South Africa vs. West Indies, 2nd Test, Day 4: Highlights, Scorecard, Report
The West Indies collapsed in a heap once more in the second Test against South Africa in Port Elizabeth, but the weather intervened again to give them every chance of saving a draw.
Centuries from Kraigg Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels looked to have eased the tourists toward safety on another day delayed by the elements, but a grim capitulation followed their exits.
Had the rain not returned, it might have been worse still. As it is, the West Indies close at 275-9, 142 runs short of South Africa's first-innings total.
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| Batsman | Dismissal | Bowler | Runs | Mins | Balls |
| K Brathwaite | c Petersen | b M Morkel | 106 | 283 | 186 |
| Devon Smith | c Amla | b M Morkel | 22 | 76 | 46 |
| Johnson | c du Plessis | b M Morkel | 0 | 1 | |
| Samuels | lbw | b Philander | 101 | 196 | 160 |
| Chanderpaul | b Tahir | 7 | 42 | 29 | |
| Ramdin | lbw | b Tahir | 20 | 34 | 24 |
| Holder | c de Villiers | b M Morkel | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| Taylor | not out | 10 | 23 | 13 | |
| Benn | c Petersen | b Tahir | 4 | 7 | 10 |
| Peters | run out (Steyn) | 0 | 10 | 3 | |
| Extras | 0nb 0w 0b 4lb | 4 | |||
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | |
| Steyn | 14.0 | 3 | 48 | 0 | |
| Philander | 18.0 | 4 | 41 | 1 | |
| M Morkel | 20.0 | 2 | 69 | 4 | |
| Tahir | 26.0 | 2 | 108 | 3 | |
| Elgar | 1.0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
Everything seemed so settled, the weather delaying the start of play once more, but Brathwaite and Samuels picking up where they left off to turn half-centuries into tons.
Brathwaite batted with rare discipline for a West Indies opener—his third Test century of the calendar year a deserved return for his hard work. At just 22 years of age, he looks to have one of the opening slots nailed down for many years to come.
Samuels, by contrast, was more aggressive. He took a particular liking to Imran Tahir, whose figures were in danger of looking dreadful by the end of the day.
He was second to Brathwaite to reach his century, but he got there in 25 fewer deliveries than his partner.
However, when Samuels fell—bested by a full delivery from Vernon Philander—it started a rot that the tourists simply could not stop.
Fortunate to survive a chance in the 90s when Faf du Plessis made a meal of the catch, Brathwaite then edged behind to the charging Morne Morkel at second slip.
Two new batsmen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Denesh Ramdin, were thrust together under overcast skies and failed to settle.
Tahir began the process of tidying up his figures with a googly to dismiss Ramdin, then bowling Chanderpaul two balls later. The delivery wriggled through the 40-year-old's defences and landed on the stumps, dislodging a single bail.
Jason Holder's vigil was a brief one, caught off the bowling of Morkel, while Sulieman Benn mustered a single boundary before becoming Tahir's third victim.
A Kenroy Peters run out in his debut innings compounded the misery—from 231-2, the West Indies lost seven wickets for just 44 runs in an all-too-familiar fashion.
With just one day remaining, the Proteas will have to think on their feet to force a win, with the batsmen going out early to extend the lead and leaving the West Indies a tricky couple of hostile sessions to survive.
With the likes of Steyn, Morkel and Philander in the attack, they have the arsenal to pull it off, and the West Indies have the tendency to gift their wickets away—but nonetheless the day starts with a draw the most likely outcome.
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