Benn (4-59) continues to impress, but S/Africa still in front

Jun 28, 2010 Sports

By Sean Devers in Barbados

In association with Caribbean Airlines

Left-arm spinner Suleiman Benn continued his impressive work in this series to finish with 4-59 from 31 overs as South Africa ended the 2nd day of the 3rd and final Test against West Indies at the Kensington Oval yesterday with a lead of 54 and four wickets in hand.

Resuming on 42-2 replying to 231, South Africa recovered from 60-3 as AB deVilliers (73) and Ashwell Prince (55*) featured in a 132-run 6th wicket stand after Benn bowled Jacques Kallis (43) in the first over after lunch at 145-5.

Benn, aiming for his 3rd five wicket haul at this level and 2nd in this series, had earlier removed the dangerous Graeme Smith for 70 as West Indies struck twice in the opening session.

On a gloriously sunny morning, South Africa resumed on 46-2 and were never allowed to dominate on a good pitch with some life. Dwayne Bravo began with 4 maiden overs and Kemar Roach tested the overnight pair of Smith and night watchman Paul Harris with a series of short balls before 22-year-old Guyanese Brandon Bess captured his first Test scalp, 26 minutes into the day’s play.

Only aware that he was making his Test debut after taking breakfast at the High Performance Centre here on Saturday morning, Bess produced a beauty which bounced and left Harris (11) who edged it to slip at 60-3. Bess bowled with some pace but struggled with his control as Smith and Jacques Kallis repaired the damage with a 62-run partnership before Smith departed at 122-4.

The left-handed Smith, with 90 in Trinidad and 132 in St Kitts in the first two Tests, looked uncomfortable against Benn before he was removed by the Barbadian spinner just before lunch after hitting 9 fours in his 28th fifty at this level.

Kallis, with 110 in his last innings, was not out on 43 at lunch with his team on 145-4 and AB deVilliers on 6.

After the interval, Benn bowled Kallis before South Africa had added to their lunch time score when the right-hander played no shot to a ball which did not spin away from him as he might have anticipated.

Kallis and Prince took the score to 163 when a confident appeal for caught behind off Bess with deVilliers on 8 was turned down. The home team surprisingly opted not to refer the decision even as TV replays suggested the ball might have touched the bottom of the bat and Bess, again troubled by his no-ball problem, was denied a 2nd Test wicket.

Not since the 1960s has the West Indies based their attack on spin. At Kensington Oval, a ground associated with pace and fire and numerous West Indian wins, it was even a more unfamiliar sight to see spin spearhead the West Indies attack.

But yesterday, although Roach troubled the batsmen and Bess produced some pace if not control, during his 9 overs which cost 65 runs, it was Benn and Shillingford who toiled in tandem for most of the second session.

The spinners were steady without being destructive and the visitors had to work for their runs in sweltering heat. By tea they were 203-5 with deVilliers on 34 and Prince on 26.

After Tea deVilliers took two boundaries off Bess who conceded 14 runs off his first over on his return to the attack, to race to 46 as the partnership prospered.

deVilliers got to his 23rd Test fifty before Prince reached his 12th half-century and the partnership was extended to 134 before Benn had deVilliers caught behind just before the close to leave South Africa on 279-6.

Mark Boucher (4) and Prince (55*) saw the tourist to the close hoping to extend their lead today to something substantial enough to try and push for their 2nd consecutive win here following their victory by an innings in 2005.

With a draw good enough to give the visitors the series, the pressure will be on the West Indians to make further inroads into the batting this morning to keep their chances of leveling the series alive.

Yesterday’s crowd was the smallest ever for a Sunday here apart from when the Bajans boycotted the inaugural 1992 Test between these two sides due to the omission of pacer Anderson Cummings. The big interest in Barbados, even at the ground, is the Football World Cup which is being shown live on Television.

With their number one team (England) soundly beaten 4-1 yesterday, most Barbadians could be focused on watching their second favorite team (Brazil) face Chile from 14:30hrs in the Football World Cup today and another day of empty stands is anticipated here.