Proteas paceman Anrich Nortje claimed five wickets on Day 2 of the first Test against the West Indies to help South Africa bowl out the visitors for 212 runs and take a lead of 179 runs going into the third day.

Nortje, who ended the day with the best figures after conceding just 36 runs in his 16 overs with an economy of 2.25, bowled with aggression and intent to tear apart the visitors’ batting line-up.

He dismissed the likes of Jermaine Blackwood, Kyle Mayers, Joshua Da Silva, Jason Holder, and Alzarri Joseph to leave the visiting team stranded on 190/8 after 61 overs and explained how his fellow teammates made it easier for him.

“Most of the time, there was something happening with the ball, and it was just trying to use that,” he said at Stumps on Day 2.

“The wind was blowing across for the right-handers as well.

“KG (Kagiso Rabada) bowled well also, and I think in his four overs he did well from that end, and then I just tried to capitalize on what he did and take that further.”

The Proteas’ last two Test series before this one have been dreadful for the batting department, with a lack of runs a major talking point within the side.

However, with positive signs shown on Day 1, Nortje believes the players have learned from their past misfortunes.

“Our last two series were against very good teams, England and Australia, so it was quite tough and we didn’t manage to get too many runs.

“It was a nice feeling going out knowing that we could try to defend the score or try to get a lead in the first innings, and I think we did a pretty good job at the end of the day looking back at it, trying to control the run rate where we could, and that was also a major thing.

“It’s nice to see how guys have learned over the last six months and just carried the momentum into this as well from the T20s and all of that.”

Nortje also gave credit to Gerald Coetzee, who took his first Test wicket on the day, describing how overjoyed he was for him.

“I’m very happy for him, and he deserves it,” he said.

“He’s been bowling lots of overs, and he’s been bowling at a high pace domestically. He was with us in England for the white ball and in Australia for the red ball, and after watching him grow, I’m overjoyed for him to finally get the wicket.”

“I think we all could see the celebration and how happy he was after that first wicket,” he concluded.

The first Test between South Africa and the West Indies will resume for Day 3 on Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.