"It was important for us to consolidate" - Tony de Zorzi speaks after his valuable knock in 1st Test against West Indies

South Africa opener Tony de Zorzi broke the silence after his valuable contribution in South Africa's first innings score against West Indies. The first Test match of the two-match Test series between West Indies and South Africa is currently being played at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

While the match is going at a snail's pace, Tony de Zorzi expressed his satisfaction for his valuable contribution to his team. De Zorzi came to open the innings alongside South Africa's ODI and T20I captain Aiden Markram.

Tony de Zorzi looked comfortable during his stay at the crease despite losing his opening partner early. The left-handed batter first stitched a good partnership of 43 runs with the young Tristan Stubbs, who is playing his second Test. Then, he formed another good partnership of 51 runs with his captain Temba Bavuma.

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Tony de Zorzi speaks after his critical knock in 1st Test against West Indies

While speaking about his innings, de Zorzi was satisfied with his performance but asserted that he would have liked to score even more. He added that South Africa needed to consolidate on a slowish surface since the wicket wasn't easy for run-scoring.

“I thought it was alright. I would have liked to have kicked on a bit. Temba and I had a nice partnership there after Tristan (Stubbs) went out, so it was important for us to consolidate, so I’m happy with my contribution towards the team (total),” Tony de Zorzi was quoted as saying by IOL.

Tony de Zorzi on the pitch at Port of Spain

De Zorzi also spoke about the slowish nature of the surface at Queen's Park Oval. He compared the wicket with two South African pitches, Cape Town and Paarl.

“We do have a couple of coastal wickets that tend to play like this as the games go on for four day cricket. Even in Cape Town and Paarl — which is not really a coastal wicket — but it starts to play similar, so I’d say we have a few,” the 26-year-old added.

De Zorzi was batting beautifully till he got out. He scored a brilliant 78 off 145 balls, which included 7 fours and 2 sixes. He was equally good against both pace and spin and used his feet well during the knock.

South Africa keep West Indies in check after Keshav Maharaj's marathon spell

De Zorzi was dismissed in a soft manner as he tried to attempt an audacious reverse sweep off the bowling of the left-arm spinner Jomel Warrican. Warrican bowled the ball slower and got it to dip as well. As a result, Warrican gloved the ball the ball to Kavem Hodge at slip who took a sharp catch.

After Tony de Zorzi's dismissal, skipper Temba Bavuma held the innings together as the other middle-order batters got starts but could not convert them into big ones. Bavuma top-scored for South Africa with a patient 86 off 182 balls, which included 7 fours and 1 six. Warrican finished with 4-69 while Jayden Seales picked up 3 wickets for West Indies.

In reply, West Indies are 145-4 at stumps on Day 3 despite starting well with the bat. Their top three batters got out after solid starts. Keshav Maharaj bowled a marathon 28-over spell on the day as he picked up 3-45.