SOUTH AFRICA BOWL OUT WEST INDIES FOR 200 IN FOURTH ODI

However, on a track which still looks a belter for batting and where the average first innings score is 257, the West Indies total has a distinctly fragile look about it.

Samuels (65) stroked the ball around in his familiar languid style, a superb eye allied to some magnificent timing. The disappointment for the West Indies was that only captain Carl Hooper (46) managed to stay with him for any length of time as wickets fell at disturbingly regular intervals. Samuels was eventually trapped leg before by Shaun Pollock. The West Indies' troubles began at the toss, for which Hooper turned up an extraordinary seventeen minutes late. After an admonishment from match referee John Reid, he answered only in vague terms when interviewed by television about changes to his side, mentioning no names. It was a bizarre performance and hardly the positive start the West Indies needed to an important day.

His opposite number Pollock won the toss, opted to field and then turned in a marvellous individual performance with the ball, conceding just threee runs from his first six overs, and 1-16 from his 10. Justin Kemp, in the side for the injured Jacques Kallis, was more expensive at the other end but took the wickets of both openers.

Ricardo Powell (9) was first, brilliantly caught by Makhaya Ntini sprinting backwards from mid-off, diving to take the ball as it fell over his head.

Chris Gayle, who was dropped by Pollock at second slip in Kemp's first over, then hit him for a straight six. But Kemp had his man two balls later, Gayle (9) looking to play aggressively and scooping the ball to backward point where Jonty Rhodes judged the catch perfectly.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul fell to the Kemp/Ntini combination in reverse, Ntini striking in his first over as the batsman sliced the ball firmly to gulley.

Brian Lara (25) then played another of his brief cameos, hitting Allan Donald's first three deliveries to the boundary, first a pull behind square followed by two glorious back-foot drives to the cover fence. He would be Donald's man though, Lara coming down the track and edging behind to Mark Boucher as he looked to check an attacking stroke.

With four down and only 61 on the board, Hooper was forced to reign in his shots, and together with Samuels began to rebuild the West Indies innings. He was slow at first, but accelerated as the overs began to pile up before jumping feet first into a well-laid South African trap. Donald's first ball of a new spell was short, Hooper pulled, and Kemp took a simple catch at deep square-leg.

Ridley Jacobs (8) drove Ntini straight to Pollock at mid-off, Neil McGarrell (2) did much the same to Kemp and was caught by Donald and when Samuels was eighth out to leave just the bowlers to see out the final three overs. Donald wrapped up the last two wickets to give him figures of 4-38 after his ignominious start.

WEST INDIES SENT IN TO BAT IN FOURTH ONE-DAY INTERNATIONAL

The South Africans made one injury-enforced change to the team that won the third ODI by 132 runs on Saturday with Justin Kemp coming in for Jacques Kallis.

In the West Indies team, seam bowlers Nixon McLean and Kerry Jeremy replaced Wavell Hinds and Mervyn Dillon.

South Africa lead the seven-match series by two games to one.

Teams

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Ricardo Powell, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Brian Lara, Carl Hooper (capt), Marlon Samuels, Ridley Jacobs, Neil McGarrell, Nixon McLean, Kerry Jeremy, Cameron Cuffy.

South Africa: Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Boeta Dippenaar, Jonty Rhodes, Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock (capt), Mark Boucher, Justin Kemp, Justin Ontong, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini.

© CricInfo

Date-stamped : 07 May2001 - 06:43