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If there was one Caribbean ground Shaun Pollock might have had dreams of making a Test century on, it would have been Kensington Oval.

After all, it was the home ground of his former team-mate, captain and mentor, the late Malcolm Marshall.

Yesterday, the South Africa captain fashioned an extraordinary century to frustrate the West Indies on the second day of the third Cable & Wireless Test.

It does mean a lot to me, Pollock said when asked how significant it was for him to achieve the landmark here.

This is where he (Marshall) played all his cricket. It is special to get a hundred in Barbados.

It's just a pity that he wasn't here to see it, added Pollock, who played under Marshall's tutelage in South African provincial side Natal in the early 1990s.

It was a very splendid effort from the 27-year-old Pollock against the background that he had scored only eight when Allan Donald joined him just after lunch in the midst of a West Indies fightback.

By the time the South Africa innings ended, he was unbeaten on 106, after sharing in a ninth-wicket stand of 132 with Donald.

It was Pollock's second Test century in his 54th match, his first having been made off 95 balls against Sri Lanka a few months ago.

At least I can say it wasn't a fluke the first time around, he said.

It is difficult to compare the two, but from a personal point of view, I don't know if it was the one I enjoyed more.

Pollock's century was made batting at No. 9 and once more underlined the powerful strength of South Africa's dependable lower order. It has been consistent for several seasons; but in this series, it had been disappointing up until now.

When the West Indies toured South Africa in 1998-99, Pollock batted mainly at No. 7, but now he finds himself two notches down in spite of a Test average of close to 30.

If we are competing for positions down there, then that's great. It means that the strength of our batting is much better, the captain said.

I was really happy with the performance down the bottom of the order.

We've had a bit of problems so far in the series. We've discussed it and earmarked it as an area where we have to improve.

Nicky Boje, who came in at No. 7 on the first evening, weighed in with 34, but there was a more telling contribution from Donald, who made a Test-best 37.

It was a brilliant effort on his part, Pollock said. He played superbly well.

With a total of 454 on the board, Pollock feels South African can make use of the most bowler-friendly pitch seen during the series.

There is a lot more in it, he said, in comparing Kensington's to the surfaces at Bourda and Queen's Park Oval.

© The Barbados Nation