West Indies 335 for 8 (Hope 128*, Coetzee 3-57). South Africa 287 (Bavuma 144, Hosein 3-59, Joseph 3-53) by 48 runs
For an ODI that had nothing to run on, this one had a little bit of everything.
South Africa are also in a precarious position regarding automatic qualification for this year’s 50-over World Cup, and will view this match as a test of their depth and the work still to be done. They fielded four debutants, due to team rotation, injuries and illnesses, and will know there is work to be done. Of the three new batters – Ryan Rickleton, Tony de Zorzi and Tristan Stubbs – the first two were hit by spin and Stubbs fell victim to a short ball. The bowling newbie, Gerald Coetzee, was South Africa’s most successful and most economical bowler, but was exhausted after failing to slide his bat in late in the stretch. That’s a harsh criticism with more focus on Lungi Ngidi’s lack of variations, Marco Jansen’s uncertainty about his lengths and the composition of the attack, which only had five bowlers and not enough slower bowling options.
West Indies cruised to 66 without a loss in eight overs before introducing left arm spinner Bjorn Fortuin. At the national level, Fortuin has made a habit of taking wickets in his opening over and he did just that, albeit not with his best ball. Mayers drew a half-tracker to Rickelton in the deep midwicket to trigger a mini-collapse. The West Indies lost three wickets in 12 balls to find themselves at 71 for 3 in the 11th over.
It fell to the current and former captains – Hope and Nicholas Pooran – to rebuild. They took on the spinners, with good use of the feet, and Jansen, who continued to struggle to find the right length, and shared a stand of 86 runs off 80 balls before Pooran hit a short, slower Coetzee ball to Rassie from der Dussen trailed at midwicket to leave for 39 and take T20I captain Rovman Powell to the crease.
Powell should have been six when he hammered the ball back to Tabraiz Shamsi, who couldn’t sustain his follow-up action to cost South Africa 40 points. Powell set up 80 for the fifth wicket with Hope before hitting another short Coetzee ball on his stumps and South Africa were able to apply a squeeze. They gave away just eight runs in the next 22 balls, including a scoreless over from Jansen to keep the West Indies fairly quiet at a crucial stage.
Hope approached the 90s with sixes from Fortuin and Ngidi and put up 42 with Holder, who was dismissed by Shamsi after review. Hope also lost Hosein to a swinging Jansen yorker and then put forward his hundred from the 104th ball he faced. The West Indies scored 93 runs from the last ten overs, including 40 runs from the last three overs, and Hope hit 28 runs from the last nine balls he faced to set South Africa a steep target.
They needed to complete their fourth-highest successful pursuit and started well. Quinton de Kock, who had not played a league game since his last appearance with the SA20 almost six weeks ago, showed no signs of rust. He clung to anything too high – and the West Indies bid plenty in the first five overs – or on the pads. South Africa put up fifty in six overs, de Kock survived a lbw appeal from Holder, which was judged, then was called out on 48 to expose an inexperienced middle order Bavuma had drafted.
He brought forward his third ODI fifty with a clean Mayers blow over extra cover that went for six, similar to the blow that took him to a second Test century last week. West Indies used the second and final review at the end of that, when Mayers thought he had Bavuma lbw in the same way as De Kock, but tracking the ball revealed a leg stump missing.
South Africa were 123 for 1 at the first drinking break, as the West Indies put in their legspinner Yannic Cariah. With his first pitch, he beat Rickelton’s inside rim with a quick leg break and got the lbw decision. Rickelton reviewed, reluctantly and unsuccessfully, to get another debutant, Tony de Zorzi, to the crease. De Zorzi almost played the second ball he faced on his stumps, but he shot past for four. He played some nice shots before being bowled by a flat, fast ball from Hosein.
Never looking comfortable at the crease, Rassie van der Dussen survived a lbw appeal and a stupid chance before pulling a Joseph bouncer to a good leg. Tristan Stubbs, on his debut, hit a short slower ball from Odean Smith straight up and Hope took a simple catch to open South Africa’s lower order.
Jansen’s first runs came from an outside edge, putting Bavuma on strike, on 99, at the start of the 31st over. He sent Hosein through extra cover for a single to bring up his fourth ODI century, and second this year. South Africa still needed 121 runs off 115 balls.
The West Indies would have thought the game was over when Jansen hollowed out too long and Fortuin was stunned later, but Bavuma went deep. He surpassed his previous career-best score of 113 and then hit three sixes on a Cariah over and turned confidently with Ngidi. Their stand on the ninth wicket reached 49 before Bavuma pushed Joseph down a leg to end a valiant effort. South Africa were bowled out two balls later when Shamsi teed off and Joseph finished with three.
Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo’s correspondent for South Africa and women’s cricket
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