Proteas claim four wickets before lunch after another batting collapse

09 March 2023 - 12:22 By Stuart Hess at the Wanderers
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Gerald Coetzee of the Proteas celebrates the wicket of Raymon Reifer of the West Indies on day two of the second Test at the Wanderers on March 9 2023.
Gerald Coetzee of the Proteas celebrates the wicket of Raymon Reifer of the West Indies on day two of the second Test at the Wanderers on March 9 2023.
Image: Lee Waren/Gallo Images

Gerald Coetzee picked up two wickets, Kagiso Rabada one, while a run out, masterfully executed by Temba Bavuma, left the West Indies floundering at lunch on day two of the second Test here on Thursday.

The visitors were 73/4 at the break, still 247 runs behind South Africa. The home team had suffered what is now its usual collapse losing the last eight wickets for 72 runs to be all out for 320.

However the bowlers have again helped mask those problems with Coetzee and Rabada superb.

Strangely Coetzee had to wait his turn as Wiaan Mulder was handed the new ball. Mulder played little part in the dismissal of Tagenarine Chanderpaul, with Bavuma sweeping in from cover after Kraigg Brathwaite had called his opening partner through for a single that wasn’t well judged.

Bavuma, in a blur of movement, grabbed the ball with his right hand and delivered an accurate throw hitting the stumps at the striker’s end with Chanderpaul 30cm short of the crease.

Rabada, operating at the Corlett Drive End, occasionally lost his line to the right-hander, but produced a peach to end Brathwaite’s stay at the crease. The paceman got the ball to move away from the West Indies captain, squaring him up in the process, with the edge flying low to Dean Elgar who hung onto a catch at first slip.

Coetzee who bowled one over at the Golf Course End, swapped sides replacing Rabada and found success with his second ball, nipping one away from Jermaine Blackwood, giving wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen an easy catch.

Four overs later, Raymon Reifer, who’d struck a couple of boundaries off Simon Harmer, inside-edged a lifting delivery onto his pad, giving Tony de Zorzi a relatively simple catch at short-leg.

The South African tail lasted less than 20 minutes at the start of the day adding just nine runs to the overnight total of 311/7.

Heinrich Klaasen chased a wide one from Kyle Mayers giving wicketkeeper Joshua Da Silva an easy catch. Keshav Maharaj misjudged a pull to hand Alzarri Joseph his second wicket.

After Rabada located the boundary via the outside edge of his bat Coetzee was dismissed by a snorter from Joseph that bounced and seamed, which the Proteas No 10 gloved to the keeper.

As was the case in Centurion, the Proteas gave up a very good position and having been 248/2 on Wednesday afternoon, they will be very disappointed that the middle order let them down once more.

Mayers, Joseph and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie each picked up three wickets for the visitors.

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