Dark clouds took up residence in St Clair yesterday but as the saying goes behind each dark cloud there is a silver lining and West Indies got theirs from debutante Shane Shillingford, as he reduced South Africa to 70 for three on the rain hit opening day of the first Digicel Test at the Queen's Park Oval.Rain washed away 56 overs. Of the 34 overs that were available the visitor scored 70 runs and three wickets fell to lift the homesters. The 27-year-old Shillingford the sixth Dominican to play for the West Indies grabbed the wickets of South African skipper Greame Smith and opener Alviro Petersen, to finish with two for five off six probing overs.
Back in favour Sulieman Benn must have made his skipper Chris Gayle smile when he accounted for the dangerous Hashim Amla, as South Africa closed on 70 for three. Resuming today will be Jacques Kallis on six and Paul Harris yet to score. Earlier, the cricketers had to endure one of those frustrating days at the Park, as the rain prevented them from going out onto the field until 2.35 pm. The ground staff was kept busy for the entire period before the start and they did a wonderful job in mopping up the elements. However, every time they finished the job, they would stand and look on in amazement, as the rain came again. This cat and mouse action went on until the afternoon and when play finally began in slight drizzle, it was announced that 34 overs were available for the die hard cricket fans to enjoy. South African openers Smith and Petersen played untroubled against the fast bowlers and Gayle had no choice but to switch to the slow bowling attack.
Smith was solid as usual, while Petersen a prolific scorer in domestic cricket in South Africa played some very attractive shots. It was a pity that only a handful of spectators were on hand to see this new talent. However, it was well appreciated by the members of the press box which was the most populated area of the ground. Shillingford was introduced just after the tea break and had Smith caught at first slip by Dwayne Bravo. His 11th delivery in Test cricket was flighted on the leg stump line, full in length and it lured Smith to come forward to defend. The ball spun sharply, caught the outside edge and went to first slip. Smith had laboured over 82 balls for his 23. Soon after, Benn removed Amla caught low down by Bravo at slip for two. And just before the close, Shillingford completed a memorable first day on the job–by having Petersen leg before for 31 off 93 deliveries with two fours. Play resumes at 9.30 am today to make up for the loss of time.
