THIS was a day for any West Indies batsman so minded to add a comfortable hundred to his career resume.
On a pitch of even pace and bounce, in 35 degrees sunshine and against bowling manned mainly by a couple of medium-pacers in their first seasons, another on debut and a 19-year-old off-spinner in his fourth match, Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the one to make good on the chance on the first day against depleted Free State.
Seldom one to spurn such generosity, especially after his misfortune with umpiring decisions on the preceding trip to Zimbabwe, the left-hander helped himself to his 29th first-class hundred, ending the day's 94 overs with 111 in the West Indies total of 342 for four.
Apart from a half-dozen fiddles outside off-stump off Cliffie Deacon, the left-arm swinger who posed the only threats, and an edged cut past slip from 19-year-old off-spinner Thandi Tshabalala at 60, he did as he pleased.
He scored freely in all directions during his three hours, 35 minutes, counting 16 fours off 160 deliveries.
Ridley Jacobs renewed his affection for South African bowling with a typically punchy 65, with eight fours, sharing an unbroken partnership of 145 over the last two hours 35 minutes as the inexperienced Free State bowlers felt the pressure of the long, hot day.
The batsmen who went before would have watched from beyond the boundary with understandable envy.
Chris Gayle lashed two boundaries off the left-arm swinger Cliffie Deacon and then padded out the next that came back at him to be lbw in the third over.
Daren Ganga spent an hour and a quarter carefully gathering 19 and then fired a wild drive at one from the sizeable medium- pacer Adrian McLaren so wide that he just managed to touch it through to the keeper. It is the type of dismissal that is becoming habitual with an otherwise steady player. Ramnaresh Sarwan compiled 51 with much of the free-scoring that had deserted him throughout the month in Zimbabwe, stroking eight, mostly off-side fours.
Badly dropped at point from his one piece of laxity at 31, he might have used his luck to stay for longer than His two and a quarter hours.
His time was up when he stabbed at one from Deacon angled across him to be caught behind.
Brian Lara was once more in magical touch, finding the gaps through fielders whose agility and anticipation saved countless runs during the day.
With a six over extra-cover off the teenaged off-spinner Thandi Tshabalala and 10 fours in 71 from 110 balls, nothing was more certain than another hundred - or two or three, for the captain.
He could hardly drag himself off the ground on his dismissal, understandably bothered that he should have missed out by slashing a wide long hop from McLaren hard but straight to point.
If it wasn't disappointing for the South Africans in the middle, it was for the 100 or so scattered around a stadium designed to hold 20,000, and that number had grown fivefold since Lara won the toss.
Chanderpaul and Jacobs provided worthy compensation.