The youngest and the trustiest of their players took a match that wasslowly slipping away from the West Indies and reclaimed the initiativewith refreshing aggression on the third day of the final Test atSabina Park yesterday

Tony Cozier22-Apr-2001The youngest and the trustiest of their players took a match that wasslowly slipping away from the West Indies and reclaimed the initiativewith refreshing aggression on the third day of the final Test atSabina Park yesterday.Marlon Samuels, the stylish 20-year-old right-hander in his seventhTest and his first in his native Kingston, and the no-nonsense lefthanded Ridley Jacobs, with later help from Merv Dillon and DinanathRamnarine, ensured the West Indies would start the fourth day 339ahead with three wickets standing.It is more than South Africa have ever made to win a Test, preorpost-apartheid, but another 30 runs or so would be useful.Samuels and Jacobs came together 25 minutes before tea when captainCarl Hooper fended a high catch to third slip off Jacques Kallis’wicked bouncer in the first over of a spell.The West Indies had then crawled to 126 for five from 68 overs 92 off51 on the day and the typically disciplined South Africans had workedtheir way back into the match.Tacked on to the first innings lead of 84, the West Indies were 210ahead at Hopper’s dismissal.With a suspect tail to follow on a basically true pitch, it was notenough to prompt optimism of the victory that would end their streakof 13 winless Tests and inflict on South Africa their first loss for12.Samuels was already 30, stroking the ball with the pleasing ease thathas long since earmarked him as one for the future. After a freneticstart, Jacobs simply batted with the effective, unorthodox method thathas served him well since he entry into the team two years ago.The two changed the tempo of the game and rebuilt the innings with apartnership of 58 in just over an hour.After Samuels was out 40 minutes after tea for 59, dragging a shortball in Shaun Pollock’s second over with the second new ball into hisstumps, Jacobs and fast bowler Dillon further consolidated the WestIndies’ position in another attacking stand of 45 in 55 minutes.Dillon spoiled his status as a budding all-rounder by swatting a catchto point off Pollock but his fellow Trinidadian, Dinanath Ramnarine,whose first innings 38 not out has also lifted his batting profile,joined Jacobs to add a further, unbeaten 26 over the last 50 minutes.The South Africans visibly wilted at the end of a hot, humid day.The bowling lacked sting, Alan Donald went off the field with a soreheel near the end and there were three missed catches.Samuels was put down by Lance Klusener at midwicket off Justin Kemp at51, Kemp failed to hold on to a difficult, diving effort at fine-legoff Pollock when Jacobs was 26 and Ramnarine escaped to Kallis atsecond slip off Klusener in the penultimate over.The West Indies are not the only one who yield to pressure.Once more, the South Africans couldn’t find an answer to thebelligerent Jacobs, the only West Indies century-maker in the 11 Testsbetween the teams and a thorn in their side since his entry into theteam in South Africa two years ago..He was unbeaten 67 at the end after two and three-quarter hours inwhich he found the boundary seven times with a combination of thumpingcuts and drives and a few in the dark off the inside edge.The final session, that brought 107 runs off 32 overs, contrastedsharply to the first two that yielded 114 off 57.Until Jacobs strode onto Sabina Park, the largest crowd of the matchhad watched the West Indies struggle to score.They were confined to 39 runs off 29 overs before lunch while losingLeon Garrick and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Garrick had moved to 27 when his inexperience was exploited by AlanDonald in a high-quality over.The fast bowler, South Africa’s top Test wicket-taker, set him up witha couple of bouncers that drew the desired hooks and the signal fromumpire Steve Bucknor that he had used up his allotment. He followedwith the full length outswinger that found the edge of the littleright-hander’s defensive bat.Just as he did in the previous Test, Chanderpaul edged to first slipoff medium-pacer Justin Kemp for seven.Brian Lara was 10 at lunch and, with scores of 91 and 81 in his lasttwo innings, was in the type of form that could build the platformfrom which the West Indies, with the series already secured by SouthAfrica, could gain a consolation win.But left-arm wrist spinner Paul Adams struck a decisive blow quarterhour after resumption when the left-hander played over a top-spinnerthat knocked out the leg-stump.The West Indies progress was kept to snail’s pace by tight SouthAfrica bowling and typically efficient fielding that continued to makeinroads into the order.Chris Gayle curbed his natural aggression to such an extent that hewas kept on 27 for an hour before lunch. He added a mere 22 to hisovernight 10 and had been batting for four and a quarter hours for 32when Pollock baffled him a change of pace yorker that plucked out themiddle-stump.His dismissal brought in Hooper as the last of the specialist batsmen.He had been in for half-hour for five and could only fend Kallis’throat-ball off the glove high to third slip where Pollock lept tosnare the catch.Then came Jacobs.