South Africa Race To Series Win In Barbados

South Africa Race To Series Win In Barbados

Morne Morkel (right) took three quick wickets to flatten any hopes the West Indians had of taking the game in Barbados

©REUTERS/Stringer (SOUTH AFRICA) Picture Supplied by Action Images

South Africa 346 (Prince 78no, Benn 6-81) & 49-3 beat
West Indies 231 & 161 (Chanderpaul 71no) by seven wickets
Third Test, day four, Barbados
Scorecard

South Africa needed a little more than 90 minutes to complete a seven-wicket win in the third and final Test against the West Indies in Barbados and with it seal a 2-0 series win.

They needed under 40 minutes to wrap up the West Indies' second innings of 161 before losing the wickets of Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen as well as Hashim Amla having been set a target of 47 to win the game.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sulieman Benn, the unbeaten batsmen overnight, started the day nervously against Morne Morkel and Dale Steyn although Smith quickly turned to off-spinner Johan Botha, only to see Chanderpaul hit him for four and six over midwicket as he tried desperately to keep the game alive.

Benn (9), who bowled beautifully to take six for 81 in South Africa's second innings of 346, was soon on his way when Morkel beat him for pace and sent the off stump cartwheeling behind the batsman, even raising a smile from Benn, who nevertheless finished the series as the joint leading wicket-taker, along with Steyn, on 15.

Roach (8) edged Steyn past the slips for a fortuitous four before he edged Morkel straight into the hands of wicket-keeper Mark Boucher and Brandon Bess fended Morkel to Jacques Kallis at slip to register a golden duck. Just 27 runs had been added in the morning session and Morkel finished with figures of three for 33.

South Africa then made a quick start to their run chase, notwithstanding Smith (10) copping a blow to the helmet from a fired-up Roach in the first over.

It seemed to unsettle him and soon after he pulled Roach fiercely but Chanderpaul hung on at midwicket and with the West Indies on the attack, Petersen (6) inside edged an expansive drive onto his stumps.

Roach then hit Kallis on the grille with a vicious short ball before attempting to unsettle the batsmen with some verbals, resulting in most of the West Indians coming in to try to defuse the situation and encourage Roach back to his bowling mark. It did little good as one ball later, a bouncer that Kallis evaded, he wanted to have another go. The two umpires intervened by having a word with Chris Gayle, and Roach from that point on, appeared becalmed by some degree, although he was still reluctant to shake Kallis' hand at the conclusion of play.

With just two runs required for the win, Roach had Hashim Amla caught at gulley by Benn for 25 to raise thoughts of just what could have been possible had the West Indies got anywhere near 300 or more in their first innings.

As it was, AB de Villiers squeezed his last ball to third man for a boundary to end the contest, the series, and the tour, on which South Africa remained undefeated in Twenty20 Internationals (2-0), One-Day Internationals (5-0) and finally Tests, having won the opening match in Trinidad by 163 runs and played out a high-scoring draw in Saint Kitts.

Roach finished with figures of three for 22 after an excellent spell of bowling but a far from exemplary display of behaviour.

South Africa dominated the match from the opening day, when they bowled the West Indies out for 231. Ashwell Prince, de Villiers (73) and Smith (70) all scored half-centuries to put them well ahead by scoring 346 in reply before Steyn and Botha also took three wickets in the West Indian second innings.

© Cricket World 2010

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