Mulder and Burger Dominate as 17 Wickets Fall on Day 1 in Guyana
Wiaan Mulder of South Africa outperformed Shamar Joseph with a career-best 4 for 18, overshadowing the latter’s remarkable five-wicket effort in his home debut.
A thrilling series decider was poised for the first day of the second Test between South Africa and the West Indies at Providence Stadium in Guyana, where a flurry of action witnessed the fall of 17 wickets.
Key Performances
West Indies 97 for 7 (Holder 33*, Mulder 4-18, Burger 2-32) trail South Africa 160 (Piedt 38*, Bedingham 28, Joseph 5-33, Seales 3-45) by 63 runs.
On his international debut in Guyana, Shamar Joseph had the perfect comeback, going five for eighteen, but on a hot Providence Stadium pitch, Wiaan Mulder’s career-best four for eighteen all but stole the show. Despite the short sample size of only three matches, 17 wickets fell in total, the most on a Test cricket day at this venue. The decisivor of the series moved quickly because of the swing through the air, seam movement, and good carry.
In Guyana, under clear blue skies, the action happened at breakneck speed, in sharp contrast to the tardiness of Trinidad, which was also characterized by intermittent downpours. It was a day for the bowlers, especially the fast bowlers, who bowled 68 of 82.2 overs and claimed 15 wickets, despite the desire of both captains to bat first.
The visitors had the advantage thanks to a 10th-wicket record partnership of 63 between Dane Piedt and Nandre Burger for South Africa against the West Indies. Only one hitter, Jason Holder, scored more than 30 in the top six of either side.
Aiden Markram, who had earlier opened the scoring with a cover drive from Holder, felt movement through the air and off the seam when he edged the next ball past third slip. On the opposite side, Tony de Zorzi, a left-hander, was bowled in the fourth over as Jayden Seales kept bringing the ball back into his bat. De Zorzi left a considerable bat-pad gap.
When Joseph entered the game in the eighth over, he got off to a risky start. After he received a noticeable inswing, he misjudged the length and forced Markram to leave the ball, which caused him to topple the off stump. It was the first wicket that Joseph had on his home field. A somewhat shorter delivery hit the South African skipper low in front of the stumps, trapping him in the crease and dismissing him for a second ball duck two balls later. On 20 for 3, South Africa participated in the first drink break.
Tristan Stubbs found it much more difficult to get off the mark than David Bedingham, who struck the first boundary off Joseph when he sliced him behind point for four. It took him 19 balls to get his first run. By then, he had edged Seales at second slip, barely short of Holder, after surviving an LBW protest off Joseph that was ruled high. Stubbs kept the slips in play and the West Indies in the chase as his innings developed. Furthermore, he wasn’t the only one who offered the West Indies a peek of the lower class.
When Bedingham hit Jomel Warrican over mid-on on 11, he raised the possibility of danger. Three field players converged on the opportunity, but none of them made it. In the subsequent over, Holder pulled Stubbs, who was now 26 years old, forward and edged to Warrican at slip, but he collapsed while attempting to hang on.
Holder’s frustration over the lost chance did not last long. Ten minutes before the lunch break, Stubbs reached for an outswinger in his next over, only to be superbly taken by a leaping Kavem Hodge at third slip. At the half, South Africa was 64 for 4.
After the interval, Joseph thought he had Bedingham out after hitting a ball that jagged in and beat the inside edge on his second over. Replays revealed that Kraig Braithwaite was not out on the umpire’s ruling, notwithstanding his review. Joseph ensured there was no question four balls later when Bedingham drove at a full ball and got caught behind.
With Wiaan Mulder compelled to play and find his outside edge thanks to a peach from Seales, West Indies broke the last recognized pair in the following over. After Kyle Verreyne edged Sealed to gully, he could have been out off the next ball, but he was dropped. After Joseph bowled Keshav Maharaj after he was outpaced by two balls, Seales cleaned up Rabada, and after Verreynne played off Joseph, the West Indies had many reasons to celebrate.
After a tough tour of England, Joseph achieved his first Test five-for at home. He celebrated by blowing kisses to the mostly empty stands. At 97 for 9, South Africa was in danger of being bowled out, matching their lowest-ever score of 116 against the West Indies.
Piedt, though, had other plans. With a four-wicket cover drive, he took South Africa to over 100, and West Indies tactically withdrew. Gudakesh Motie was brought in; he dropped it short, and Piedt grabbed him for four before hitting him through the covers for four more and down the ground for six.
West Indies, frustrated, reviewed two chances off Piedt in Holder’s subsequent over: one was an off stump impact on an LBW appeal that was deemed to be a leg clipping on the umpire’s call. The fact that Joseph departed the field with cramps and that Tevin Imlach received the gloves from wicketkeeper Joshua da Silva due to a finger injury didn’t help either. With fewer staff members, the hosts appeared fatigued.
While the second session went on longer than expected with West Indies chasing the last wicket, Piedt and Burger helped South Africa surpass 141, their lowest Test score in the West Indies. Burger was ruled out leg before wicket (17 minutes after the planned tea break) after he failed to catch a length ball from Motie, giving the top spinner of the West Indies his first wicket of the series.
Encouraged by the extra runs, South Africa went into the game intent on taking wickets and thought they had one off the third delivery. When Bavuma reviewed, he saw that the ball had missed the stumps after Rabada had beaten Braithwaite’s inside-edge and hit him above the knee roll.
However, the protracted wait for a breakthrough was short lived. In his third Test match, left-armer Burger first provided Mikyle Louis with a sequence of away swingers before hitting one on a good length to beat the outside edge and dismiss the West Indian opener.
After Keacy Carty showed a preference for the outswing and hit three fours off Burger’s next two overs, Mulder, the third seamer, was brought on early. Mulder, who isn’t usually seen of as an out-and-out striker bowler, made a strong argument for reconsideration when his second delivery got through Braithwaite’s bat-pad gap and removed the West Indian captain.
In the next over, Mulder turned impressive into brilliant as he dismissed Alick Athanaze with a stunning one-handed grab to the right off his own bowling and then used swing to lure Hodge into a drive that was caught at third slip.
Burger was sent back in at Rabada’s end because South Africa’s XI only had three seamers. Burger struggled to get his line correct as he directed the ball down leg. Carty blasted the next ball straight to Keshav Maharaj at a shortish midwicket after Bavuma had tucked in a leg slip, leaving the West Indies 47 for 5.
When Holder was declared leg before wicket off Mulder in the subsequent over, things could have gone much worse. However, the review was successful because ball tracking indicated that a leg was missing.
Nevertheless, Mulder scored his fourth when Da Silva beat him to the second slip. With three fours in four balls and a 41-run stand with Motie, Holder took the battle to South Africa and had a chance to finish the day on a high note. On the day when Motie failed to sweep and was declared leg before wicket, Maharaj had the last say, leaving the West Indies down by 63 runs with just three first innings wickets remaining. There will be more drama on day two.
