First Test a learning experience for both teams

It was a pity that South Africa never really took up the challenge set by Carl Hooper's West Indies of trying to score that 306 in a minimum of 76 overs, an initial asking rate of about 4.02. We may have experienced cricket out of this world. Had this game been a One-Day International, I am very sure that 4.02 would have been gettable target.

If anyone had any doubts that Test cricket is much more important than the one-day stuff, the attitude of these teams would have been the answer. Neither team wanted to go to the unpredictability of the Queens Park Oval in Trinidad & Tobago 1-0 down. If one is a Test captain, that must be the correct stand to take.

This series could come down to a game of "chicken" with the team that flinches first the losers. Shaun Pollock is outwardly aggressive, a trait probably inherited from his fast-bowling father Peter. Carl Hooper, more reserved, is probably cooler, but just as determined. The one to flinch first will lose first.

I am very sure that both Hooper and Pollock would have been pleased with their respective team's performances. That would be especially so for the West Indies, since this combination had never played together before.

Chris Gayle and, to a lesser extent Wavell Hinds, seemed good together as openers, except that both must learn, as coach Roger Harper says, "to carry on and go in for the kill". After doing the hard work, a batsman should not be out for 51 and 81. Those scores, says Geoff Boycott, should be converted to centuries.

Brian Lara, without form, played pretty well, while Hooper, in his first game as captain, gets an 8.5 out of 10 for all of the captaincy/batting effort he put out in the Test.

Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels made a huge impression. These two will play for many years to come, producing regularly.

The West Indies bowlers were pretty good too, with Dininath Ramnarine perhaps the best of them. He and the others could be better in Trinidad & Tobago.

There is nothing wrong with South Africa settling for the safety of a draw, ending on 142/2, with Herschelle Gibbs on 83 not out, his fourth Test half-century, and Darryl Cullinsan, on four. Most of their players also had even games, with Gary Kirsten man of the match for his first innings 150.

Overall, I would suggest that it was a great Test match without a result and a tremendous learning tool for both teams, since the West Indies are learning about themselves in this new combination while the South Africans are trying to assess the Caribbean and the pitches.

Now, it's on to Trinidad & Tobago. I expect a result there.