West Indies

On Monday, Cricket West Indies announced the naming of a 15-man squad, which as expected will be led by Windies Women captain Stephanie Taylor and feature several other experienced players.  Joining the likes of Taylor will be the experienced Deandra Dottin, Shemaine Campbell, and Anisa Mohammed who will be headed to her fourth World Cup.

The team, however, will also feature a host of younger players and two uncapped players Kaysia Schultz and Jannellia Glasgow in the reserves.  Walsh believes the team’s combination is suited to performing well in all areas.

“We were just trying to get the best combination we thought for the World Cup, so all the tours we had, the camps and thing.  All those things were taken into consideration in trying to get as balance an attack as we can in terms of batting, bowling, and fielding as well,” Walsh said.

“We wanted the complete package with regards to batting, bowling, and fielding. The 18 players that we have here is what we as the selectors thought was the best balanced 18, we could take. We have an adequate backup should there be any injuries.”

 After several months of negotiations, the teams are confirmed to play two Test matches and five Twenty20 Internationals.  The venue, which will be one country, due to existing coronavirus protocols, has not yet been announced.  Originally, it was believed the matches would be held in Trinidad and Tobago, but the country's fresh battle with a COVID-19 surge seems to have put that in doubt.

De Villiers, who played in the Caribbean with the Barbados Tridents in 2016, has not played for the South African team since a Test match against Australia in 2018.  The player has, however, given repeated displays of his jaw-dropping hitting ability for the India Premier League (IPL) franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

It was last month that South Africa coach Mark Boucher suggested the big hitter could return to the South Africa line-up for the T20 World Cup, scheduled for India from October to November.  It could still be moved due to issues caused by an outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic.

South Africa has not played in the West Indies since 2016.

The former England left-hander struck 137 not out on day four of the first Test at Queens Sports Club, where Zimbabwe declared on 379-9 and the Windies closed on 21-0 – leading by 89 runs.

Ballance made four hundreds for England in 23 matches in the longest format, the last of which came against West Indies in April 2015.

The 33-year-old signed a two-year contact with Zimbabwe Cricket last December, having been granted a release from his Yorkshire contract after a challenging period in which he endured struggles with his mental health.

Zimbabwe-born Ballance last year admitted to using racist and offensive language towards his Yorkshire team-mate Azeem Rafiq.

Rafiq said he had accepted an apology from Ballance, who was suspended for an indefinite period from England selection.

He played three white-ball matches for his country of birth last month and now has the highest score by a Zimbabwe Test debutant, beating the previous record of 121 set by Dave Houghton – the team's current coach.

Kepler Wessels is the only other player to have made hundreds for more than one country in the longest format, reaching three figures for South Africa and Australia.

Day four started with Zimbabwe 114-3 off 41.4 overs, trailing the Windies by 333 runs.

The Zimbabweans were in further trouble when half-centurion Innocent Kaia was struck plumb in front by Alzarri Joseph for 67.

Wicketkeeper Tafazdwa Tsiga then joined Balance at the crease, facing five balls and making only two before Joseph dismissed him in a similar fashion, leaving Zimbabwe 132-5 after 51 overs at that point.

Brad Evans then made his way to the middle and added a further 15 runs with Balance before he was caught behind off the bowling of Kemar Roach for seven.

The fall of that wicket was the start of somewhat of a revival for Zimbabwe as Wellington Masakadza then joined Balance at the crease.

The pair put on a partnership of 45 for the seventh wicket, more importantly, batting for 24 overs and four balls in the process.

This pair worked and frustrated the West Indian bowlers, something that the next pair capitalized on as Balance and Brandon Mavuta, who took his maiden five-wicket haul in Tests in the West Indies first innings, put on what may very well be a match-saving 135-run eighth-wicket partnership.

Mavuta, who had a previous highest Test score of six, made his maiden half-century off 107 balls before being bowled by Jason Holder for 56 off 132 balls just after the tea break.

Just before tea, Ballance brought up his maiden Test hundred for Zimbabwe, having previously making four for England, off 190 balls.

After Mavuta was dismissed, Ballance had partnerships of 14 with Victor Nyauchi, who made 13, and 38 with Richard Ngarava, who finished 19*, as the hosts declared on 379-9 off 125 overs, trailing the West Indies by 68 runs.

Ballance finished not out on 137 from 231 balls, hitting 12 fours and two sixes.

Alzarri Joseph led the way with the ball for the Windies with 3-75 off his 26 overs. Gudakesh Motie and Jason Holder also bagged two wickets each.

At stumps, the West Indies were 21-0 off 13 overs in their second innings with Kraigg Brathwaite on 11 and Tagenarine Chanderpaul on 10.  

Scores: West Indies 447-6 declared off 143 overs (Tagenarine Chanderpaul 207*, Kraigg Brathwaite 182, Brandon Mavuta 5-140) and 21-0 off 13 overs (Kraigg brathwaite 11*, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 10*)

Zimbabwe 379-9 off 125 overs (Gary Ballance 137*, Innocent Kaia 67, Brandon Mavuta 56, Alzarri Joseph 3-75, Jason Holder 2-55, Gudakesh Motie 2-110)

Asked to bat by the tourists, the West Indies struggled to find runs, scoring 27 in the first 10.3 overs when Kyle Mayers was bowled for 17 by Mossadek Hossian.

Nasum Ahmed bowled Shamarh Brooks for five and Captain Nicholas Pooran for a duck and also removed Shai Hope for 18 as the West Indies slumped further into the mire at 45-4.

Vice-Captain Rovman Powell and Brandon King briefly offered some respite with a fifth-wicket stand of 24 before Powell skied one from Shoriful Islam and was caught by Mahmudullah for 13.

King followed shortly thereafter dismissed for 11 by Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who also got the wickets of Romario Shepherd (4), Alzarri Joseph (0) and Gudakesh Motie (6) to finish with figures of 4-29 from eight overs.

Before he got out, Motie and Keemo Paul, who remained unbeaten on 25, carried the score past 100 before the former was dismissed as the West Indies were all out for 108 in just 35 overs.

Ahmed took 3-19 from his 10 overs.

Needing 109 for victory, Bangladesh lost Najmul Hossain Santo for 20 at 48. However, there were no further hiccups as Tamim Iqbal ended unbeaten on 50 and Litton Das 32 as Bangladesh achieved their target in just 20.4 overs.

The pair shared in an unbroken stand of 64 that took the tourists to 112-1 and o the series win.

Bangladesh won the first ODI played on July 10 by six wickets.

The teams meet again at the same venue on Saturday.

In the match reduced to 41 overs because of a wet outfield, Bangladesh won the toss and sent the West Indies in to bat. The home side was in early trouble losing Shai Hope first ball, bowled by an inswinger from Mustafizur Rahman for nought.

On a pitch of uneven bounce and taking spin, the West Indies struggled to rotate the strike. They lost Kyle Mayers for 10 in the 12^th over when the score was on 32. It would get a lot worse eight overs later when after limping to 55-2, they lost Brandon King and Shamarh Brooks off consecutive deliveries of the 21^st over bowled by Shoriful Islam for eight and 33, respectively.

The dismissals brought together Captain Nicholas Pooran (18) and Vice-Captain Rovman Powell (9), who together put on 20 for the fifth wicket. Mehidy Hasan Miraz removed both in quick succession to have the West Indies tottering on 91-6.

Shoriful picked up his third and fourth wickets with the dismissals of Romario Shepherd for 15 and Gudakesh Motie for 7, which along with the run out of Akeal Hosein for 3, saw the West Indies stumble to 110-9 in over 35.

Jayden Seales and Anderson Phillip, who were unbeaten on 16 and 21, respectively put on 39 for the last wicket to take the West Indies to 149-9.

Shoriful returned figures of 4-34 while Mehidy took 3-36.

Needing 150 for their first victory of the series, Bangladesh lost the wickets of Liton Das for 1 with the score at 9 and Tamim Iqbal for 33 when the score was 49 but still raced to 77-2 after 13 overs.

The tourists would lose the wickets of Najmul Hossain Shanto for 37 and Afif Hossain for nine as Bangladesh closed in on the victory but Mahmudullah 41 not out and Nurul Hasan (20) ensured that there would be no further jitters as they eased to 151-4 with 55 balls to spare.

Motie, who dismissed Shanto for the first wicket of his international career, bowled well for figures of 1-18 from nine overs while Pooran took 1-39 from seven. Akeal Hosein took 1-43.

Bangladesh took a 1-0 T20 International series lead over the West Indies after a seven-run win in the first game at Arnos Vale in St. Vincent & the Grenadines on Sunday.

Earlier on, the West Indies made a fight of it with half-centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Jermaine Blackwood and solid contributions from Kyle Mayers and Joshua da Silva. However, the good work was undone by a late order collapse in which the visitors lost five wickets for six runs on either side of the tea interval that put Bangladesh in a position of strength going into Saturday’s penultimate day.

Batting a second time, Bangladesh were 47 for 3 at the close.

Resuming from their overnight score of 75 for 2, the West Indies lost the wicket of Nkrumah Bonner first ball of the morning for his overnight score of 17.

The Jamaican stretched forward to defend a Taijul Islam delivery that spun enough to catch the outside edge and flew to the left of Najmul Hossain Shanto, who snatched it at first slip.

Bonner’s dismissal brought Mayers to the crease and together with Brathwaite, who was 49 overnight took the score to 130 when the West Indies captain was bowled leaving a Nayeem Hasan delivery that bounced and spun before clipping to top of off. He had made 78, his 20 Test half-century that came off 111 balls from which he struck 12 fours.

Blackwood and Mayers added 24 when the latter became the first of Mehidy Hasan Miraz’s four victims and played a large part in the batting collapse that was to come.

Meanwhile, Blackwood brought up his 14^th Test 50 in a stand of 99 with Da Silva that took the score to 253.

Da Silva, who had been looking more at ease as the tea interval approached, was caught behind for 42 off a Nayeem Hasan delivery that found a faint outside edge and triggered a collapse that saw the West Indies lose their remaining wickets in just 23 balls.

Blackwood failed to add to his pre-tea score of 68 when Miraz had him caught behind playing at a delivery that was spinning past the stumps. He had faced 146 balls and struck nine fours in his more than three-hour stay at the crease.

Miraz then bowled Cornwall for 2 and then had Kemar Roach hole out to deep mid-wicket without scoring to return figures of 4 for 58 from 26 overs.

Taijul Islam bowled Jomel Warrican for four for figures of 2 for 84, while there were also two wickets each for Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman.

With a lead of 171, Bangladesh lost two wickets in two balls to Cornwall and were in early trouble at 2 for 1. Shannon Gabriel then got Shadman Islam out for 5 as the West Indies mounted a fightback to have the home side 33 for 3.

However, Monimul Haque remained unbeaten on 31 and Musfiqur Rahim on 10 as Bangladesh reached 47 for 3 at stumps.

If he does, it will be the first time in almost a quarter-century that a Barbadian umpire will stand in a Test match.

The 51-year-old made his debut in the One-Day International format in the 2011-2013 International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cricket League Championship. He has since gone on to umpire in 44 ODIs and 28 Twenty20s.

A member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) International Panel of Umpires and Referees representing the West Indies, Brathwaite was, in January 2018, named as one of the 17 on-field umpires for the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup. In October that year, he was named as one of the 12 on-field umpires for the 2018 ICC Women's World Twenty20.

 In February 2020, the ICC named him as one of the umpires to officiate in matches during the 2020 ICC Women's T20 World Cup.

Barbados batted first and made 73-0 off 15 overs with solid knocks of 31 from Shem Sargeant and 29 from Kemar Dixon.

In reply, the Leewards ended on 57-8 with the top score of 22 from Tanez Francis, which came off 26 balls. Jakeem Pollard (2-7), RJai Gittens (2-9) and Akobi Crichlow-Byer (2-6) led the way with the ball for the Bajans.

Speaking after the match, Coach Rohan Nurse said he was pleased with the team-work which led to the side’s triumph.

“We are very happy with the way the team played throughout the entire tournament. Over the past two years we didn’t have any competitive cricket at this level, due to the pandemic. In that time, they (players) worked really hard to maintain their skills, and we had a very good build-up leading up to the tournament. It was the first time for all of them at the regional level, but they were able to adapt, and they did very well to come out and win. We are very proud.”

Coming into the final day’s play of their match against Windward Islands Volcanoes, the Bajans led the Leewards Islands Hurricanes on points.  Resuming the day on 109-1 the Pride batted out the final day without much event.  Barbados captain Kraigg Brathwaite scored 109 off 219 balls and ended the season as the leading runscorer in the tournament.  Brathwaite shared in a 95-run partnership with Roston Chase, who made 59 as the team ended on 285-6.

Elsewhere, Guyana Harpy Eagles opener Tevin Imlach put together a resolute half-century, in a predictable draw, as the heavily rain-affected West Indies Championship fixture against Trinidad and Tobago Red Force came to an end at Port of Spain.

Having lost the last two days due to the inclement weather, the Red Force resumed the day at 203 and only added another 10 before the last wicket pair were dismissed.

In their turn at the crease, the Harpy Eagles chased the score with conviction, and Imlach’s 76 from 172 formed the base of the innings.  The team, which ended with a score of 331 all out, also got valuable contributions from Kevin Sinclair, who had 58, and Veerasammy Permaul who scored 47.

For the Red Force, Bryan Charles and Terrance Hinds took three wickets each.  Batting again, Trinidad and Tobago were 25 for 1 at the close of play.  The day’s other match between the Leeward Island Hurricanes and Jamaica Scorpions was called off in the hour after the lunch break, because of persistent rainfall.

The England Men’s Series in the Caribbean forms a focal point for one of the West Indies Men’s busiest ever years of International Home Series cricket.

England will arrive in the Caribbean to play the first-ever five-match T20I Series between the two teams. All five matches in Barbados will be played across a nine-day period from January 22 to 30, 2022, including two consecutive weekends of back-to-back T20I cricket.

Following West Indies’ white-ball tour of India in February 2022, the West Indies will welcome England back to the Caribbean for a three-match Test Series to compete for the newly created Richards-Botham Trophy.  This new trophy honours two legends of cricket, Sir Vivian Richards and Lord Ian Botham, whose friendship and on-field heroics became synonymous with some of their respective teams greatest Test match moments.

The Test Series will start appropriately at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium (SVRS) in Antigua on March 8, 2022, before moving to the Kensington Oval in Barbados for the 2nd Test starting on March 16.

The third Test match will bowl off on March 24 on the “Spice Isle” of Grenada at the National Cricket Stadium. The Test Series is a key fixture in both teams’ International Cricket Council (ICC) World Test Championship schedule which will determine the best Test match cricket team in the world by 2023.

Initially, Official West Indies Tour Operator and Licensed Ticket Partner packages will go on sale, with details to come in the next seven days. Online ticket sales will commence in mid-November through CWI’s new ticket platform. Fans can sign up to receive the first news of tickets going sale at https://www.windiescricket.com/updates.

“We are delighted to be able to confirm the venues for this extended West Indies vs England T20I and Test Series. The history and rivalry between the two teams create great anticipation for fans here in the Caribbean and around the world. These fixtures are part of a bumper year of international home cricket running from January to August in the Caribbean,” said CWI CEO Johnny Grave.

“A West Indies vs England home Test Series is the biggest sporting and sports tourism event in the Caribbean. Dating back to 1930, when the first England team visited, these fixtures are steeped in history and a new chapter in this great rivalry will be written, this time with the prize of the new Richards Botham Trophy.

“Celebrating these two heroes of cricket and lifelong friends with the new trophy, staging world-class cricket and hosting thousands of England fans will be a welcome boost for cricket and for the whole region.  We are all really looking forward to welcoming fully vaccinated England fans who can not only enjoy some winter sun and Caribbean hospitality but also some world-class cricket with both these England Tours, as well as the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup that will also take place in the West Indies in January next year.”

 The West Indies vs England T20I and Test Series will be broadcast exclusively live on BT Sport in the UK, as well as with CWI’s exclusive broadcast partners in key territories around the world.

The tour schedule is below:

West Indies v England T20I Series, all played at the Kensington Oval, Barbados

Saturday, January 22 – 1st T20I West Indies v England

Sunday, January 23 – 2nd T20I West Indies v England

Wednesday, January 26 – 3rd T20I West Indies v England

Saturday, January 29 – 4th T20I West Indies v England

Sunday, January 30 – 5th T20I West Indies v England

West Indies v England Test Series

March 1-4 – Four-day warm-up match at Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua

March 8-12 – 1st Test Match West Indies v England at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, Antigua

March 16-20 – 2nd Test Match West Indies v England at Kensington Oval, Barbados

March 24-28 – 3rd Test Match West Indies v England at National Cricket Stadium, Grenada

Bashir recorded figures of 5-41 at Trent Bridge to become the first spinner since Muttiah Muralitharan in 2006 to take five wickets in a men's Test match. 

The 20-year-old also became England's youngest ever bowler to take five wickets in a home Test as the hosts confirmed the series win on Sunday.

Bashir replaced Somerset team-mate Leach for the home Test series against West Indies after impressing on England’s tour of India.

Prior to being picked for their 4-1 Test defeat to the Men in Blue, Bashir had played in six first-class matches and picked up two five-wicket hauls in three matches.

"We had a chat, and he was over the moon for me," Bashir told BBC Sport on his conversation with Leach after his performance at Trent Bridge. 

"Leachy understandably is getting in the Somerset team ahead of me. He's played a lot more cricket than me and he's a class spinner. I've learned a lot from him.

"A lot of things have happened over the last few years for myself personally, and I'm just grateful for everything."

Still behind Leach in the Somerset pecking order, Bashir went on loan to Worcestershire in order to remain in the County Championship.

Bashir did not feature in England's first Test meeting with the Windies, as they won by an innings and 114 runs in James Anderson's final match. 

At six feet and four inches, he is unusually tall for a spinner and his release point of 2.35 metres is the third-highest recorded for a slow bowler in Test cricket.

Nevertheless, England believe it will serve as a weapon on the hard, bouncy pitches ahead of the 2025-26 Ashes series in Australia.

"I'm grateful I'm a six foot four inch spinner because it's a nice attribute to have," Bashir said. "If you land the ball in the right areas, a few will bounce and a few will skid on, so the bounce does help.

"It's always a learning curve. I'm grateful for everything that's been given to me, and I've just got to keep working hard. I'm still learning, still developing."

The West Indies had a day to forget at the crease, failing to get to triple digits in an innings for just the 19^th time ever.  Jason Holder had the team’s high score with a mere 20 runs, with Brathwaite himself and opening partner Shai Hope adding the next best with 15 apiece.

The hosts were undone by the pace tandem of Lungi Ngidi, who claimed an impressive 5 for 19, and Anrich Nortje who took 4 for 35.  In response,  South Africa were 128 for 4 but Brathwaite was already thinking about the second innings.

“Obviously, South Africa bowled well and we didn’t bat well, so we have to make up for it in the second innings, it’s as simple as that,” Brathwaite said at the end of the day’s play.

“We played some loose shots, but it happens, everything won’t always be perfect as batsmen we played some balls we know we probably shouldn’t have played at, we should have left, but we know what we have to do in the second innings.”

The team’s batsmen faced plenty of criticism in a 2-1 loss to England, earlier this year, and a quick look at the recent batting statistics suggests they may well deserve it.  For the series, the team averaged close to 27.86 and it was one of the best batting performances in a series in recent years.

In fact, it is the fourth-best for the West Indies’ batsmen among all the series consisting of two or more matches since 2017.  Their highest batting average in a Test series consisting of at least two matches since 2017 is 34.66; which came in Zimbabwe in 2017.  Harper knows they will need to do much better to have a chance against the Blackcaps.

  “New Zealand are very competitive, in their own backyard especially.  They play very well as a team.  They plan well and they execute well. We have to be at the top of our game,” Harper told the Mason and Guest radio show.

“Again, a lot of questions will be asked of our batting and that’s the department that needs to step up for us in order for us to have a real chance of getting a positive result in the series,” he added.

The historic England tour ended on a bit of a sour note for the regional team, not only because of a 2-1 loss to the hosts but the manner of the defeat, which represented somewhat of a collapse by the Jason Holder-led unit. Things began brightly with the team putting in a strong all-around performance to secure a four-wicket win in the first Test.

“I’m looking for the team to build on its performance in England.  Winning away Test matches hasn’t been something we have done consistently.  We won one in England and we were positioned to really draw that series comfortably, if not win it, and I’m looking for us to build on that in New Zealand.”

In recent times, the West Indies have not had the best of fortune in New Zealand, where they have lost three of the last four T20 series, with one draw, while losing four of the last five-Test series again managing one draw.

The tourists ended Thursday 79-6 off 34.5 overs, needing a further 171 runs to force England to bat again.

Similar to the first innings, the West Indian top order failed to impress as Kraigg Brathwaite (4), Kirk McKenzie (0), Mikyle Louis (14) and Kavem Hodge (4) all fell within the first 20 overs of the innings with the West Indies teetering at just 37.

Alick Athanaze was next to go after battling hard for 22 to leave the West Indies 55-5 in the 29^th over before Jason Holder and Joshua Da Silva looked set to see out the English bowling for the rest of the day.

This proved not to be the case as Holder became Gus Atkinson’s ninth wicket of his magical debut in the day’s last over for 20 to leave the West Indies 79-6 off 34.5 overs at stumps.

Joshua Da Silva was 8* at the close of play.

James Anderson, Atkinson and skipper Ben Stokes have taken two wickets, each, so far.

Earlier, the hosts progressed to 371 all out off 90 overs after beginning day two 189-3.

Both overnight batsmen, Joe Root and Harry Brook, went on to bring up their fifties.

Root eventually fell for a 114-ball 68 including seven fours while Brook made an even 50 off 64 balls including five fours and a six.

The top scorer on the day, however, was debutant Jamie Smith who hit eight fours and two sixes on his way to a 119-ball 70.

On his return to the Test arena, Jayden Seales was the pick of the West Indian bowlers with 4-77 from 20 overs.

Gudakesh Motie and Jason Holder provided good support for Seales with 2-41 off 16 overs and 2-58 off 18 overs, respectively.

Full Scores:

West Indies 121 all out off 41.4 overs (Mikyle Louis 27, Gus Atkinson 7-45) & 79-6 off 34.5 overs (Alick Athanaze 22, James Anderson 2-11, Ben Stokes 2-25, Gus Atkinson 2-27)

England 371 all out off 90 overs(Zak Crawley 76, Jamie Smith 70, Joe Root 68, Ollie Pope 57, Harry Brook 50, Jayden Seales 4-77, Gudakesh Motie 2-41, Jason Holder 2-58)

Batting first, the Hurricanes seemed set for a below-par total after losing wickets at regular intervals at the top of the order.  The top three of Montcin Hodge, Kieron Powell, and Ross Powell were removed with just 65 runs on the board.  Devon Thomas was next to go just two overs later and was, like Powell before him, bowled by the excellent McSween.

Jahmar Hamilton paired with Terrance Ward to add a respectable 47 for the 6^th wicket but the partnership came to an end when Hamilton was caught, attempting to pull Kenneth Dember.  Rahkeem Cornwall managed to add just one run before becoming McSween’s 3^rd wicket and the writing seemed on the wall when the bowler returned to pick up the valued wicket of Ward a few overs later.

Archibald’s brutal 104 from just 97 deliveries, at the bottom of the order, however, changed the complexion of the innings entirely.  At the close of play, the batsman remained not-out at the crease and was partnered by Daniel Doram on 17 from 69 deliveries.

A match heavily impacted by rain concluded on Sunday, with South Africa declaring early on 173-5, but subsequently failing to bowl West Indies out in a little over two sessions.

The Windies reached 201-5 at stumps, chasing a target of 298, with Alick Athanaze (98) superbly marshalling the innings.

It left a Proteas bowling group that were already one player short - South Africa having gone with an extra batter for the first Test - frustrated.

"From our side, we tried our best to get a result in our favour," said Bavuma.

"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 would like to be a bit more ruthless and convert those fifties into hundreds.

"We lost time because of the weather. With the bowling resources we had, we tried our best.

"A little bit more time and things could have been different."

Keshav Maharaj took 4-88 for South Africa, with Kagiso Rabada (1-38) the only other Proteas bowler to do any damage to the Windies during their second innings.

"I pride myself on playing Test cricket," said Maharaj. "I always relish a chance to bowl and the conditions suited me.

"I tried to keep repeating the process and keep things simple."

Windies captain Kraigg Brathwaite, meanwhile, was delighted with the grit his team displayed with the bat.

"Happy with our batting group," he said.

"The guys were quite positive, so [I'm] 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 second and final Test starts on Thursday.

A strong opening session for the visitors provided hope with the deficit just 138 at lunch, with South Africa already four wickets down at the Wanderers.

However, captain Bavuma turned the tide with a valiant display with the bat to put his side in cruise control and finished the day unbeaten on 171.

Just four runs shy of 3,000 in his Test career, Bavuma could start day four with two landmarks if he adds another 29 on Saturday.

Kyle Mayers struck twice early as West Indies took momentum, with Kemar Roach then landing the big wicket of Aiden Markram (18) as he forced an edge to Joshua Da Silva.

Bavuma led South Africa's recovery, putting on 37 with Ryan Rickelton (10) for the fourth wicket, but Raymon Reifer removed Rickelton in the last over before lunch to end the session on a high.

The Proteas responded in the second session, despite losing Heinrich Klaasen for 14, with Bavuma and Wiaan Mulder (42) adding a partnership of 103.

Mulder eventually fell to Alzarri Joseph after pulling a short ball to Tagenarine Chanderpaul, before Simon Harmer (19) was trapped lbw by Jason Holder.

South Africa will resume on 287-7 on day four assuming they do not declare overnight, with Bavuma presumably eager to complete his first ever Test double century.

Unstoppable Bavuma

When the South Africa captain walked out to bat, his side were 8-2 and had already lost Markram, but Bavuma repaired the innings and established a commanding lead with his second Test ton.

His tally leaves him sat on 2,996 runs in his Test career, with a landmark on the cards if South Africa do not declare overnight.

Mayers' strong start

Dismissing Dean Elgar (5) and Tony de Zorzi (1) inside the opening eight overs, Mayers looked to have put West Indies on course to clawing their way back into the Test.

He only conceded 25 runs from his 13 overs, but the tourists had no answer to Bavuma's stunning display.

After a heavily interrupted first day that saw just 15 overs played, both sides took a slower approach at Queens Park Oval on Thursday.

De Zorzi, who started the day on 32, was up to 78 by lunch as the Proteas steadily added to their figures before he was dismissed by Jomel Warrican (3-66).

Tristan Stubbs (20) and Ryan Rickelton (19) were both left frustrated by Kemar Roach (2-53), though Bavuma managed to add some gloss, hitting 86 off 182 balls, including seven fours, before Jaylen Seales took him (2-57).

Despite a slow start, West Indies conceded only 20 runs in 12 overs against Kyle Verreynne and Wiaan Mulder before the former was taken by Jomel Warrican, who also got Keshav Maharaj for a duck.

South Africa managed to avoid a shaky end to the day, with Mulder's 37 not out helping them edge towards the 350 mark ahead of the third day.

Data Debrief: Proteas show patience

De Zorzi scored just his second half-century for Proteas, getting it against the same opponents as his first when he scored his career-best 85 at Centurion in January.

West Indies struggled with the ball for large parts, something they will want to improve on day three, though Roach's two wickets took him to 272 in Test cricket.