Du Plessis admits weather frustration

The 84 overs lost to the weather on the second day may have done more for West Indies than any of their players have managed in the series so far. It just might have given the visitors the time and opportunity they needed to force this match into a contest, just when it seemed to be pushing on to the predictable again.

"What the rain does is that it just brings the opposition back into the game," Faf du Plessis said. "It's very frustrating for us as a team especially after you have had a really good day one with solid batting and we were in a commanding position."

South Africa were only able to add 19 runs to their overnight total of 270 but were eyeing much more in an attempt to close out the series before the New Year's Test. Now, they have to rethink those plans on a track that will not offer as much pace and bounce as is traditionally expected in this country, and an outfield which started off speedy but will now be weighed down with water.

"We know that in Port Elizabeth things take a little bit longer and it's a slower process but now we will have to speed it up. We have to stick to our plans but to do it all quicker."

South Africa will now approach the Test like they would a first-class four-day match, which could mean settling on a lower first-innings total and being willing to bat a second time. "In a four-day match, if you get 450 or close to that, you're in a good position so that will be the difference now. We were looking at a bigger score but we will have to bring that down to make sure we win the game," du Plessis said.

He expects Hashim Amla to bat on on the third morning because "280 is not enough", but also to up the run-rate. "If we bat until lunch time, in a perfect world, we would bowl them out for 200 or 250 and then set them another score in the vicinity of 400 and bowl them out again."

Of course, West Indies have their own script which involves batting in a far more discerning fashion than they did at Centurion. "Patience will be key. Its not coming on as it did in the first Test," Kraigg Brathwaite, the West Indies opener said.

Du Plessis knows that St George's surface rewards batsmen who are willing to show patience, because he experienced it first-hand and through the eyes of his partner, Dean Elgar, for most of the first day. "I struggled for most of my innings, and I never felt like I was hitting the ball in the middle. I told myself it did not have to be pretty; it just had to effective," du Plessis said. "Dean is suited to grinding it out. Conditions like this are perfect for him. He is a gutsy cricketer and I enjoy batting with him."

Despite knowing that a conservative approach could work on this pitch, du Plessis still backed the South African attack to take 20 wickets in less than two days if they had to, even if they could not find the expected reverse swing. "That's the beauty of our attack - we've got the variety.

"Morne can extract bounce, Vernon will be in play if there is any movement off the pitch and Dale can do it with pace. Our armory is very strong. Even if there is not much turn for Imran [Tahir], in those four days, they are good enough to bowl any team out. Our bowlers pride themselves on not bowling any bad balls and we know we have to grind when we come here."

That was the case even when there was no cricket to be played. With only six overs bowled between 10am and 5pm when stumps were called, there was a lot of idle time, which left both teams searching for ways to keep themselves entertained.

"I wish there was something better to do than just sit around. But we played a bit of change-room cricket and got Russell Domingo to bat a bit. His batting technique needs some help," du Plessis joked. "You really can't do that much and on a day like today, you end up a eating a lot more. So our trainer probably isn't very happy with us."

That much was evident when South Africa's trainer Greg King kept a careful eye on the post-play soccer match. "You guys are getting stuck in, I'm worried about an injury," he said as the players jostled for the ball in the damp.

If they manage to beat both the weather and West Indies, King will likely forgive them.