The West Indians began Friday’s fourth and final day at the Manguang Oval in Bloemfontein on 47-1 off 20 overs, needing a further 374 runs for victory with Kirk McKenzie (26) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (11) at the crease.
The pair started day four excellently, putting on a further 79 for the second wicket.
McKenzie was the aggressor throughout, riding his luck and producing some excellent shots on his way to a 94-ball 81 before he fell to Duanne Olivier in the 40th over. His knock consisted 13 fours and two sixes.
Just one over later, Chanderpaul fell for a toiling 31 off 128 balls including three fours.
18-year-old debutant Jordan Johnson was next to go for nine, bringing Da Silva to the wicket to join Kavem Hodge.
Hodge and Da Silva made things very nervous for the South Africans with an 84-run fifth wicket partnership before Hodge fell for a well-played 47 with the score on 233 in the 68th over.
Kevin Sinclair (23), Akeem Jordan (13) and Shamar Joseph (0) all fell in relatively quick succession to leave West Indies “A” on the brink of defeat, especially because they were batting with 10 due to an injury sustained by Jayden Seales.
Nevertheless, Da Silva continued on his merry way, bringing up a fourth first-class hundred off the fifth ball of the 90th over.
In the end, he was the last batsman dismissed for a top score of 110 from 138 balls including eight fours and two sixes.
Dane Paterson led the way with the ball for the South Africans once again with 4-66 from 20.1 overs while Ruan de Swardt took 2-45 from 15 overs.
Full Scores:
South Africa “A” 274 off 67.4 overs (Khaya Zondo 70, Neil Brand 62, Zubayr Hamza 30, Kevin Sinclair 5-44, Shamar Joseph 3-65, Shermon Lewis 2-68) & 272-5 dec. off 66 overs (Zubayr Hamza 110*, Ruan de Swardt 86, Khaya Zondo 31, Raynard Van Tonder 30, Shamar Joseph 5-76)
West Indies “A” 126 off 42.5 overs (Kevin Sinclair 50, Jordan Johnson 33, Dane Paterson 4-34, Hardus Viljoen 2-43) & 344-9 off 91.1 overs (Joshua Da Silva 110, Kirk McKenzie 81, Kavem Hodge 47, Dane Paterson 4-66, Ruan de Swardt 2-45)
The hosts began Thursday’s day three in Bloemfontein 104-3 with a commanding 252-run lead with Zubayr Hamza unbeaten on 33 and Khaya Zondo on 29.
While Zondo was dismissed quickly for 31, Hamza carried on to make a brilliant 110* off 152 balls including 12 fours and a six.
He shared in a crushing 159-run fifth wicket partnership with Ruan de Swardt who made a 126-ball 86 including nine fours and a six.
South Africa eventually declared at 272-5 off 66 overs, leaving the West Indies “A” needing a massive 421 for victory.
Shamar Joseph took all five wickets for the West Indians while conceding 76 runs in 18 overs.
Windies “A” ended the day 47-1 off 20 overs, with Zachary McCaskie being the batsman dismissed for eight.
Kirk McKenzie (26) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (11) are the batsmen at the crease.
Full Scores:
South Africa “A” 274 off 67.4 overs (Khaya Zondo 70, Neil Brand 62, Zubayr Hamza 30, Kevin Sinclair 5-44, Shamar Joseph 3-65, Shermon Lewis 2-68) & 272-5 dec. off 66 overs (Zubayr Hamza 110*, Ruan de Swardt 86, Khaya Zondo 31, Raynard Van Tonder 30, Shamar Joseph 5-76)
West Indies “A” 126 off 42.5 overs (Kevin Sinclair 50, Jordan Johnson 33, Dane Paterson 4-34, Hardus Viljoen 2-43) & 47-1 off 20 overs (Kirk McKenzie 26*, Tagenarine Chanderpaul 11*)
South Africa “A” were able to post 274 in 67.4 overs after winning the toss. Khaya Zondo led the way with a well-compiled 70 off 114 balls including seven fours and two sixes.
Captain Neil Brand also showed some good form with a 93-ball 62 while Zubayr Hamza made 30.
Sinclair was excellent with the ball, picking up 5-44 off 14.4 overs, already his fourth five-wicket haul of his 20-match first-class career.
Shamar Joseph and Shermon Lewis provided good support with 3-65 from 15 overs and 2-68 from 13 overs, respectively.
The West Indians ended the day 17-1 off eight overs, trailing by 257. Tagenarine Chanderpaul was the batsman dismissed for 3. Zachary McCaskie (12) and Kirk McKenzie (2) are the batsmen at the crease.
The teams are tied at 1-1 in the series. West Indies “A” won the first game by one wicket and South Africa “A” won the second by 232 runs.
Full Scores:
South Africa “A” 274 off 67.4 overs (Khaya Zondo 70, Neil Brand 62, Zubayr Hamza 30, Kevin Sinclair 5-44, Shamar Joseph 3-65, Shermon Lewis 2-68)
West Indies “A” 17-1 off 8 overs
Keegan Petersen (67) and Raynard Van Tonder (50) led the way for the South Africans after they were put in to bat by the West Indies “A.”
Tony De Zorzi (44) and Khaya Zondo (35) also batted well on Tuesday.
Shamar Joseph has, so far, taken 2-39 from his 17 overs while Kevin Sinclair and Jair McAllister also have two wickets, each.
The West Indies lead the series 1-0.
Full Scores:
South Africa “A” 266-6 from 85 overs (Keegan Petersen 67, Raynard Van Tonder 50, Tony De Zorzi 44, Khaya Zondo 35, Ruan De Swardt 25*, Shamar Joseph 2-39, Kevin Sinclair 2-53, Jair McCallister 2-64)
Friday saw the West Indians end day three 134-5 off 41 overs, needing a further 308 runs for victory on day four at Buffalo Park in East London.
Zachary McCaskie hit a 90-ball 50 to top score for the West Indies, so far.
Tevin Imlach (16) and Kevin Sinclair (15) are the batsmen at the crease.
Off-spinner Dane Piedt ended the day with 3-57 from 14 overs.
Earlier, South Africa began day three 65-1 with a lead of 209 runs and continued to drive the West Indies further back through some excellent batting.
Tony De Zorzi (34) and Raynard Van Tonder (20) were the batsmen at the crease at the start of the day.
De Zorzi fell pretty quickly for 37 and that wicket brought Keegan Petersen to the crease to join Van Tonder.
Van Tonder was able to score his second half-century of the game with a 74-ball 56 before he fell in the 39th over with South Africa “A” cruising at 139-3.
Petersen carried on, batting beautifully on his way to an unbeaten 112 off 134 balls, following up his 67 in the first innings.
Khaya Zondo (49) and Ruan De Swardt (29*) also provided excellent contributions as the hosts declared on 297-4 off 71.3 overs, setting the West Indies a target of 442 for victory.
Full Scores:
South Africa “A” 298 off 97.2 overs (Keegan Petersen 67, Raynard Van Tonder 50, Tony De Zorzi 44, Ruan De Swardt 42, Akeem Jordan 3-43, Shamar Joseph 3-57, Kevin Sinclair 2-53, Jair McAllister 2-64) & 297-4 dec. off 71.3 overs (Keegan Petersen 112*, Raynard Van Tonder 56, Khaya Zondo 49)
West Indies “A” 154 off 47.2 overs (Zachary McCaskie 62, Dane Piedt 5-28, Tshepo Moreki 3-66) & 134-5 off 41 overs (Zachary McCaskie 50, Dane Piedt 3-57)
The South Africans, who posted 274 runs on day one, bundled out West Indies A for another paltry 126 to take a 148-run first innings lead, which they added to, as they reached 104 for three in their second innings at the close of the second day on Wednesday.
Scores: South Africa A 274 & 104-3; West Indies A 126
Only Sinclair with his 68-ball 50, and Jamaican Jordan Johnson (33), offered little resistance to South Africa's bowling attack in West Indies A's dismal first innings, as they along with Zachary McCaskie (19), were the only batsmen to get into double figures. Dante Paterson led the onslaught with four wickets for 34 runs.
In their second turn at bat, South Africa lost captain Neil Brand (four) to Shamar Joseph, who made early inroads, as he also accounted for Raynard van Tonder (30) and David Bedingham (six), to give West Indies some semblance of hope of clawing their way back into the contest.
However, Zubayr Hamza, unbeaten on 33, and Khaya Zondo, unbeaten on 29, steadied things out with a 59-run fourth-wicket stand.
Josephs three for 26 so far, adds to his three for 65 in the first innings.
