Jon Cardinelli rates the South African XI after the victory over the West Indies at Newlands.
Alviro Petersen: Scratched around for 42 runs in the first innings, before running himself out. In the second innings, Petersen was dismissed for 0. He, too, realised his time with the Test team is over. Rating: 4/10
Dean Elgar: Missed out in the first innings, but made his chance count in the second. South Africa were set a modest target of 124, but Elgar took it upon himself to ensure they got over the line. Rating: 7/10
Faf du Plessis: Played some glorious strokes in the first innings and was more circumspect in the second. Not his best performance, but Du Plessis provided the Proteas with what they needed at crucial junctures of the match. Rating: 7/10
Hashim Amla (c): Batted well for his 63 in the first innings, and made some good decisions in the field. Was brave enough to back debutant Simon Harmer at key moments of the contest. Rating: 8/10
AB de Villiers: His batting was magnificent at times, and measured at others. Exactly what the Proteas required in their first innings. The only thing that brought De Villiers’s score down from 10 to 9 was his poor wicketkeeping. Rating: 9/10
Temba Bavuma: Had one chance to impress with the bat, and scored only 15 runs. Did contribute in the field, however. His direct hit dismissed Shivnarine Chanderpaul and ended the West Indies’ second innings. Rating: 4/10
Stiaan van Zyl: Played some good shots in that first innings knock of 33, and was part of an important partnership with AB de Villiers. Rating: 6/10
Vernon Philander: A largely tame performance with the ball. For the first time in six Tests, Philander failed to take a wicket at Newlands. Rating: 5/10
Simon Harmer: Showed some ticker to fight back and dismiss Marlon Samuels on day four, after the West Indian had hit him for big runs earlier. Bowled a tight line over the course of the match, and showed in his first Test that he also has the ability to take key wickets. Rating: 8/10
Dale Steyn: Wild at times, but stepped up to be counted when it mattered most. That three-wicket spell on the end of day four was game-shaping. Rating: 8/10
Morne Morkel: His performance and influence in this match shouldn’t be measured by the number in the wickets column. Morkel bowled some fiercely quick spells that rattled the West Indies batsmen. He was unlucky not to receive more reward. Rating: 7/10
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