West Indies had the better of large swathes of day three, but Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, with bat and ball respectively, made the high-impact contributions that ensured South Africa were still in control of the game at stumps. Kraigg Brathwaite and Marlon Samuels put on an unbroken 92-run stand after Morkel had rocked West Indies with twin strikes just before tea, and West Indies were 71 short of the follow-on mark when rain and bad light brought play to a close.
After a wet outfield delayed the start of play, West Indies' seamers scythed through South Africa's middle order in rain-freshened conditions. It meant South Africa had lost five wickets for 74 runs starting with Faf du Plessis' dismissal on the rain-soaked second day. Steyn counterattacked thereafter, and hastened South Africa's declaration with a 28-ball 58 that lifted South Africa's score from 369 to 417 in five manic overs after lunch.
Not even a dashing cameo from West Indies all-rounder André Russell could prevent Melbourne Renegades from a 35-run defeat to Perth Scorchers in the Big Bash League on Boxing Day.
Chasing a challenging 193 for victory at the WACA, Renegades finished on 157 for nine from their 20 overs, with Russell top-scoring with 43 from just 21 deliveries. West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, at the centre of swirling debate in the Caribbean over his axing from the one-day squad, failed with 13.
The 84 overs lost to the weather on the second day may have done more for West Indies than any of their players have managed in the series so far. It just might have given the visitors the time and opportunity they needed to force this match into a contest, just when it seemed to be pushing on to the predictable again.
"What the rain does is that it just brings the opposition back into the game," Faf du Plessis said. "It's very frustrating for us as a team especially after you have had a really good day one with solid batting and we were in a commanding position."
South Africa were only able to add 19 runs to their overnight total of 270 but were eyeing much more in an attempt to close out the series before the New Year's Test. Now, they have to rethink those plans on a track that will not offer as much pace and bounce as is traditionally expected in this country, and an outfield which started off speedy but will now be weighed down with water.
As West Indies extended Christmas charity to their South African hosts on the opening day of the second Test in Port Elizabeth on Friday, Michael Holding made an undeniable observation on television commentary.
Almost invariably, when Holding and his accomplices found edges that flew into slips and gully, any combination of Viv Richards, Clive Lloyd, Alvin Kallicharran, Lawrence Rowe, Roger Harper, Richie Richardson and Gordon Greenidge were there to latch on to them; the two Murrays, Deryck and David, and Jeffrey Dujon gloved the thin snicks.
Dean Elgar's third Test century and an unbeaten 99 from Faf du Plessis put South Africa in a dominant position at the close of day one in Port Elizabeth. On a slow pitch that offered a bit of sideways movement and uneven bounce, both batsmen benefited from missed chances during the second session and powered on in the third to propel South Africa to 270 for 2 at stumps.
Kenroy Peters, the debutant left-arm seamer, struck in the 75th over to have Elgar edging behind, but by then he had made his highest Test score and added 179 for the second wicket with du Plessis. At 226 for 2 with the second new ball imminent, West Indies had a small window to force their way back into the game, but du Plessis and Hashim Amla saw the day through without too much bother. They may have been aided in their cause by West Indies only taking the new ball in the 88th and final over of the day.
