CRICKET: West Indies' batsmen were facing a mammoth task to rescue the match and the series against South Africa after reaching stumps 394 runs behind the hosts on the second day of the decisive third Test in Durban, which will be all-rounder Shaun Pollock's last international match.
The 34-year-old announced he was retiring from international cricket at stumps on day two.
The on-going Test is his 108th for the Proteas while he has also appeared in 298 one-day internationals.
The tourists closed on 23 without loss, openers Brenton Parchment (17 not out) and Daren Ganga (six not out) seeing off 11 overs after the Proteas finally declared on 556 for four - a first-innings lead of 417 runs.
With the series level at one apiece before the decider, the Windies were hoping to claim a first series win since 2003.
Those hopes now appear to have been dashed, after Ashwell Prince, AB De Villiers and Proteas skipper Graeme Smith all registered centuries.
Smith (147) and Hashim Amla (69) started the day in aggressive fashion before the latter was dismissed by Darren Sammy, a leading edge well caught by stand-in skipper Dwayne Bravo at silly mid-off.
Six balls later Smith perished when Jerome Taylor lured him into an ambitious drive and wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin dived in front of slip to catch a thick edge.
Jacques Kallis (74) was the only wicket to fall during the afternoon session when he edged Marlon Samuels to Runako Morton at slip while attempting a cut.
Prince (123 not out) and De Villiers (103 not out) then proceeded to dispatch the Windies attack to all parts of the ground with the run rate increasing to over four and a half runs per over.
Bravo will now need his side to show far more resilience than they displayed on the first day when they were skittled out for just 139.
With three days remaining, the visitors are likely to need some help from the weather to avoid defeat, although the pitch and the conditions are considerably more batsman-friendly than they were on the opening morning.
Pollock's announcement that he will retire from international cricket after the third Test in Durban came as no surprise.
The 34-year-old revealed at stumps on day two of the match against the Windies that he feels now is the right time to stand down from national team duty.
He has taken 420 Test wickets and claimed a further 387 in One Day Internationals.
Although his batting tailed off later in his career, his current average stands at just over 32 in Tests and is more than 26 in the one-day game.
In a statement he said: "I thoroughly enjoy the honour and privilege of wearing the Protea badge and take with me some remarkable memories, having played against some great players."
Overnight: West Indies 139 (S M Pollock 4-35). South Africa 213-1 (G C Smith 122 no, H M Amla 55 no).
SOUTH AFRICA (First Innings)
G C Smith c Ramdin b Taylor 147
H M Amla c Bravo b Sammy 69
J H Kallis c Morton b Samuels 74
A G Prince not out 123
A B de Villiers not out 103
Extras b6 lb7 pens 0 13
Total 4 wkts dec (120 overs) 556
Fall of wickets: 1-53; 2-252; 3-252; 4-374.
Did Not Bat: M V Boucher, S M Pollock, D W Steyn, M Ntini.
Bowling: D B L Powell 26-1-128-1; Edwards 23-0-129-0; Taylor 25-3-92-1; Sammy 25-4-104-1; Samuels 21-0-90-1.
WEST INDIES (Second Innings)
D Ganga not out 6
B A Parchment not out 17
Extras pens 0 0
Total 0 wkts (11 overs) 23
To Bat: R S Morton, M N Samuels, S Chanderpaul, D J Bravo, D Ramdin, D J G Sammy, J E Taylor, D B L Powell, F H Edwards.
Bowling: Steyn 6-3-15-0; Ntini 4-2-5-0; Pollock 1-0-3-0.
