West Indies not happy with a draw

Jacques Kallis played a match-saving innings to avoid a humiliating defeat for South Africa © Getty Images

South Africa fought hard on the fifth day of the first Test against West Indies to draw the game, after being outplayed on the first four days. Bennett King, the West Indies coach, has expressed disappointment over the result and expects improvement in future matches.

"We are not really enjoying a draw, we are all not as happy as we could be," said King to Stabroek News. "I just think that there are a lot of times when the players are really working hard, and really trying to put plans together, and really are trying to come up with results other than bowling all day, and hoping. They [the team] are really trying to set some people up and get them out; and that is really encouraging."

South Africa were asked to follow on after getting dismissed for 188 in the first innings. Jacques Kallis's unbeaten knock of 109 saved the game for them. "At the moment, not every ball goes into the area as we want, but the more we practise the better we will get."

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the new captain, was fairly satisfied with his team's performance, who were tipped as underdogs due to the omission of several players including Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle from the side. "It was a good five days. We came in as the underdogs. In batting, the guys went out and put up a pretty good total. The bowlers also came out and did well. I don't think that there is much we would change from this here. Going into the next game, to be in a position like this, we would be happy."

Chanderpaul pointed out that the one area the West Indies would need to work on for the rest of the series is their fielding. "We were pretty much on top, just the fielding side of it [we need to work on]."

However, spirits were high in the South African camp. Graeme Smith praised Jacques Kallis for his resilient knock which saved the match for them. "I am running out of words for Jacques [Kallis]. He is superb, rock solid, did what he had to do, carried the innings again. In the middle there, it is so important to have a solid batter, a guy you can rely on. And we relied on him [Kallis] today."

Smith felt that his team underestimated the Guyana pitch. "I think that we, maybe, underestimated the surface. I don't think that our bowlers realised how low and flat it was going to be, and how much effort we would have to put in. And the batters, I think, kind of played with a little too much freedom."

Smith pointed out that South Africa needed to improve their bowling for the second Test in Trinidad. "I think that the batters are focused and have been scoring runs of late, and I think that the hardest thing is for the bowlers to get these wickets. You have to bowl differently, you have to be able to take 20 wickets to win Test matches. And hopefully, Trinidad offers a more even battle between bat and ball."