Smith hits 103 as S/Africa crush Windies

KINGSTON: Captain Graeme Smith hit a match-winning century as South Africa cantered to an emphatic eight-wicket win over the West Indies in the first One Day International at Sabina Park yesterday. Backed up by economical bowling, some excellent catches and athletically splendid fielding, South Africa restricted the West Indies to a respectable, if not challenging, 253 all out in 48.5 overs, and then raced 255 for two with five overs to spare. Smith cracked 103 off 102 balls with 13 fours as he shared in a stand of 131 with Boeta Dippenaar, who hit 56 off 68 balls. After they were dismissed, Jacques Kallis hit an unbeaten 51 off 68 balls while Herchelle Gibbs belted 40 off 36 balls as the visitors made light work of their target. The victory was a statement of intent by the South Africans after they won the four-match Test series 2-0.

After winning the toss and surprisingly taking first strike, the Windies innings never gathered momentum although Chris Gayle, who spanked four typical boundaries in 26 off 31 balls, gave them a bright start. Except for a stand of 106 between top scorer Ramnaresh Sarwan (72) and captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul (49) and a late cameo from Dwayne Smith, who struck 46 off 37 balls, the innings did not get out of first gear. The Windies hurriedly declined from 232 when the sixth wicket fell as they lost five wickets for 21 runs in 18 balls. Strike bowler Makhaya Ntini, captured four for 46 in his ten overs to undermine the Windies top and middle order while pacer Andre Nel, who took the key wicket of star batsman Brian Lara for eight, ended with two for 42. Medium pacer Charl Langeveldt took two wickets to finish with two for 41.

West Indies lost their first wicket when a sedate Wavell Hinds (five) inside-edged a wide ball from Ntini onto his stumps to make the score 29 for one in the sixth over. Gayle, who had slapped Ntini for two delicious off-side boundaries, was then dismissed by a stunning catch taken by Herchelle Gibbs at short extra-cover off the same bowler. The tall left-hander opener hit a full-blooded drive to the left of Gibbs who threw himself airborne to hold onto a brilliant one-handed catch as the second wicket fell with the score on 38 in the eighth over. Lara, who received a rapturous ovation from the large crowd, looked out of touch as he scratched around for eight off 20 balls before whipping Nel off his hips straight to Dippenaar strategically-placed on the deep square-leg fence, after he added 28 runs with Sarwan for the third wicket.

The Guyanese pair of Sarwan and Chanderpaul increased the scoring rate as they brought up the second fifty of the innings off 74 balls, compared to the first, which came off 77 balls. Sarwan, who was almost run out by Ashwell Prince’s throw from short mid-on as he and Chanderpaul stole at quick single, reached his half-century off 89 balls with three fours at 139 for three and then stepped up a gear afterwards. Chanderpaul, who despatched his South African counterpart over long-on for the first six of the innings and took two boundaries off successive balls off Langeveldt, was dismissed by Ntini in his first over of a new spell when he edged a cut to the wicketkeeper to be out for 49 off 56 balls, including four fours.

His stand with Sarwan took the score from 56 for three to 162 for four. Sarwan then lifted Graeme Smith over wide long-on for another six before he was smartly stumped by wicket-keeper Marc Boucher who quickly gathered a leg-side wide from Shaun Pollock and whipped off the bails, with the batsman’s foot just short of the crease. Sarwan, who faced 111 balls and struck three fours and a six, went with the score on 191 for five. Dwayne Smith, who lifted Ntini for two sixes — one over long-on and the other wider into the George Headley stand  — soon lost Dwayne Bravo for 14 at 232 for six.

Bravo, who was dropped by Prince at short mid-wicket, tried to hit Ntini over long-off but Nel, running to his right, plucked the ball out of the air and just managed to avoid stepping over the boundary. Graeme Smith and Dippenaar, who was playing his first One Day International since February 2003, went after the target purposefully as they took advantage of anything loose or short in sharing 131 for the first wicket. Gibbs contemptuously despatched Collymore over long-off and long-on into the George Headley stand for sixes in the same over, and Kallis lifted Bravo over point for four and straight drove the next ball to the boundary to complete the South African triumph. (CMC)