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The Proteas bowled Zimbabwe out for 251 and batted for the final hour of the day to extend their lead to 216 runs.
Sean Williams scored a defiant century for Zimbabwe but received little support. Picture: Gareth Copley/Getty Images
The Proteas followed up their positive batting performance on day one with a dominant bowling display on the second day of the first Test against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo on Sunday, putting them in control of the match.
The South Africans declared on their overnight score of 418/9, then followed that up by dismantling the hosts for 251 despite a defiant innings from Sean Williams (137) for a lead of 167. They batted the final hour of play, reaching 49/1, for a lead of 216, before day three on Monday.
Williams’ defiant knock
The Proteas had a good start with two early wickets (Takudzwanashe Kaitano for a duck and Nick Welch for four) thanks to debutant paceman Codi Yusuf. Rising batsman Brian Bennet looked good before he was struck on the helmet by a Kwena Maphaka bouncer on 19.
Bennett was ruled out of the rest of the Test because of a mild concussion, and Prince Masvaure was named as his concussion replacement for the remainder of the game.
What followed was a brilliant standalone innings from Zimbabwe veteran Williams. The 38-year-old fought through all three sessions as wickets tumbled around him, finally falling as the ninth wicket for 137 runs off 164 balls.
Little support from other Zim batsmen
Williams was only really backed by his captain, Craig Ervine (36), who stuck around for a 91-run partnership that appeared to even the odds before Ervine fell to Keshav Maharaj, who finished with 3–70. Wiaan Mulder was the chief destroyer of the lower order, finishing with 4–50 while Yusuf returned good debut figures of 3–42.
Aside from Williams and Ervine, no other Zimbabwe batsman reached the 20s.
The Proteas top order held on against the new ball in the dying light of the day. Only Matthew Breetzke fell for one run. Tony de Zorzi and Mulder finished on 22 and 25, respectively.
“We will bat as long as we can. That wicket is tricky,” Mulder said afterwards.
However, Mulder did not expect head coach Shukri Conrad to let them reach a score as large as 600 before declaring.
“Our coach is quite aggressive… He will put us under pressure for us to learn. That is his mentality – he believes we are the best in the world so in order to be the best in the world you are going to have to take chances to win games.”
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