The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Ashwell Prince guides South Africa to easy win

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, May 16, 2005

Sport

Sport - Cricket

Ashwell Prince guides South Africa to easy win

PORT-OF-SPAIN: Ashwell Prince's career-best unbeaten 89 helped South Africa cruise to a six-wicket victory over West Indies in the fourth one-day cricket international at Queen's Park Oval on Saturday.

South Africa leads the five-match series 4-0 and can achieve an unprecedented sweep in the Caribbean in the last game on Sunday at the same ground.

Prince's 117-ball knock helped the visitors to their victory target of 232 for four with 3.1 overs to spare. The West Indies, sent in, was limited to 231-8 off 50 overs.

Justin Kemp, who hit four fours and two sixes in a 65, shared a fourth-wicket stand of 132 with Prince that set up South Africa.

Skipper's knock

Captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul held West Indies' innings together with an undefeated 85 after the home team lost the openers early again, both dismissed by fast bowler Makhaya Ntini.

Chris Gayle (3) sliced a catch to point and Xavier Marshall (3) spooned off the back foot. Both were caught by Prince, who took four catches in the innings, and Ntini finished with three for 34 off eight overs.

Charl Langeveldt, the match-winner with a hat trick on Wednesday, took 2-42 off eight overs.

At 16-2, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Brian Lara began rebuilding the innings in a stand of 45 for the third wicket.

Lara again falls to Nel

But just as the sellout crowd of 25,000 was warming to its local hero, Lara fell for the 11th time in international cricket to fast bowler Andre Nel. Prince was again the catcher, sprinting back 20 yards from point to hold onto Lara's skied drive for 22.

Sarwan, who hit three fours in 48 off 77 balls, added an even 50 with Chanderpaul to further boost the innings. He was fourth out within sight of a half-century when he flicked powerfully but straight to fine leg off Jacques Kallis.

Dwayne Bravo contributed a busy 28 off 27 balls with four fours, in adding 49 with his skipper.

But his dismissal, caught behind driving at Ntini, came just as the West Indies was trying to accelerate.

Dwayne Smith (13) and Courtney Browne (11) provided brief assistance to Chanderpaul but the West Indies total was a modest one.

The bowlers provided hope by reducing South Africa to 61-3 in the 15th over.

Ian Bradshaw claimed openers A.B. de Villiers (17) and Boeta Dippenaar (17), and Corey Collymore chipped in with the key scalp of Kallis (17). De Villiers and Kallis both edged to Gayle at first slip, while Dippenaar clipped a catch to midwicket.

Prince and Kemp then gradually dragged South Africa around despite a few alarms.

Spilled chances

The West Indies had chances to dismiss both but fumbled catches.

Prince was let off on 19 and 22, two chances of varying difficulty, while Kemp's two sixes should also have been catches to end his innings.

Gayle's diving left-handed effort could have claimed Prince off Collymore but Marshall's miss at midwicket three runs later was more straightforward at 83-3. — AP

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport