PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) - At the end of a turgid, sometimes dreary day of Test cricket yesterday, South Africa were poised to build a potentially decisive first innings lead over the West Indies going into the fourth day of the Digicel second Test.

Replying to the home team's total of 347, the tourists ground out another 188 runs for the loss of three wickets on day three to reach stumps at 370 for six.

West Indies fast bowler Pedro Collins (centre) celebrates with team-mates Ramnaresh Sarwan (left) and captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul after bowling South Africa's Herschelle Gibbs for 34 during the third day of the second Test match at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad yesterday. (Photo: AP)

Captain Graeme Smith provided the foundation of his team's total with a disciplined, workmanlike 148 - his ninth Test century - but useful contributions by others in the South African batting line-up throughout another energy-sapping day, frustrated the efforts by Shivnarine Chanderpaul's men to limit their opponents' advantage.

The West Indies did not help their cause either when Donovan Pagon missed a straightforward chance offered by Ashwell Prince in the day's final session when the left-hander pulled a short ball from Reon King in and out of the 22 year-old Jamaican's hands at midwicket.

On 24 at the time, Prince resumes today on 41, having so far added 67 runs for the seventh wicket with pugnacious wicketkeeper-batsman Mark Boucher (28).

They had given their team a lead of just 23 runs at stumps, but on a Queen's Park Oval pitch living up to its unfortunate reputation as a batsman's nightmare in the latter stages, any further prolonged occupation of the crease by the lower order on the fourth morning could prove critical in South Africa's quest to repeat their effort of four years ago when they went ahead in the series with victory in Trinidad on the way to lifting the Sir Vivian Richards Trophy by a final 2-1 margin in the four-match contest.

South Africa's Ashwell Prince (right) sweeps a delivery while West Indies wicketkeeper Courtney Browne (left) and Dwayne Bravo look on during the third day of the second Test match at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain, Trinidad yesterday. (Photo: AP)

Another disappointingly small crowd had very little to cheer about as from the outset, the visitors made their intention for gritty survival and measured progress crystal clear, even under grey morning skies that produced a light shower to interrupt play for 15 minutes just one over into the start.

Smith, resuming on 90 with South Africa at 182 for three, got solid support from Monde Zondeki.
The nightwatchman performed beyond the call of duty in contributing 14 to a 41-run fourth-wicket stand before the introduction of the second new ball brought almost immediate success, Pedro Collins breaching his fellow pacer's defence to knock back his middle stump, half-an-hour before lunch.

As on the last day of the first Test in Guyana when he helped Jacques Kallis in ensuring a draw, Herschelle Gibbs curbed his naturally aggressive style and plodded along with his captain through another scorching afternoon.

They had put on 52 runs when Chanderpaul, at his wit's end to separate the pair, tossed the ball to Wavell Hinds and the part-time medium-pacer obliged immediately, trapping Smith leg-before as he played across the line to a straight delivery to end a vigil that spanned 456 minutes and included 17 fours off 313 balls.

At 274 for five, Prince joined Gibbs for his first innings of the series and the Western Province team-mates continued with the pedestrian progress.

Gibbs hoisted Ramnaresh Sarwan for the first six of the match back over the bowler's head just before the tea interval.
But any intentions he had of picking up the pace on the resumption were ended by a combination of Collins and the pitch, as the left-arm seamer went round the wicket and produced a delivery that crept below the right-hander's bat and bowled him for 34.

Bewilderingly, Collins reverted to bowling over the wicket as soon as the new batsman, Boucher, arrived and even though the pitch continued to play a few more tricks, the former vice-captain and Prince soldiered on with gritty determination as West Indian intensity faded for the second consecutive evening.

Pagon's dropped catch seemed to deflate them even further while the continuation of the no-ball problem from the first Test - some 20 have been delivered so far - suggests that head coach Bennett King's confident pre-match assertion that the kinks had been worked out were considerably off the mark.

As manfully as the bowlers toiled, Dwayne Bravo and Collins leading the effort so far with a combined 61 overs that earned four wickets at a cost of 157 runs, the lack of real firepower or genuine guile on a tricky surface were again exposed.

Despite these obvious shortcomings, the West Indies will have to re-double their efforts this morning as the South African pace spearheads of Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel are unlikely to waste the opportunity of all-out attack in the second innings should the lower-order stand continue and the trophy-holders extend their first innings lead anywhere close to 100 runs.

SCOREBOARD

West Indies 1st innings 347 (B Lara 196;
M Ntini 6-95)
South Africa 1st innings (overnight: 182 for 3)
*G Smith lbw W Hinds 148
A Villiers c Chanderpaul b King 33
J Rudolph c wkp Browne b Bravo 8
J Kallis lbw Bravo 39
M Zondeki b Collins 14
H Gibbs b Collins 34
A Prince not out 41
+M Boucher not out 28
Extras (b2, lb2, nb20, w1) 25

TOTAL (for 6 wickets -157 overs 370

Fall of wickets: 1-70, 2-86, 3-181, 4-222, 5-274, 6-303,
To bat: N Boje, M Ntini, A Nel
Bowling: Collins 29-5-78-2 (10nb); Powell 22-3-86-0 (1nb); King 26-7-50-1 (8nb); Bravo 32-7-79-2 (1w); Gayle 33-17-41-0; Chanderpaul 2-0-6-0; W Hinds 8-5-9-1; Sarwan 5-0-17-0 (1nb)

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