent and full match fee and/or a one Test or two ODI ban.
WEST INDIES 1st Innings 139
SOUTH AFRICA 1st Innings (overnight 213 for one)
G. Smith c wkpr Ramdin b Taylor 147
H. Gibbs b Powell 27
H. Amla cBravo b Sammy 69
A. Prince not out 123AB de Villiers not out
103
Extras (b6, lb7)
13
TOTAL (4 wkts) 556
+M. Boucher, S. Pollock, A. Nel, D. Steyn, M. Ntini did not bat.
Fall of wickets: 1-53 (Gibbs), 2-252 (Amla), 3-252 (Smith), 4-374 (Kallis).
Bowling: Powell 26-1-128-1, Edwards 23-0-129-0, Taylor 25-3-92-1, Sammy 25-4-104-1, Samuels 21-0-90-1.
WEST INDIES 2nd Innings
D. Ganga not out
B. Parchment not out 17
TOTAL (without loss) 23
Bowling: Steyn 6-3-15-0, Ntini 4-2-5-0, Pollock 1-0-3-0.
Position: West Indies trail by 394 runs with all second innings wickets standing.
Umpires: S. Taufel, Aleem Dar, TV Replays: B. Jerling, Reserve: Z. Ndamane.
Match Referee: R. Mahanama.
