Shillingford stars as West Indies A win by 11 runs

On a day of middling performances from both sides, offspinner Shane Shillingford's spell of 4 for 22 made the difference as West Indies A outlasted South Africa A by 11 runs at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Mirpur.

West Indies had to fight hard to earn the victory, after South Africa restricted their progress after losing the toss. Justin Guillen fell to Lonwabo Tsotsobe for a duck in the first over and the innings never really recovered from the early loss. Devon Smith and Travis Dowlin avoided the big shots and focused on laying a platform, scoring 39 each at a sedate pace. However, things went downhill once Dowlin departed with the score 90, as they lost five wickets for 20 runs in a slump that lasted eight overs.

Kirk Edwards and Chadwick Walton helped them recover from the morass with a stand of 65 for the seventh wicket. Edwards made 49 off 83 balls, while Walton was the more aggressive, hitting two sixes in his 35-ball 31. Shillingford and Lionel Baker made handy contributions lower down to lift the score past 200. The wickets were shared around equally, as each of the five bowlers picked two apiece. Tsotsobe was the weakest link in an otherwise disciplined show, conceding 65 in 9.3 overs.

Morne van Wyk got the chase up and running with a workman-like 51, and he was aided by his top-order colleagues - Jonathan Vandiar and Colin Ingram - as South Africa reached 60 for 1 in the 12th over before Shillingford began to wield his influence. He got Ingram to edge behind, and then dismissed Rilee Rossouw cheaply to bring West Indies back into the game.

Ryan Bailey steadied the ship along with van Wyk with a stand of 72, but West Indies kept them under pressure through the middle overs, as the stand consumed 23.3 overs. Nelon Pascal nailed Bailey for 35, and the batsmen who followed found the going tough as the asking rate crept up. David Miller injected some momentum with a 23-ball 26, but when Shillingford removed him in the 44th over, South Africa had lost one wicket too many. Pascal and Shillingford kept attacking, as wickets tumbled at regular intervals, leaving South Africa 11 short when they were bowled out with 13 balls to spare.