EAST LONDON, South Africa -(CMC) - Blessed with ideal conditions for much-needed runs and precious time in the middle, the West Indies were indebted to their two most experienced batsmen for a total that barely approached respectability on the opening day of the four-day match against the Border Bears at Mercedes-Benz Park yesterday.
On a flat pitch at the ground formerly known as Buffalo Park, only Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brian Lara cashed in while others in far greater need squandered their opportunities as the West Indies were dismissed for 278. Chanderpaul's 98 and the captain's stroke-filled 81 delighted the scattering of fans on a sun-drenched day on the Eastern Cape. However their greatest cheers were reserved for Tyrone Henderson.
The 29-year-old right-arm medium-fast bowler fed off the youthful indiscipline of his opponents in claiming five for 57 and was then able to put his feet up and watch his top order reach 68 for two off 17 overs by the close in reply.
Mark Bruyns was bowled by Adam Sanford for 26 while Dave Mohammed struck with his fourth delivery, having the other opener, Michael Smith, taken smartly by Ramnaresh Sarwan at slip in the last over of the day.
Put in after home captain Justin Kreusch won the toss, Lara took up the challenge himself to open the batting with Wavell Hinds. As befitting a man who had compiled a double-century in the First Test, he looked completely at ease against a disciplined but hardly menacing attack, stroking 16 fluent boundaries in three hours at the crease before he was fourth out with the score at 157, bowled playing across the line to the left-arm spin of Pieter Strydom.
The addition of another 121 runs - the last five wickets going down for 49 - was almost entirely due to Chanderpaul, who decorated his 172-minute tenure at the crease with 19 fours, most of them accumulated through a series of precise pulls and drives before he was last out. Yet head coach Gus Logie will be a worried man given the general lack of application by almost everyone else.
Hinds, not for the first time, drove unerringly to mid-off to give Henderson his first wicket. Sarwan, dropped at second slip, watched in disbelief when he slashed at Andrew Pringle later in the same over and Laden Gamiet came up with a stunning catch, diving low to his left at backward-point. In his first innings of the tour six days after arriving in the country, Dwayne Smith was emerging from a shaky start only to lose his off-stump to Henderson for 22.
Carlton Baugh, touted as a possible specialist batsman for the Second Test, smashed the lone six of the innings over wide long-on before a loose drive on 29 made a gift of his wicket to Kreusch as the little right-hander edged to wicketkeeper Abongile Sodumo.
Returning to his old haunt, Vasbert Drakes just reached double figures, which was ten more than the combined efforts of Mohammed, Ravi Rampaul, Sanford and Fidel Edwards, a statistic that speaks for itself.
Now, thanks partly to their own ineptitude with the bat, that quintet has ample opportunity to impress with the ball on the second day.
WEST INDIES first innings
W.Hinds c Kreusch b Henderson 15
B.Lara b Strydom 81
R.Sarwan c Gamiet b Pringle 4
D.Smith b Henderson 22
S.Chanderpaul c De Wett b Strydom 98
C.Baugh c Sodumo b Kreusch 29
V.Drakes c Sodumo b Henderson 10
D.Mohammed c Strydom b Henderson 0
R.Rampaul lbw b Henderson 0
A.Sanford c Sodumo b Pringle 0
F.Edwards not out 0
Extras: (b-4, lb-1, nb-14) 19
Total: (all out, 71 overs) 278
Fall of wickets: 1-36, 2-53, 3-126, 4-157, 5-192, 6-229, 7-248, 8-248, 9-258.