The West Indies’ wretched tour of South Africa continued unchecked as they crashed to a 209-run defeat in the first of five limited overs cricket matches at Newlands on Sunday. Having lost the Test series 3-0, any hope of a Windies revival in the shorter version of the game vanished amid a flurry of rash strokes.
In pursuit of South Africa’s 263 for four, the Windies collapsed to 54 all out in 23,2 overs. After stuttering to 38 for three, Lance Klusener initiated a middle order collapse that saw the tourists lose seven wickets for the addition of just 16 runs.
Klusener, who was denied the chance to bat after Jacques Kallis and Jacques Rudolph pulverised the Windies attack, marked his return to international cricket by bowling with pace and appreciable swing.
After being swung over backward square for six off his second ball, Klusener hardly gave a run away. Two balls after being struck for six, he had Ricardo Powell caught behind. In successive overs thereafter, Klusener dismissed Dwayne Smith and Ryan Hurley on the way to figures of three for nine.
On a night of such ghastly batting though there were wickets for all the bowlers, including three for Makhaya Ntini and two for Andre Nel. Nel, as was indicated by skipper Graeme Smith on Saturday, took the new ball in the place of Ntini and responded with his customary aggression.
Although they did not bat as badly as their opponents, the South African innings also needed rescuing. The rescuers came in the form of Kallis and Rudolph. The pair put on 162 runs for the fifth wicket as the hosts accelerated markedly in the final quarter of the innings to push the asking rate to above five to the over.
Kallis, having made four consecutive Test centuries against the Windies, blasted 109 not out from 94 balls as the hosts put on 95 in the final 10 overs. His second 50 came in just 30 balls, bringing up his hundred in 89 balls, with five sixes and five fours. Rudolph was undefeated on 61.
Having dominated the Test series with the bat completely, the South African top order was put under severe pressure for the first time this summer. After 35 overs they had lurched to 129 for four with only Graeme Smith making a significant score.In making 53, Smith watched Herschelle Gibbs’ off stump removed without playing stroke for 10, Robin Peterson run out from Chris Gayle’s direct hit for 21 and Boeta Dippenaar skying Vasbert Drakes to mid on when he had just a single.
Of the six bowlers employed by the Windies, three were spinners. Both debutant Ryan Hurley and Chris Gayle bowled well as the South Africans struggled to get the slow ball away.Kallis, however, picked the third spinner to launch the South African offensive.
After an extremely slow start where Kallis barely played an attacking stroke, he swept Ricardo Powell over midwicket for six. In the same over, Rudolph cut the offspinner backward of square for four in an over that eventually realised 14 runs.That over was comparatively cheap to the one sent down by Vasbert Drakes. Kallis hit the former Border professional for two sixes and a four in three balls in an over that cost 22. -Sapa