Captain Hashim Amla acknowledged the positives, as South Africa’s second Test against the West Indies ended in a disappointing, rain-affected draw at St George’s Park on Tuesday.

Inclement weather allowed for just 201 overs across five days in Port Elizabeth, where the hosts amassed 417 for eight declared on the back of fine centuries from the left-handed Dean Elgar and the right-handed Faf du Plessis – before the Windies were restricted to 275 for nine in the wake of fast bowler Morne Morkel’s telling four-wicket haul.

‘There are a lot of positives’ Dean scored a ton, Faf got some runs, Morne bowling the way he did, all the seamers bowled exceptionally well. There were periods where I think on a different surface we would have picked up a lot more wickets a lot quicker,’ said Amla.

‘Guys have got a good feel going into the last Test. If we had bowled the whole day on Tuesday we might have had some tired bodies, with just the two-day turnaround, so another positive would be that we have some fresh guys going into the last one.

‘We were looking to set a target and to try and win the game with 50 or 60 overs to go. It would give us a chance to win the game and also give the West Indies something to look for. I think it would have been a good game, we obviously would have had to assess where the game was at.

‘It is a little bit disappointing. When it comes to the weather, I’m never too fussed, it’s out of your control. I was surprised that the ground held up for so long, we had a lot of rain and thankfully the drainage system here was good and we managed to get on whatever time we did.’

The Proteas sport a one-nil lead in the three match-series, after an innings and 220-run victory in Centurion and stalemate in Port Elizabeth. The third and final Test will get underway at Newlands in Cape Town on 2 January 2015. Uncapped spinner Simon Harmer, meanwhile, has been added to the squad.