Jason Holder's defiant 81 not out helped West Indies recover from an early collapse against South Africa, but the tourists still trail by 73 after day two of the second Test.
The former captain arrived at the crease with his side at 116-6, after a Proteas attack led by Gerald Coetzee had torn through their top order at Wanderers Stadium.
With a diligently impressive performance however, the former number one all-rounder in the world dug his side out of dire straits for a final total of 251 all out in Johannesburg.
His efforts will have spared the blushes of Kraigg Brathwaite's men, though Temba Bavuma's side will still feel they have the advantage heading into the rest of the week.
West Indies had made the best possible start to the first session, dismissing South Africa for a final total of 320 after taking their remaining three wickets for the loss of just nine runs.
Any hope of mounting a steadfast pursuit though appeared to crumble quickly though, with the loss of openers Kraigg Brathwaite (17) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (1) inside the first dozen overs.
Coetzee, who finished with figures of 3-41, subsequently removed Reifer and Blackwood in quick succession, reducing the visitors to 51-4.
Roston Chase (28) and Kyle Mayers (29) mustered a half-century partnership before they too were dismissed, leaving West Indies over 200 behind with just four wickets in hand.
South Africa likely had high hopes of finishing off the tail with little further effort, but they did not count on the stubborn resistance offered by Holder, who guided their fightback on the front foot.
A 58-run stand for the 10th wicket saw him drag West Indies within three figures of the Proteas, before Gudakesh Motie was caught off Simon Harmer for 17 to curtail their resistance.
Dean Elgar (3 not out) and Aiden Markram (1 not out) added four without loss for the hosts in the final three overs of the day, but at stumps, they could yet come to rue their inability to maintain their cushion.
Holder sets number eight record
Arriving as the late-breaking cavalry for his team, not only did the 31-year-old put his side firmly back in contention but he entered the history books too.
His score of 81 is the best by a batter at number eight in a Test at Wanderers Stadium, exceeding the 78 set by Mark Boucher for South Africa against Pakistan in 1998.
Coetzee justifies inclusion
Having only made his Test bow in the pair's first game last month, it was a less-than-auspicious debut for the 22-year-old, with three wickets across both innings.
Here, he matched that figure in less overs, though his ultimate average was hurt by West Indies' late resistance.
Messi scores 800th career goal – Opta numbers behind the GOAT's latest landmark
Another week, another landmark for Lionel Messi as the Argentina superstar scored his 800th career goal in Thursday's friendly against Panama.
It's been an almighty journey for the all-time great, who has basically won everything on offer and claimed a record haul of seven Ballons d'Or along the way.
The player regarded by many as the greatest ever, Messi reached his latest milestone with a picture-perfect free kick in the 89th minute against Panama, curling one into the top corner after crashing two prior free kicks into the crossbar.
Although Messi hits new landmarks so frequently, at the age of 35 he is approaching a point where such achievements will become a little rarer.
With that in mind, it's worth celebrating Messi and his feats while we still can – therefore, Stats Perform has delved into the Opta data behind his latest accomplishment.
On the receiving end
It's nearly 18 years since Messi's first goal in professional football. Then a floppy-haired 17-year-old, he latched on to a Ronaldinho pass before lifting a clever lob over Albacete goalkeeper Raul Valbuena on May 1, 2005.
That goal has since become famous given its significance in marking the arrival of Messi – it also left a mark on the career of Valbuena.
"The press calls me every time he's broken a record or achieved something important, especially press from Catalonia," he told Marca nine years later. "To me, it's a funny anecdote in my career as a goalkeeper."
Well, it's all right for some. Many goalkeepers have had to contend with Messi smashing past them a few more times than Valbuena's single concession.
In total, 232 goalkeepers had let in a goal against Messi before Thursday. No one conceded more than Diego Alves, however, with the Brazilian beaten 21 times. Iker Casillas is a close second (19).
Returning the favour
Of course, over his career Messi has also become synonymous with creativity, routinely setting up goals for his team-mates.
But, given how many he's scored, he's also had to benefit from plenty of service from his colleagues as well – when he's not doing it all himself.
There are several players with whom he's struck up particularly effective on-pitch relationships.
For years, his combination with Dani Alves was unrivalled, the Brazilian setting up 42 of Messi's goals, but then along came Luis Suarez.
Suarez, Messi and Neymar were a revered and feared front three, their understanding on the pitch so deadly. The Uruguayan ended up assisting 47 goals for Messi across their six years together, with no one else teeing him up more often.
Messi also has his favourite clubs to score against. Impressively, Real Madrid (26) are right up there – but there are four teams he has punished more.
Athletic Bilbao (29), Valencia (31) and Atletico Madrid (32) all struggled against him, but if there has been one team who have resembled lambs to the slaughter when facing Messi, it's Sevilla (38).
Heights few have reached
The world of football numbers can be a little muddy. What constitutes an official goal? What's an official competition?
As such, there has been lots of confusion regarding the 'official' goals hauls of players down the years – we're looking at you, Pele and Romario.
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) considers Cristiano Ronaldo to be the world record holder, stating in December 2021 that the Portugal forward was the first player to reach 800 official career goals.
This makes Messi the second to reach that figure, with Opta corroborating his career record. There remains a possibility he will eventually reach 1,000. No one is expecting him to get there soon, though.
After all, as good as he remains, achievements like scoring 91 times in a calendar year – as he managed in 2012 – appear to be beyond him these days.
That was his best ever year, which – perhaps unsurprisingly – coincided with his most prolific season (2011-12), when he scored 82 goals.
Still, the 35 goals he plundered in 2022 wasn't a bad return, especially given that haul included seven en route to World Cup success with Argentina.
Still to come?
There aren't many records at Barcelona that don't already belong to Messi. Top scorer? Done. Most appearances? Completed it. The most-photographed person at Camp Nou? Probably.
It seems unlikely Messi will be around at PSG long enough to have the same kind of impact there, but he certainly still has career targets in sight.
There's the aforementioned 1,000 goals landmark, though before then he will have his eyes on more international achievements.
Messi's free kick to seal Thursday's 2-0 win left him just one from reaching 100 with Argentina, and after that he'll perhaps have designs on usurping both Ali Daei (109) and Ronaldo (120), the two highest-scoring players in men's international football.
Similarly, with Ronaldo now out of the way in Saudi Arabia, Messi could also take his record for the most Champions League goals (140) – Messi is on 129.
But regardless of what else he does or doesn't go on to achieve, Thursday's milestone is just another reminder of how fortunate we've been to witness Messi's truly remarkable career.
Messi scores 800th career goal on Argentina's return to action
Lionel Messi reached the latest major milestone of his storied career on Thursday as he moved on to 800 goals with a stunning free kick for to seal Argentina's 2-0 friendly win against Panama on Thursday.
The reigning World Cup champions returned to Buenos Aires where they received a thunderous reception from their loyal supporters, but they would have to wait until the final moments for their favourite son to get on the scoresheet.
Messi had hit the crossbar with a free kick in the first half, and after a second free kick was saved by inspired Panama goalkeeper Jose Guerra, he struck the woodwork again with a third free kick, although this one led to the opening goal as Thiago Almada tapped in the rebound.
But his fourth free kick finally curled under the bar and into the top-right corner, sending the stadium into raptures.
Of course, it was not so long ago that Messi hit another goals landmark.
His tap-in from Kylian Mbappe's inch-perfect cross against Marseille on February 26 was the 700th club goal of Messi's career – the strike against Panama was only his second for club or country since then.
Messi's stunner at El Monumental on Thursday was his 99th on the international stage.
Only his old nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo (120) and Iran legend Ali Daei (109) have scored more goals in international men's football than Messi, who looks set to continue playing for Argentina for a little while yet.
As such, his 100th goal for the Albiceleste is seemingly just around the corner.
But much like with that international milestone, Messi is not the first player to reach 800 across a full career.
Data can get a little murkier when you go deep into the past, with historical inconsistencies making it a little tricky to classify "official goals" or "official competitions".
The likes of Brazilian greats Romario and Pele are among a group of players deemed by some to have scored over 1,000 goals over their careers, but many of those were netted in friendlies or "unofficial" games.
The International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) considered Cristiano Ronaldo to be the first player to ever reach 800 official goals in December 2021.
With that in mind, Thursday's goal makes Messi the second to reach the landmark, and he is still going strong.
He has scored 18 for the season (all competitions) with PSG, though he also netted seven in as many games at Qatar 2022 as Argentina won the World Cup.
Of course, the vast majority of his 800 goals have been scored in the colours of Barcelona.
During 17 years with Barca's first team, Messi scored 672 times. That is 440 more than any other player in the club's history, while he also holds their record for most appearances (778).
And with his future at PSG in doubt, he could yet extend those records at Camp Nou.
Ronaldo's commitment and experience crucial for Portugal's new cycle – Martinez
Roberto Martinez believes Cristiano Ronaldo's experience and commitment is crucial to Portugal's new cycle.
Ronaldo became the most-capped men's player of all time when he took to the field in Lisbon on Thursday for his 197th Portugal appearance.
The 38-year-old marked the occasion with two goals, scoring from the penalty spot before lashing in a free-kick to complete a 4-0 rout over Liechtenstein in Euro 2024 qualifying Group J.
Joao Cancelo put Portugal ahead early on and Bernardo Silva netted shortly after half-time, with Martinez's tenure getting off to the simplest of starts.
Ronaldo was dropped to the bench by previous coach Fernando Santos for Portugal's World Cup knock-out games, but Martinez wanted to get the five-time Ballon d'Or winner into his starting XI.
"It's a new cycle," Martinez told Portuguese media outlets.
"It's important for a player to show commitment and [to know] that we can use his experience, and Cristiano shows that."
Posting on social media, Ronaldo expressed his pride at sending yet another record tumbling.
"Such good feelings to play and score again for our national team, in a special stadium for me," Ronaldo wrote. "Proud to be the [most-capped] international player ever."
Reflecting on his team's dominant display, in which Portugal had 35 attempts and accumulated an expected goals (xG) of 3.9 to Liechtenstein's 0.03, Martinez said: "We have to enjoy situations like this.
"I realised that when you play for Portugal it's special. The players follow that line, it was a step forward to prepare for the next game.
"Of course it's an opportunity for me to get to know the players, the interaction, see how to take better advantage of the qualities. But I'm left with the attitude and willingness to work. I'm very proud of the result."
Portugal continue their qualification campaign against Luxembourg on Sunday.
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