Courtney Walsh claimed a wicket with the third ball of the match as West Indies reduced the tourists to 70 for three on the opening morning at the Kensington Oval.

They justified captain Carl Hooper's decision to put South Africa in on a pitch offering pace and movement to his fast bowlers.

Walsh made the initial breakthrough with a magnificent delivery to Gary Kirsten.

And although Herschelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis stayed together for 20 overs in a stand of 53, Mervyn Dillon removed both before lunch to give his side the upper hand.

The home side made one change with 6ft 7ins Cameron Cuffy making his first Test appearance for four years in place of Nixon McLean.

South Africa fielded the same eleven which won the second Test in Trinidad by 69 runs to go 1-0 up in the five-Test series.

But they were immediately on the back foot as Walsh produced a ball which reared off a length and took the shoulder of bat, with Chris Gayle taking a simple catch at slip.

Walsh conceded just five runs in his opening seven-over spell, but Dillon could not match his accuracy as Gibbs picked off some over-pitched deliveries.

Cuffy was eager to add to a meagre haul of seven Test wickets when he came into the attack and troubled both batsmen as he cut the ball back off the wicket.

The 50 partnership took 113 balls but Dillon's return brought about the downfall of Gibbs, who was caught at slip by Hooper for 34 after a loose shot.

Kallis took a nasty rap on the hand early in his innings but battled away for 66 balls to make 11 before Dillon produced a perfect leg-cutter and wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs accepted a thin edge.

West Indies: Carl Hooper (capt), Ridley Jacobs (vice-captain), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Marlon Samuels, Brian Lara, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Dinanath Ramnarine, Mervyn Dillon, Courtney Walsh, Cameron Cuffy.

South Africa (probable): Shaun Pollock (capt), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Neil McKenzie, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (WI), Darrell Hair (Aus).

Match referee: Mike Denness (Eng)