26/12Result
1st Test, West Indies tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa at Gqeberha, Dec 26-29 2007
West Indies won by 128 runs
Player of the Match
Marlon Samuels
Marlon SamuelsWest Indies
26/12Result
1st Test, West Indies tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa at Gqeberha, Dec 26-29 2007
West Indies won by 128 runs
Player of the Match
Marlon Samuels
Marlon SamuelsWest Indies

This will be a sweet, sweet win for West Indies, their first taste of success since May 2005 at home. Not many gave them a chance when they landed in South Africa but they've dominated almost every session of this Test to take the series opener by 128 runs. Its their first overseas win (excluding against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) since they beat England at Edgbaston in 2000. Wonderful to see them smiling proudly as they embrace each other.

For Dwayne Bravo, its his first win in 24 Tests ... wow. Spectacular win for West Indies, their first in South Africa. The hosts were outplayed in this Test and move to Cape Town down 0-1.

First up, Graeme Smith: "Our skills in the first two days let us down ... we played poor cricket ... they deserved victory ... we never performed as well as we hoped ... its hugely disappointing ... we need to regroup and use this pain to come back hard in the second Test ... we need to battle hard and grind out more than we did in this game ... this is a new challenge for us ..."

Next, Chris Gayle, cool as ever: "(laughing as the stats are rattled off) I'd like to thank the guys...first win in seven years, and first in South Africa ... its unbelievable, trust me ... I'm very pleased ... I really wanted to play this Test and be with the guys, and the decision paid off ... credit to South Africa, the second-best team in the world ... the new coach John [Dyson] has been terrific ... hats off to all the guys ... we have work to do, especially in fielding, but no complacency now ..."

And last, its Man-of-the-match Marlon Samuels: "I'm great full for the support from my team ... I need a couple more centuries ... and hope we can win some more cricket ..."

Whew, its been some Test match, hasn't it? I hope you've enjoyed it as much as George and I did, bringing you the commentary over four days. Thanks for tuning in to Cricinfo again.

The second Test starts on January 2 at 10:30 local, 08:30 GMT so do join us again. Until next time, this is Jamie Alter signing off on behalf of all of us at Cricinfo. Goodbye for now!

74.5
W
Samuels to Ntini, OUT, and there's a historic win for West Indies, as Ntini spoons a top-edge to Powell, running around from mid-off and holding it at extra cover!

M Ntini c Powell b Samuels 1 (5m 7b 0x4 0x6) SR: 14.28

Ganga moves in at forward short leg

74.4
0
Samuels to Ntini, no run, tossed up on off stump, Ntini prods forward and defends
74.3
0
Samuels to Ntini, no run, tossed up on middle and leg, well defended this time
74.2
0
Samuels to Ntini, no run, dropped by Powell at mid-off! Ntini drills it hard but he dives and makes a total mess of a regulation catch
74.1
0
Samuels to Ntini, no run, tossed up from around the stumps, he comes forward and defends

END OF OVER:
74 | 8 Runs 1 Wkt | SA: 260/9

  • Makhaya Ntini1 (2b)
  • Dale Steyn33 (26b)
  • Daren Sammy7-0-29-1
  • Marlon Samuels6-1-14-0
73.6
1
Sammy to Ntini, 1 run, too full on the pads and he flicks uppishly past midwicket for one
73.5
0
Sammy to Ntini, no run, good length, slipping in from off stump, Ntini comes forward and defends

Makhaya Ntini is the last man in. West Indies one away from a historic Test win.

73.4
W
Sammy to Nel, OUT, party's over for Nel! Sammy gets a wicket, pitching full outside off stump, Nel pokes at it leaden-footed and gets a thin feather through to Ramdin and South Africa are nine down

A Nel c †Ramdin b Sammy 34 (48m 37b 4x4 1x6) SR: 91.89

73.3
0
Sammy to Nel, no run, slower one, on a length outside off, he swipes and misses all ends up
73.2
1
Sammy to Steyn, 1 run, dances down again, makes a mess of the slog and it lands over mid-off
73.1
6
Sammy to Steyn, SIX, oh hello, he's literally smoked that, dancing down and creaming over cover

END OF OVER:
73 | 3 Runs | SA: 252/8

  • Andre Nel34 (35b)
  • Dale Steyn26 (24b)
  • Marlon Samuels6-1-14-0
  • Daren Sammy6-0-21-0
72.6
0
Samuels to Nel, no run, quicker one on a length, Nel gets in line an pushes to silly point
72.5
0
Samuels to Nel, no run, lobbed up down leg stump, goes for a shot but the ball balloons off the pad
72.4
0
Samuels to Nel, no run, tossed up outside off, stretches forward and drives to cover
72.3
1
Samuels to Steyn, 1 run, tossed up wide, he drives, the ball's in the air for a while but Samuels is slow
72.2
1
Samuels to Nel, 1 run, slower one on off stump, he gets forward and nudges to extra cover
72.1
1
Samuels to Steyn, 1 run, tossed up on middle and off, he plants his leg out and slams it down to long-on and thats his best score till date

END OF OVER:
72 | 8 Runs | SA: 249/8

  • Andre Nel33 (31b)
  • Dale Steyn24 (22b)
  • Daren Sammy6-0-21-0
  • Marlon Samuels5-1-11-0
71.6
0
Sammy to Nel, no run, full again, outside off, and he drives nicely to extra cover

Where are the short deliveries, into the jugular?

71.5
1
Sammy to Steyn, 1 run, comes down, sees the full ball and drills it out to deep midwicket
71.4
1
Sammy to Nel, 1 run, full on leg stump, he plants the leg out and swings down to deep square leg
71.3
0
Sammy to Nel, no run, slower ball on a length outside off, Nel comes forward and runs to second slip
71.2
4
Sammy to Nel, FOUR, full down leg stump, and he carves it away over midwicket for four
71.1
2
Sammy to Nel, 2 runs, slow ball on leg stump, Nel gets up and nudges wide of square leg to raise the 50 partnership with Steyn, and the two share a big bear hug

Darren Sammy gets a crack at these two cavaliers.

END OF OVER:
71 | 3 Runs | SA: 241/8

  • Andre Nel26 (26b)
  • Dale Steyn23 (21b)
  • Marlon Samuels5-1-11-0
  • Fidel Edwards13-3-37-3
70.6
1
Samuels to Nel, 1 run, flatter one down leg stump, nicely flicked past leg slip for one
70.5
1
Samuels to Steyn, 1 run, tossed up on off stump, Steyn leans in and nudges into the covers

West Indies tour of Zimbabwe and South Africa 2007-08 News

South Africa 4th innings Partnerships

WktRunsPlayers
1st4HH GibbsGC Smith
2nd13HM AmlaGC Smith
3rd3JH KallisGC Smith
4th25JH KallisAG Prince
5th112JH KallisAB de Villiers
6th26MV BoucherAB de Villiers
7th7PL HarrisAB de Villiers
8th2A NelAB de Villiers
9th67A NelDW Steyn
10th1M NtiniDW Steyn