Having won the toss and elected to bat, the Prime Minister’s XI got a solid start as openers Matt Renshaw and Marcus Harris shared in an opening stand of 134 inside 42 overs.
Jayden Seales broke the partnership when he had Harris caught by Kyle Mayers for 73.
Renshaw made 81 for the Prime Minister’s XI, who also benefitted from 55 from the bat of Peter Handscomb as the home side looked set for a score above 400 at 250-4.
However, Roston Chase led the West Indies fightback when he dismissed Aaron Hardie for 23 and then removed Handscomb as the Prime Minister’s XI slipped to 253-6.
Alzarri Joseph then bowled Ashton Agar for 33, Michael Neser for 10 and Joel Paris for two with the last ball of the day to finish with figures of 3-52 from 17.3 overs.
Chase’s two wickets in 21 overs cost 72 runs while Kemar Roach, Mayers and Raymon Reifer had one wicket each.
De Zorzi, the Proteas’ opening batter, was dismissed for 78 before lunch, while Bavuma was dismissed late in the day for 80, allowing West Indies to gradually claw their way back into the contest. Wiaan Mulder, not out on 37, and Kagiso Rabada, on 12, will resume batting for South Africa on Friday’s third day.
Jomel Warrican has been the pick of the Caribbean bowlers so far, with Kemar Roach (2-53) and Jayden Seales (2-57) also picking up key wickets.
Scores: South Africa 342 for 8 (Bavuma 86, de Zorzi 78, Warrican 3-66) vs West Indies
Resuming at 45-1 on a slow pitch that requires patience instead of flair, South Africa were initially kept quiet by West Indies' senior seamers Kemar Roach and Jason Holder, who started on good lengths but were punished as soon as they strayed.
While de Zorzi, who resumed on 32, got to his 50 off 78 balls, Tristan Stubbs (20) didn’t have the same luck as he edged a delivery from Roach to Holder in the slip cordon, adding only 18 to his overnight score of two.
Bavuma, in his first Test innings since March 2023, and de Zorzi kept West Indies at bay with a 51-run third wicket stand, which was eventually broken when the latter gloved to Kavem Hodge off Warrican shortly before the lunch interval.
After the break, Bavuma again dropped anchor and allowed his partner, David Bedingham, to take the fight to West Indies in a partnership worth 50 runs. Bedingham (29) later holed out to debutant Keacy Carty off Seales.
Ryan Rickelton (19) came and went shortly after watching Bavuma raise his 21st Test fifty. However, the captain was later trapped in front, and as the day draws to a close, Warrican struck twice, removing Kyle Vereynne (39) and Keshav Maharaj (zero) to keep West Indies in contention.
West Indies fell predictably to Pakistan's spinners, as they collapsed for 137 in less than a session on day two of the opening Test at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Since 2019, and for the third consecutive season, 12 players have been drafted, retained or signed into the two mandatory Emerging Player positions in each of the six CPL franchises.
Each CPL franchise will have to field an Emerging Player a minimum of five times during the tournament, ensuring that these players get at least some competitive playing experience and the opportunity to train with some of the best players and coaches from across the Caribbean, and around the world.
The list of 12 retained and drafted players include recent West Indies Men’s Test and T20I debutants Joshua Da Silva and Kevin Sinclair who will feature for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Guyana Amazon Warriors respectively. At relatively young ages, these two players have notably risen through the CWI development ranks in the last 18 months since featuring for the victorious West Indies Emerging team in the 2019 CG Insurance Super50 Cup.
Four of the Emerging Players will be experiencing the CPL for the first time: Joshua James, Kirk McKenzie, Kadeem Alleyne and Leonardo Julien. McKenzie and James were members of the West Indies Under-19 side that featured in the last ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, held in South Africa in 2020, who now have a chance to develop their white ball skills with the Jamaica Tallawahs.
CWI’s Director of Cricket, Jimmy Adams congratulated the selected players saying: “CWI is extremely happy for the 12 Emerging Players who will participate in this year’s CPL tournament. The Emerging Player programme is now a focal point of our elite player pathway and the CPL plays a critical role in exposing these young players to elite players and high level competition. We have no doubt that the experience gained by these young players will be a significant factor in establishing the next generation of international players within this format of the game.”
Reflecting on the third year of the CWI and CPL collaboration, CWI’s High-Performance Manager Graeme West said: “The Emerging Player Programme underlines the growth and strength of the CWI and CPL partnership. In a year where running high-performance activities for our talented young players has been challenging, CPL will provide the 12 emerging players a great learning and development opportunity.”
He continued: “With seven players retained from the 2020 CPL, this draft represents a reward for the performances and potential that the franchises saw from the Emerging Players in Trinidad last year. I’m delighted that three players from last year’s West Indies Under-19 squad have been drafted for the first time with McKenzie, James and Julian joining team-mates Nedd, Young and Seales who will look to build on their performances in 2020. The drafting of Kadeem Alleyne is really significant as it demonstrates to all young cricketers in the Caribbean that outstanding performances in local tournaments can be recognized and rewarded.”
The full list of drafted, retained and signed Emerging Players for their respective CPL teams is as follows:
Joshua Bishop (Barbados) - Retained by Barbados Tridents
Nyeem Young (Barbados) - Retained by Barbados Tridents
Ashmead Nedd (Guyana) - Retained by Guyana Warriors
Kevin Sinclair (Guyana) - Retained by Guyana Warriors
Joshua James* (Trinidad & Tobago) - Drafted by Jamaica Tallawahs
Kirk McKenzie* (Jamaica) - Drafted by Jamaica Tallawahs
Dominic Drakes (Barbados) - Retained by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
Joshua Da Silva (Trinidad & Tobago) - Retained by St Kitts & Nevis Patriots
Kadeem Alleyne* (Barbados) - Drafted by St Lucia Zouks
Jeavor Royal (Jamaica) - Drafted by St Lucia Zouks
Leonardo Julien* (Trinidad & Tobago) - Signed by Trinbago Knight Riders
Jayden Seales (Trinidad & Tobago) - Retained by Trinbago Knight Riders
Seales, who took 13 wickets in the three-match Test series at an average of 27.23, spoke about the significance of his comeback. "I'm proud of being able to represent the West Indies again. Coming back and doing well for the team is rewarding. I'm just looking to improve going forward," he said.
Reflecting on his time with Sussex, Seales noted that it was instrumental in preparing him for the series against England. "Playing for Sussex was great. It allowed me to understand the conditions and how they can help me. The experience was invaluable," he added.
Seales joined Sussex in early April and impressed with his performance, taking 24 wickets in six matches, including two five-wicket hauls, at an average of 24.25. His stint in English county cricket undoubtedly played a role in his readiness for the West Indies tour of England.
"England's attacking approach was tough at times. They take opportunities to score if you give them a chance, so you have to be on it all the time," Seales remarked about the challenges he faced against England's aggressive batting lineup.
Despite the series loss, Seales remains optimistic about the future of the West Indies bowling attack. "I think once we grow and learn, we can be a force to be reckoned with," he said. "The body is not too bad, just trying to get some recovery in and looking forward to the series against South Africa at home."
Seales' journey back to the West Indies squad began after he was sidelined with a knee injury in December 2022. His impressive performance for Sussex earned him a recall, and during the series against England, he reached a personal milestone by picking up his 50th Test wicket.
While the series result was disappointing for the West Indies, Seales' performance provided a bright spot and a glimpse of the potential within the team. His contributions will be crucial as the West Indies prepare for their upcoming series against South Africa, where Seales hopes to continue his upward trajectory and help his team achieve success.
Captain Kraigg Brathwaite leads the charge on the batting ranking, as he moved up two slots to 40th position, following scores of 48 and 47 in the second Test, which West Indies lost by 241 runs. They lost the first Test by an innings and 114 runs and will try to avoid a whitewash in the final Test in Edgbaston starting on Friday.
Wicketkeeper/batsman Joshua de Silva was rewarded for his first innings score of 82 in that match, as he jumped seven places to 61st, while Jason Holder’s 27 and 37 saw him inched up two places to 70th. Kavem Hodge’s 120, which was his maiden Test century, pushed him into the top 80.
The Dominican batsman moved 21 places up to 75th, one spot behind Kyle Mayers, who, despite being out of action, remains in 74th. Alick Athanaze held firm in 77th, while discarded Jermaine Blackwood (50th), Tagenarine Chanderpaul (83rd), Roston Chase (86th), and Kirk McKenzie (100) are the other Caribbean batsmen in the top 100.
On the bowling chart, new-ball bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales made the only notable improvements to their rankings. Joseph moved up two places to 33rd after finishing with five wickets in the match, and Seales moved up 10 places from 44th to 34th with six wickets.
Meanwhile, England batter Harry Brook has achieved a career-best third position after notching a century in the second Test.
Brook, who scored 36 and 109 in Nottingham, advanced four places, while his teammates Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope have also made significant gains in the latest weekly update to the men’s rankings, which are carried out on Wednesdays across formats.
Left-handed opener Duckett has progressed six places to 16th position after notching scores of 71 and 76, while Player of the Match Pope has advanced from 29th to 21st with scores of 121 and 51.
Chris Woakes is back into the top 20 of the bowling rankings for the first time since September 2021, after he finished with four for 84 and two for 28 in the match, while spinner Shoaib Bashir has advanced 18 slots to 53rd position after he took his third five-wicket haul in just his fifth Test.
In the ICC World Test Championship standings, England are placed in sixth place, while West Indies are ninth, as per the percentage points that determine qualification.
Alick Athanaze was the only scorer of note with 33 as Anderson Phillip (4-32), Jayden Seales (3-31) did the damage for Trinidad and Tobago.
Phillip has so far taken 2-15 as the Windwards struggled once again in their second turn at bat.
Earlier, Trinidad and Tobago resumed at 217-5 with Joshua Da Silva on 51 and Terrence Hinds on five. The pair would eventually post 72 for the sixth wicket when Da Silva was dismissed for 73. Hinds would go on to make 57 as Trinidad were eventually dismissed for 326.
Sherman Lewis was the best of the Windwards bowlers with 5-43.
However, when they went to bat the Volcanoes imploded as other than Athanaze, Devon Smith (16) was the only other top-order batter in double figures. Among the lower order Ryan John (16), Larry Edward (13) and Kenneth Dember (10) were the only other batters in double figures.
Seales bowled three overs and took two wickets for 21 runs to help restrict the Tallawahs to 135-8.
More impressive for the 18-year-old, was the fact that he was entrusted with opening the bowling along with Ali Khan against a powerful Tallawahs top order.
“Today, opening the bowling was not on the cards but after we saw the first couple of balls swing I thought might as well go pace out and see what we get,” said Pollard in an interview with Ian Bishop after the game.
But according to Pollard, the young talent has to be protected and he won’t be putting him in that kind of pressure situation regularly.
“We want to try to protect him as much as possible. He is young so we try not to throw him into the fire. Give him easy roles,” said Pollard.
Despite the need to protect Seales, Pollard did point out that the pacer seems to handle pressure well.
Seales first wicket was that of another youngster in Nicholas Kirton, trapping the number three batsman leg before wicket with a beautiful curling delivery.
The pacer was also given the 16th over with opener Glenn Phillips (58) trying to push the pace of a flagging innings and had him caught, trying to lift a fullish delivery over backward-square-leg, only to be snapped up by Dwayne Bravo on the boundary.
“[…] in the heat of the moment we’ve had to throw him into the fire and the couple of times he has come on, he has shown that he has that mental capacity you know, to take that sort of pressure,” said Pollard.
But Seales night with the ball ended after his third over, even though he had been bowling well, Pollard again deciding to ease him into the thick of things.
“It is not one where we gonna consistently give him the bowling in those pressure situations. I could have easily brought him back in that last over as well but, again, you leave him with that confidence and that high,” he said.
The 21-year-old, who last played for the West Indies in July is expected to represent the English club for the first three months of the 2023 season, which is scheduled to get underway in April.
During the period the player will have the opportunity to take part in both the team’s Championship and T20 games. The young bowler, who became the youngest player to take five wickets for the West Indies in Tests, last year against Pakistan, was understandably excited for the opportunity.
“As a young fast bowler, I like to find myself facing as many different situations and challenges as possible,” Seales said.
“I can’t wait to test myself in England and hopefully contribute to a winning start for Sussex in both Championship and T20 cricket.”
