Bavuma leads South Africa response after slow start against West Indies
Temba Bavuma led South Africa's resurgence against West Indies after a slow start to finish day three of the second Test with a lead of 356 with three wickets remaining.
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.
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Windies women eye vital win against Bangladesh to keep semi-final hopes alive at T20 World Cup
After an impressive six-wicket win over Scotland, West Indies women will seek to build on that momentum when they take on Bangladesh in a crucial encounter that could define their campaign at the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
The Caribbean side will enter Thursday’s contest knowing that another win would keep their semi-final hopes alive, as they currently sit in third position on two points, two behind leaders South Africa and England on four points each.
The first ball is 9:00am Jamaica time.
West Indies’ victory over Scotland was a much-needed confidence boost for the team, especially after a crushing 10-wicket loss to South Africa in their opening match. The win not only lifted their spirits but also boosted their net run rate, a key factor in determining the semi-final spots should multiple teams finish level on points.
Assistant coach Ryan Austin emphasized the Hayley Matthews-led team’s readiness to handle what promises to be a tricky challenge, as Bangladesh bowlers, particularly their spinners, have proven to be formidable opponents.
“The team is pretty prepared. We obviously know that Bangladesh is basically a spin-based unit, but with our philosophies, we are more focused on what we can control. Having said that, we still have that element of power within our batting that could counter the spin as well,” Austin said in a pre-game press conference.
“If you look at the wicket, they are playing pretty slow at the moment. South Africa today (Wednesday) actually had a good total on the wicket, and if you watch how they batted, they actually used their feet a lot to the spin. So we are looking to obviously go into the game with that sort of temperament mindset with respect to their spin bowling attack as well. Sharjah has almost kind of a two-paced kind of wicket because during the day it's very low and slow, but in the evenings it kind of changes and comes alive,” he added.
Austin exuded confidence in his team’s batting prowess, with the likes of Matthews, Stafanie Taylor, Deandra Dottin, and Shemaine Campbelle expected to play pivotal roles, especially with the group being poised for a tight finish.
Though those proverbial big guns are yet to really fire, Austin believes their true potential should come to the fore in Thursday’s game, as well as the decisive fixture against England. West Indies currently have a positive net run rate of 1.154, only bettered by leaders South Africa, who have 1.527.
“If you look at how our group is set up, net run-rate is really going to be a big factor later down, especially, if we win both games against Bangladesh and England. So one of the things that we really have to look at is how we go about executing, especially in this game against Bangladesh. So our game plan is to at least probably both first and then try to get to our target as fast as possible,” Austin reasoned.