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Pollock puts South Africa on top

West Indies batsman Darren Ganga avoids a bouncer on the first day of the third and final Test match against South Africa at the Kingsmead Stadium in Durban, South Africa, on Thursday. PHOTO: AFP

Shaun Pollock admitted after setting South Africa on the way to a dominant position on the first day of the series-deciding third Test against the West Indies at Kingsmead on Thursday that he had sometimes wondered whether his Test career was over.

Pollock prised open the West Indian top order, taking four for 35 as the tourists were shot out for 139 before South African captain Graeme Smith made an aggressive century to put the hosts firmly on top.

South Africa surged into the lead before the close of play, reaching 213 for one when bad light stopped play. Smith was on 122 not out, made off 133 balls.

Veteran all-rounder Pollock, in his first Test appearance in almost a year, took advantage of an under-prepared pitch and overcast conditions as the West Indies were bundled out after being sent in.

Smith turned the day into a lop-sided one in favor of the home country as he charged to his 13th Test hundred off 112 balls.

The West Indies, already without injured captain Chris Gayle, were effectively a bowler short because stand-in captain Dwayne Bravo went into the match with a side strain which he said would prevent him from bowling.

Pollock, 34, did not play in South Africa's first six Test matches of the season because of concerns that he had lost some of the pace that had helped him take 416 wickets in 107 Tests.

"I was wondering if I would get another go at it," Pollock said. "It was nice to get out there and have a performance."

Pollock said he accepted the decision to leave him out in recent months.

"It wasn't due to lack of performance from my side. It was a policy change that they [the selectors] decided," he said. "Even if I never played another Test again I would have accepted that I finished nicely in my last six or seven Tests."

South Africa decided to pick an all-seam attack for the series decider in Pollock's home town on a pitch that usually favors pace bowlers, bringing back Pollock ahead of left-arm spinner Paul Harris.

Pollock came on to bowl in the sixth over and almost immediately had the batsmen struggling. He struck with his 13th delivery when he trapped Runako Morton leg before with an off-cutter and followed up with the wickets of new cap Brenton Parchment and Bravo, both caught at gully by Herschelle Gibbs.

He also ended the West Indies' best partnership, 42 for the eighth wicket between Darren Sammy and Jerome Taylor, when Taylor was caught at fine leg.

"We had the better of conditions," Pollock said. "The cloud cover in the morning and the ball swinging obviously played into our hands. Once the sun came out it burnt off. My second spell was definitely harder work. It is actually a good wicket as our batters showed in the afternoon. If we hadn't made early inroads it could have been tough work for us."

Gibbs, who was dropped for the second Test but returned to the side because of an injury to Neil McKenzie, held three catches. The first, to dismiss Parchment, was a spectacular effort when he flung himself full length to his right.

Andre Nel took three for 45 and Makhaya Ntini two for 30. Ntini captured the key wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, whose run of form ended when he was caught at second slip for a duck. Chanderpaul made 247 runs in the first two Tests at an average of 123.5.

The top six batsmen managed only 34 runs between them but the lower order gave some respectability to the scorecard as the conditions eased, with the sun breaking through.

"The morning session was very crucial," Bravo said. "If we had won the toss we would have sent South Africa in. The guys are very disappointed with the way we batted. It will be hard for us to bounce back."

Smith and Gibbs got the South African innings off to a fast start, putting on 53 for the first wicket off 52 balls. Gibbs hit some glorious cover drives and a square cut for six as he raced to 27 off 22 balls before dragging an attempted pull against Daren Powell onto his stumps.

Smith continued to dominate with powerful shots on both sides of the wicket. His century included 19 fours.

Hashim Amla provided sensible support, scoring 55 in an unbeaten second wicket partnership of 160.
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