Africa-Press – South-Africa. A maiden five-wicket haul for Corbin Bosch and three wickets for Codi Yusuf saw South Africa storm to a 328-run victory in the first Test against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
Bosch, who claimed a wicket with the first ball of the day at Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo, produced two excellent spells as the Proteas wrapped up victory with a day-and-a-half to spare. In a match where a number of Proteas players set personal milestones, Bosch, who scored a maiden Test hundred in South Africa’s first innings, added to an excellent all-round display with 5/43, as Zimbabwe were bowled out for 208.
Bosch, playing his second Test, became only the fourth South African to score a hundred and claim a “five-for” in the same match, joining a list that includes Jacques Kallis — who did it twice — Jimmy Sinclair and Aubrey Faulkner, who both achieved the feat before World War 1.
Bosch had given the South Africans the perfect start with a sharp lifting delivery that Nick Welch could only deflect to Tony De Zorzi at short leg.
First innings centurion Sean Williams made a streaky 26 before miscuing an attempted pull with a leading edge that gave Kyle Verreynne an easy catch behind.
Yusuf replaced Bosch at the Airport End and also had success with his first delivery, finding the outside edge of replacement opener Prince Masvaure’s bat, giving Wiaan Mulder a comfortable catch at second slip.
Two more quick wickets followed for Yusuf; Wesley Madvehere gave Verreynne another simple catch, with a thin edge to a lovely delivery that angled into the right-hander and straightened off the pitch, while Tafadzwa Tsiga played an awful shot to give Bosch an easy catch at fourth slip.
The Proteas were eyeing a lunchtime finish, but a lively seventh-wicket partnership between Zimbabwean captain Craig Ervine and Wellington Masakadza delayed the inevitable.
The pair added 83 runs, with Masakadza reaching a maiden Test fifty shortly before lunch.
But any hopes the hosts had of extending the play to another session disappeared in the third over after lunch when De Zorzi took a spectacular one-handed catch, diving to his left at short leg, to dismiss Ervine for 49, giving Bosch his fourth wicket.
It wasn’t as good as his one-handed reflex effort against Sri Lanka in Durban last summer, but De Zorzi is compiling some collectors’ items under the helmet that will keep him in that position.
Vincent Masekesa bottom-edged onto his stumps to give Bosch his landmark moment and the match was wrapped up quickly with wickets for Maharaj — who had Masakadza caught by Mulder at slip for 57 — and a first for debutant Dewald Brevis, who had Tanaka Chivanga stumped for one.
The Proteas will be pleased with their efforts, even if they were heavy favourites for the match. They were missing seven players who started the World Test Championship final, but hundreds for Bosch and debutant Lhuan-dre Pretorius in the first innings, six wickets in the match for Yusuf, another debutant, and a half-century for Brevis all illustrated the depth in South African cricket.
Like Bosch, Mulder also had a superb all-round game, taking four wickets in the innings, making a career best 147 and grabbing two catches.
The second Test at the same venue starts on Sunday. Lungi Ngidi will be available for that clash.
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