West Indies Salvage Draw Against South Africa
West Indies managed to salvage a draw against South Africa in the opening test match at the Queen’s Park Oval. Alick Athanaze, the Dominican left-handed batsman, missed scoring his first test century as he hit 92 runs, helping the home team reach 201/5 on the last day of the rain-affected test match.
Athanaze faced 116 balls, hitting nine boundaries in his 218-minute stay at the crease. He helped the home team recover from a shaky start after they lost captain Kraigg Brathwaite for a duck in the first over and fellow opener Mikyle Louis for nine, with the score on 18.
Athanaze, playing in his eighth Test match, shared in half-century stands with fellow Dominican Kavem Hodge and allrounder Jason Holder. He had earlier added 46 for the third wicket with debutant Keacy Carty, who hit 31 with four boundaries, and 63 with fellow Dominican Hodge, whose score of 29 included four boundaries.
But as he entered the 90s, Athanaze was caught at backward square leg after Keshav Maharaj (4-88) shortened his length, inducing Athanaze into the sweep shot. He top-edged it to Ryan Rickelton, leaving the West Indies at 192/5.
Maharaj was later declared the Man of the Match, bagging 8-164 from his 66.2 overs. Former captain Jason Holder (31) and vice-captain Joshua Da Silva then batted out the remaining overs to ensure the game was drawn.
The captains shook hands on a draw in fading light with 6.4 overs of play remaining. A total of 142 overs were lost during the five days of the match.
Earlier, South Africa, with an innings lead of 124, declared their second innings on 173.3, with Tristan Stubbs hitting his first Test fifty, scoring a quick-fire 68 off 50 balls with six boundaries and two sixes before Kemar Roach bowled him. In contrast, opener Tony de Zorzi scored 45 off 60 deliveries with four boundaries, caught at the wicket by Da Silva of the left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican, whose two wickets cost 57 runs off nine overs.
Post-Match Quotes
West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite said, “The guys were quite positive. So proud of the batting unit. We believed we could get those runs. It wasn’t going to be easy. We need to keep going from strength to strength. The pitch is slower in the Caribbean.”
For me, it’s about adjusting when to go slow and when to accelerate. It’s all about belief and planning and bat as per the plan. Alick showed us that today. Hodge was good in England. Alick, he planned to sweep, and he stuck to it, even though he got out to a sweep,” Brathwaite added.
South African captain Temba Bavuma said, “We tried our best to get a result in our favor. But the wicket didn’t break up as much as we expected. In the end, it was a good, competitive game of cricket. We went in with an extra batter as a cushion. As batters, we want to be ruthless and convert those fifties into hundreds.
We lost time because of the weather. With our bowling resources, we tried our best—Keshav and KG, supported by others. A little bit more time and things could have been different,” he added.
Conclusion
The West Indies team managed to salvage a draw against South Africa in the opening test match, thanks to a resilient batting performance led by Alick Athanaze. Despite missing out on a century, Athanaze’s 92 runs helped the home team reach 201/5, ensuring a draw.
FAQs
* Who was the Man of the Match in the test match?
– Keshav Maharaj, who bagged 8-164 from his 66.2 overs.
* Who hit his first Test fifty for South Africa?
– Tristan Stubbs, who scored a quick-fire 68 off 50 balls.
* How many overs were lost during the five days of the match?
– A total of 142 overs were lost.