It was a brave but inevitably fruitless quest: to score 323 in the last innings on a crumbling pitch. That the West Indians, in this Fourth Test, got to within 82 runs of drawing level with the South Africans is a reflection of their newfound fighting qualities, a far cry from the abject "Collapso Cricket" recently associated with this once great cricketing power.
For the Proteas, though, this was a big milestone. The West Indians are hard to beat on their home grounds, and this was only the second time they had lost a home series in 27 years. At one stage, indeed, there were some faint prospects of a repeat of the Windies' great shock victory over Australia a couple of years back.
The same hero was at the crease, the mercurial maestro and world record-holder Brian Lara. Against the Aussies he won the match for the Windies by amassing an amazing 153 not out. This time, with the second-last man at the crease, he stood on 91, and a possible fairy-tale ending seemed just possible, though highly improbable. He was batting with Ramnarine, who looked well able to hold a bat.
Lara had hammered left-arm spinner Nicky Boje after lunch, and he and Dinanath Ramnarine put on a half-century partnership for the ninth wicket. At 229 for 8 the target was 97 to win. Just possible.
Lara had already been dropped by paceman Makhaya Ntini, who let a simple chance slip when the superstar was on 64. It could have proved a disaster, but Jacques Kallis made the crucial breakthrough when Neil McKenzie held a catch and Lara had perished just nine short of his first century against South Africa. But not before he had smashed four sixes and eight fours.
Enter last man Courtney Walsh, who is a world record-holder with the bat, having been out for a duck more times in tests than any man in history! It was now a forlorn task, but it was Ramnarine who succumbed, edging a catch to Gary Kirsten in the gully off Kallis.
Resuming on 101 for 4 overnight, the West Indies hung on grimly to be six down at lunch, adding only 39 runs in two hours. Pollock made the breakthrough, though, just after the interval. He had Ramnaresh Sarwan (26) edging a leg-cutter to wicket-keeper Mark Boucher. This 20-year-old could become a real world-class player very soon.
Could West Indian vice-captain Ridley Jacobs again come to the rescue? It was he who scored an unbeaten century in the last innings of the previous Test. The answer: no, not this time. Pollock once again proved his wiles, bowling a cleverly disguised slower ball, which Jacobs (0) lobbed to Gary Kirsten at mid-off.
Not surprisingly, Pollock was named man-of-the-match. He had scored 89 runs in two innings, both undefeated . And his bowling figures of 66 for five in the two innings were well deserved. Nicky Boje’s four second-innings wickets were also a major contribution.
All in all, the South African series victory, two-nil up with one Test to play, proves one thing: the Australians are probably the only side who could beat the Proteas on present form. Or perhaps, India in India. We shall see.
(Paul Martin is editor-in-chief of Sport Africa and Live Africa, and is the regular Southern Africa correspondent for rediff.com)
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