Rose ... six for 75 in 25 overs.
DURBAN: Franklyn Rose produced two brilliant bursts in three top class spells of fast bowling in a super bid to drag the West Indies back into the game on the second day of the third Test against South Africa at Kingsmead today.
In an opening spell of 11 overs in 108 minutes, the 26-year-old Jamaican who finished the day with six wickets for 75 runs off 25.2 overs, snatched three wickets for 30 runs - including a burst of three for 17 in 37 deliveries, and later on, after pinning back South Africa with five testing overs which included four first-up maidens, he returned to check them again with three more wickets for 15 runs in 17 deliveries in a third spell during which he conceded 37 runs off 6.2 overs.
Unfortunately for the West Indies, two down and desperately needing to win the match to stay in with a chance of winning the series, there was no support for the son of St. Ann who, on his first appearance in the series, ticked off the second six-wicket haul of his career.
Fellow fastbowlers Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, who bowled so well in the first two matches, were shadows of themselves, right-arm legspinner Rawl Lewis got one solitary delivery to beat the batsmen in a disappointing performance,and at stumps when bad light stopped with 12.4 overs to go despite the presence of the floodlights which were turned on as early as 20 minutes after lunch, South Africa, in reply to the West Indies first innings 198 and with Jonty Rhodes unbeaten on 85, were comfortably placed at 292 for eight and apparently heading for a wining three-nil lead in the five-match series.
Thanks to Rose, however, with three days to go and South Africa batting last, the West Indies, if their batsmen apply themselves, still have an outside chance of victory.
With South Africa resuming on 46 without loss, Rose handed the West Indies an early wicket when he had Herschelle Gibbs caught by Philo Wallace at midwicket for 35 at 57 for one, 35 minutes into the day's play.
Thirty-seven minutes later, South Africa were on the run at 80 for three with Rose, who bowled as splendidly as he did while pocketing six for 100 in the first innings against India at Sabina Park in 1997 in his debut Test match,and again when, with India going into the final morning with all 10 wickets in hand and needing 118 to win the third Test at Kensington Oval, he set up the Windies victory by cutting down the first three batsmen, removing left-hander Gary Kirsten - caught by Carl Hooper at second slip for 26 at 79 for two, and Jacques Kallis - caught by wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs for 11.
With Rose taking a well earned rest at 96 for three, South Africa flourished through a fourth-wicket partnership of 60 between Daryll Cullinan and captain Hansie Cronje before Walsh bowled Cronje mid stump with a beauty for 30 at 140 for four.
The dismissal of Cronje was followed by another good partnership, and with Cullinan feasting off Lewis, Rhodes hooking Ambrose for a couple sixes, and the pair looking ominously at ease and in command, it was left to Rose, not as a bowler, but as a fielder, to break them up.
Cullinan, after a lovely backfoot cut off Ambrose to thirdman, ran one, went back for a second, and was runout for 40 at 182 for five as Rose, after diving to stop the boundary,came with a perfect throw from the ropes straight into the gloves of Jacobs.
Once again,South Africa hit back with a sixth-wicket partnership of 80 in 93 minutes off 140 deliveries between Rhodes and Shaun Pollock, and once again, with the home team running away and over 15,000 fans cheering wildly, it was left to Rose to pull them back after captain Brian Lara handed him the second new ball at 236 for five.
At first, with Rhodes and Pollock driving through the offside for boundaries, it appeared that the big man had run out of steam. In the fourth over of the spell, however, his clean-shaved head glistening under the floodlights, Rose found the spot again, and in 27 minutes and four overs, South Africa lost three wickets for 16 runs as they slipped from a commanding 262 for five to a not so commanding 284 for eight.
Right behind Rose as the star of the day, was Rhodes who thrilled his hometown fans with some glorious strokes while clipping to the highest individual score of the series - 11 better than Shivnarine Chanderpaul's 74 on the opening day of the series.
Joining the action at 140 for four,the 29-year-old who hit his career-best of 117 against England a few months ago, and who shut out the tourists with a valuable 64 in the second Test, has so far batted for 172 minutes,faced 123 deliveries, and hit two sixes and eight fours.
Rated as the world's best fielder, Rhodes was South Africa's top batsman today, and if he returns in the same mood tomorrow, if Allan Donald and David Terbrugge can stick around for a while, he could easily put the match beyond the reach of the West Indies.
``I felt on top of the world today,'' he said shortly after removing his pads,and based on his strokeplay he had every right to feel that way.
Starting with a pull over midwicket for six off Ambrose, a drive through extra-cover in the same over, Rhodes followed up, next over from the celebrated pacer, with a hook for six behind square-leg,and apart from two well executed sweeps and a backfoot drive past point off Lewis, dominated the Windies attack with front-food drives on either side of the wicket.
Just before walking off the field, however, Rhodes pulled Rose handsomely to the midwicket boundary, and the stare from the fast bowler suggested that the batsmen will be under fire when play resumes today.
Day 3: Windies on a limb
DURBAN - The West Indies' hope of winning their historic first Test series in South Africa was all but destroyed at Kingsmead yesterday following a dramatic collapse by the tourists on the third day of the third Test.
At stumps, the scoreboard read, West Indies 198 and 246 for eight, South Africa 312, and with the tourists leading by only 132 with only two wickets in hand, with all of two days to go, only rain, it appears, and plenty of it, can prevent South Africa, winners of the first two Tests, from easing to an unassailable three-nil lead in the five-match series and embarrassing the former world champions.
After trailing by 114 runs on first innings and slipping to 41 for two after Philo Wallace and Junior Murray had slit their throats, the West Indies, led by Shivnarine Chanderpaul and captain Brian Lara with 75 and 79 respectively, were going great guns at 201 for two a few minutes after tea and looking like powering themselves into a strong position from which to push for a victory which would leave the series at 2-1 in and pump some life into it.
Out of the blue, however, they were on the run.
In 43 minutes, starting 15 minutes after tea, the West Indies lost five wickets for 13 runs in eight overs as pacers David Terbrugge one for 38 off 13 overs, Shaun Pollock - four for 74 off 24.5, and Allan Donald, who became the first South African to take 250 wickets in Test cricket, two for 58 off 18, ripped them apart.
Chanderpaul, on 71 at tea, drove the first delivery from Pollock after the interval sweetly through extra-cover, and when, in the following over, Lara, on 75, rocked back and square-cut Terbrugge, it appeared that the pair of left-handers would bat out the day - and in style at that.
After batting impeccably up to then, however, after looking invincible, and after a lovely partnership of 160 in 180 minutes off 280 deliveries, they both suffered lapses of concentration and followed each other back to the pavilion in the space of six deliveries.
Lara was the first to go, in the fourth over, when, after refusing to be tempted for 187 minutes, he hooked at Terbrugge, and Herschelle Gibbs, flying to his left at square-leg, hauled in a brilliant catch to make it 201 for three.
With the cheers for Gibbs, and for Terbrugge, still ringing around the ground, Chanderpaul drove a return catch to Pollock, and it was 201 for four.
Even then, the West Indies were still in a fairly good position.
When Carl Hooper, lazily cutting at Pollock with one hand off the bat, was caught off the inside by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher for two at 204 for five, they were, however, in serious trouble. And it was worse when Darren Ganga hooked at Pollock, and Gibbs, running back at square-leg, took a fantastic left-handed catch as the ball flew over his head to send the surprised but careless youngster packing for five at 213 for six.
Rawl Lewis, driving at Donald, edged to Boucher for zero to make it 214 for seven, and with Ridley Jacobs, 12 not out in 76 minutes, battling for survival, Franklyn Rose thumped five boundaries in scoring 22 before he swung Pollock high to Gibbs at long-on to make it 245 for eight.
The West Indies were probably unfortunate with Hooper's dismissal as the ball appeared to have touched the grass as Boucher fell to the ground. They got one back, however, when non-striker Rose, after colliding with bowler Kallis, fell to the ground, was runout, and captain Hansie Cronje allowed him to continue after consulting with the umpires.
Rose was then on 17 and the score 236 for seven.
It was a disappointing performance - especially coming after the brilliant bowling of Rose, who following his six for 75 on the previous day, picked up one of South Africa's two remaining wickets to finish with a career-best seven for 84 off 28 overs, after Courtney Walsh's early dismissal of Jonty Rhodes, who was caught and bowled, cut down by a deadly kicker after adding only two runs to his overnight 85, and after the batting of Chanderpaul and Lara.
If the West Indies manage to win the Test match, they will not only have to thank their bowlers but also Chanderpaul and Lara who polished the image of Caribbean batsmanship during their partnership.
In a wonderful display after Wallace had attempted to run a delivery from Donald and edged a catch to Boucher in the fifth over of the innings, and after Murray had hooked the first delivery from Jacques Kallis to Gibbs at midwicket, they not only paraded a sparkling repertoire of strokes, but also countered swing bowlers Donald, Pollock, and captain Cronje with crafty, top class batting.
In what should have been a lesson to Hooper - out or not, and to Ganga, they refused to cut, to pull, and but for one by Chanderpaul and the one which ended Lara's innings, to hook.
When bad light, despite the floodlights which were turned on in the 60th over with the score on 201 for four, stopped play at 4.51 with 14.1 overs still to be bowled, South Africa appeared on the verge of victory.
Day 4: South Africa wrap up series
DURBAN - South Africa ticked off a winning 3-0 lead in the five-match series when they comprehensively won the third Test against the West Indies at Kingsmead yesterday by nine wickets 47 minutes before tea on the fourth day.
Final score, West Indies 198 and 259, South Africa 312 and 147 for one with Gary Kirsten and Jacques Kallis not out on 71 and 23 respectively.
Following their four-wicket victory in the first Test at Wanderers and their 178-run triumph in three days at St. George's Park, South Africa have not only wrapped up the series, but Hansie Cronje and his men must also be licking their fingers and looking towards trouncing the West Indies, the once mighty world champions, 5-0,
That would not be surprising. Based on their performance so far during the historic first Test series between the two teams in South Africa - a series which was expected to be close and exciting, the West Indies are ready to be plucked.
After the disappointing, almost embarrassing performance at St. George's Park, captain Brian Lara said the series was not over and that his team would regroup in a bid to pull one back, pull two back and possibly even three.
Not only did they fail to pull one back here - yesterday they were worse than before.
After losing their last two wickets in 22 minutes and 4.3 overs for the addition of 13 runs and setting South Africa a winning target of 146 runs, the West Indies went down without even a fight.
Not only did they pick up only one wicket, but apart from one confident appeal for leg before wicket and one horrendous dropped catch, they never looked like getting another.
The appeal came when, with right-arm legspinner Rawl Lewis bowling around the wicket, left-hander Gary Kirsten, on 27 at 53, padded up to a delivery which spun appreciably out of the rough and hit him on the back foot.
The catch came when Gibbs, shortly after driving Lewis over long-on for six, swung on Lewis, and with Darren Ganga coming in from mid-wicket to accept what should have been an easy take, wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs, in a moment of madness, dashed for it, called off the man facing the ball, and dropped it.
On a day when the West Indies needed to throw everything at South Africa - to put every ounce of their energy into an attempt to win the match, or at least to go down fighting and save the blushes of their small band of supporters, they looked a beaten bunch from the moment they stepped on to the field.
Curtly Ambrose, who bowled only four overs at the start of the innings, hardly seemed interested and bowled almost gentle medium-pace; Franklyn Rose never approached his first innings brilliance; and even before he strained his left hamstring chasing a ball at backward point and was carried off the field with the score on 49 in the 18th over, Courtney Walsh did not seem his usual never-say-die self.
With the once feared pace attack of the West Indies failing to make an impression, it was left to offspinner Carl Hooper and Rawl Lewis to see what they could do.
But for the odd delivery which spun and popped out of the rough at either end, however, they also failed to pressure the batsmen as Kirsten and Herschelle Gibbs batted onfidently and entertained their cheering fans with some lovely strokes during an opening partnership of 97 in 118 minutes off 33.1 overs.
After taking it easy for four overs, during which they scored only four runs, Kirsten, probably fearing that the news which flashed around the ground that England had made an astonishing comeback to defeat Australia in Melbourne would inspire the West Indies, started the hunt with a lovely square-drive off Rose in the fifth over; and when Gibbs emulated him with a cracking square-cut off Ambrose, the sound echoed around Kingsmead like a knell for the West Indies.
Kirsten then drove Rose through extra-cover, Gibbs did likewise in the pacer's following over, and when, on the introduction of the spinners, Kirsten swung Lewis one bounce to the mid-wicket boundary, cut Hooper past point, the Gibbs leaned into Lewis and drove for six over long-off, the writing was on the wall as South Africa went to lunch sitting pretty on 76 without loss.
Twenty-three minutes after the interval, Gibbs went - leg before wicket to Hooper for 49 after batting for 117 minutes, facing 86 deliveries and striking one six and four fours.
The strike, however, was too late, and with the West Indies looking more and more as if they were simply awaiting the end, with Kirsten and Kallis preening themselves with some wonderful strokes, South Africa ended the proceedings with Kirsten, who batted for 168 minutes, faced 152 deliveries and stroked nine boundaries, reeling off a flowing drive off Lewis to the long-off boundary as the hometown fans - whites, coloureds, Indians and blacks - waved the new flag of the new South Africa in celebration.
Among the flags was a banner which chided the West Indies on their performance and read in part... 'and they asked for more money to come here'.