NORTH SOUND, Antigua, CMC – Senseless batting again condemned West Indies to a one-run defeat to South Africa in the second and final Twenty20 International yesterday.
West Indies again failed to impress the “clichéd” schoolboys, as they finished on 119 for seven from their allocation of 20 overs, replying to South Africa’s 120 for seven from 20 overs.
West Indies required three from the final ball of the match delivered by Ryan McLaren, and Jerome Taylor failed to hit the jackpot, when he mishit a juicy wide ball, and the home team could only muster a single to point.
The result meant West Indies slumped to a 2-0 series defeat, after the South Africans also won the opening match by 13 runs the previous day at the same venue.
West Indies’ reckless batting also conceded a clear psychological advantage to the Proteas ahead of the five One-day Internationals between the two sides over the next two weeks prior to a three-Test series.
It also left the regional selection panel of Clyde Butts, the chairman, Robert Haynes, and Rafique Jumadeen scratching their heads, and confronted with some difficult choices to correct the shambolic batting for the upcoming matches.
West Indies’ bowlers had exploited another uneven Vivian Richards Cricket Ground pitch to restrict the South African scoring.
Jerome Taylor was the pick of the West Indies bowlers. He ended with the flattering figures of three wickets for 14 runs from his allotment of four overs, and Darren Sammy scalped two for 16 from his four overs.
Ironically, Sammy and Taylor were to play their roles, when West Indies needed 15 from the last six balls of the match to formalise a victory.
Sammy hoicked McLaren through mid-wicket for two, top-edged a non-descript, cross-batted stroke to third man for a four, and ran four with Narsingh Deonarine off the next delivery, when the South African fielding fell apart, and conceded two overthrows.
Sammy could only get a single to square leg from the fourth ball of the over, and Deonarine was run out going for a second run that would have left West Indies needing two from the last ball.
West Indies knew they had a fight on their hands, when their captain Chris Gayle was adjudged lbw to Steyn for a duck in the first over, and Andre Fletcher again failed, caught behind for four essaying an ill-advised, front-foot hook shot at a short, rising ball from Morne Morkel in the third over to leave the hosts nine for two.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul joined Dwayne Bravo, and they used their experience to soak-up the pressure, and get West Indies back on course with a stand of 68 for the third wicket.
Bravo had a slice of fortune on 10, when substitute fielder Roelof van der Merwe muffed a chance at backward point off McLaren, and continued to hit the top score of 40 from 42 balls, including one four and two sixes.
He and Chanderpaul started to prosper following the chance, and West Indies were just about to get into the swing of things, scenting victory with 43 needed from the last 32 balls.
Chanderpaul, whose batting was affected by a sore wrist, tried his clever reverse sweep once too often however, and was caught behind for 29.
This sparked a mini collapse with each successive batsman going for glory, and trying to be the hero for West Indies, rather than coast to safe harbour.
Apart from Chanderpaul, West Indies also lost Bravo caught at deep mid-wicket off Morkel, Ramnaresh Sarwan also caught at deep mid-wicket off Botha for six, and two balls later, Kieron Pollard caught inside the long-on boundary off the same bowler for 12 in between the 15th and 19th overs before the last over drama unfolded.
Earlier, West Indies used the pitch to send the South Africans crashing to 59 for five in the 13th over, but debutant David Miller made the top score of 33 from 26 balls, and Johan Botha contributed 23 from 22 balls to beef the Proteas’ total up.
Taylor struck twice before the fielding restrictions were relaxed, when Loots Bosman was caught behind down the leg-side for a duck in the second over, and South Africa captain Graeme Smith was bowled for 15 to leave the visitors 27 for two in the sixth over.
Sammy plunged South Africa into further chaos, when AB de Villiers was caught at backward point, and JP Duminy was caught behind for 13 in the 12th over, before Sulieman Benn trapped Alviro Petersen lbw Benn for eight.
West Indies’ grip on the match was loosened however, when Botha joined Miller, and they added 57 for the sixth wicket before the home team claimed them in the final over, when they attempted a late flourish.
The first ODI of the five-match series is tomorrow at the same venue, which also hosts the second ODI two days later.
