Mihlali Mpongwana and Tshepo Moreki helped South Africa A zone in on victory in the second and final four-day match against West Indies A in Saint Lucia on Tuesday.
The pair shared seven wickets between them as the tourists bowled out their hosts for 211, helping set their side a meagre 100 target to win the series.
By stumps, the visitors had reached 68-2, needing just 32 more to seal a 2-0 scoreline.
After Ruan de Swardt had excelled with bat and ball on the previous two days with four wickets of his own and a half-century, Mpongwana and Moreki were the latest to make merry. The former claimed 4-52 and the latter 3-51, while Okuhle Cele added to his first-innings three-for by bagging 2-26.
Their performances came after the South African lower order failed to make too much of an impact on the third morning when they lost their remaining three wickets for just eight runs.
De Swardt and Schalk Engelbrecht saw their unbroken overnight partnership for the eighth wicket add just two more runs to end on 159 when the latter failed to add to his 77 (180 balls; 12 fours) from the previous day and was caught behind off Shamar Joseph (1-78).
All-rounder De Swardt followed four runs later to Anderson Phillip (5-67) for an innings-high 86 off 145 balls (seven fours), with the same bowler bowling Cele for a duck.
It meant the visitors held an innings lead of 112.
And they had West Indies A five down by the time that deficit was erased as the bowlers struck regularly.
It started with Cele having Kraigg Brathwaite caught behind without troubling the scorers, while Kevlon Anderson (20) fell the same way, nabbed by wicketkeeper Sinethemba Qeshile, off Moreki.
Mpongwana then bowled Alick Athanaze for a duck and Jewel Andrew (12) caught by Marques Ackerman leaving West Indies A in big trouble on 51-4.
John Campbell’s 59 (86 balls; nine fours, one six) got the home side to 100 without further loss, but he was then sent on his way thanks to Nqaba Peter’s (1-48) sole wicket.
South Africa A’s two star bowlers then chipped away at the lower order and tail, leaving the hosts all out in 54.4 overs. Captain Jomel Warrican (39*) was the only other batsman to put up any resistance, though he ran out of partners.
The tourists once again lost Jordan Hermann (five) and Lesego Senokwane (19) early in their innings, but Ackerman (20*) and Qeshile (19*) put on an unbroken 38 together to carry their side to the brink.
Photo: @ProteasMenCSA/X
