Prince, Boucher rip advantage away from Bangladesh

Chris BURNES

Bangladesh had a brief taste of dominance before Ashwell Prince and Mark Boucher put South Africa on top with a record partnership on the second day of the second and final Test at Centurion Park Thursday.

South Africa were 357 for five at the close of play in reply to Bangladesh's first innings total of 250..The hosts owed almost everything to Prince (115 not out) and Boucher (102 not out) who shared an unbeaten sixth wicket stand of 223 after they came together with their side reeling on 134 for five.

"They put us under pressure," admitted Prince. "They had quite a buzz going out there. They kept saying they just needed one more wicket. They definitely tested us today."

Prince said he took pride in performing when the going was tough.

"We came through in a situation where the team needed us," he said.

He and Boucher launched their partnership cautiously against a fired-up Bangladesh bowling attack but the tourists flagged when no breakthrough came.

In a match in which batsmen have struggled to score quickly on a pitch giving some help to both seamers and spin bowlers, the pair turned the match around as Bangladesh tried to fill in some overs before the second new ball was due. No fewer than 73 runs were scored in the 11 overs before the new ball was taken. The runs continued to flow after the change of ball, with 165 runs scored in 35 overs between tea and the close.

It was Prince's tenth Test century. Despite being stalled for 29 balls in the nineties he reached his hundred off only 148 deliveries with 14 fours and a six.

Boucher reached his fifth Test hundred - but his first in five seasons - in the last over of the day when he cut Shahadat Hossain for his 14th four after facing 158 balls.

The pair broke one of South Africa's oldest Test records, 200 for the sixth wicket between Graeme Pollock and Tiger Lance against Australia in Durban in 1969/70.

Before the Prince-Boucher stand only Hashim Amla, who made 71, managed to get on top of Bangladesh's lightly-regarded bowling.

It was a remarkable comeback for the tourists after being crushed by an innings and 129 runs in the first Test in Bloemfontein.

Bangladesh came into the match with a record of only one win against 49 defeats in 56 Tests. They were criticised by South African captain Graeme Smith, who questioned whether the country deserved to have Test status.

The initial pressure was exerted by the Bangladesh pace bowlers but the main damage was done by left-armer spinner Shakib Al Hasan, who took three wickets in the space of 17 balls in the first hour after lunch.

Al Hasan bowled the out-of-form Jacques Kallis for 24, made off 72 balls, then had Amla caught off bat and pad at silly point by Imrul Kayes. Two balls later AB de Villiers went down the pitch to Al Hasan, the ball spun past the outside edge of his bat and he was stumped.

It was the first time in his 47-Test career that De Villiers had been dismissed without scoring, ending a world record sequence of 78 innings without a duck.

Shakib paid tribute to Prince and Boucher. "We tried our best but they batted magnificently," he said.

CENTURION, South Africa, Friday,AFP