A win, a win at last

Tony Cozier24-Apr-2001A win, a win at last!And not just an ordinary win but one against opponents presently ratedsecond only to Australia, a win hard-fought and comprehensive, a winachieved through a team effort in which the bit players contributedeven more than the established stars.By defeating South Africa by 130 runs in the fifth and final Test atSabina Park yesterday, after the collapse of the last six wickets for46 in 15 overs after lunch, the West Indies ended a sequence of 13Tests and almost a year without a victory.In contrast, it was South Africa’s first loss in the same number ofTests.For the West Indies, there have been ten losses and a distressinglitany of chaos and controversy in that time. It makes a refreshingchange to be able to report something positive.It could not save a series already secured by South Africa throughvictories at Queen’s Park Oval and the ARG, and it was Shaun Pollock,not Carl Hooper, who stepped forward to collect the impressive new VivRichards Trophy at the end. But there was justified satisfaction forHooper’s first win as captain and for his players.The result was an appropriate parting gift for the great CourtneyWalsh who ended his celebrated career as he began it 17 years and 132Tests earlier against Australia at Perth, with a West Indies triumph.Inevitably, he was in the thick of things at the end, claiming two ofthe last three wickets with the second new ball to the delight of thesmall Sabina Park crowd that, only a year ago, was hailing him as hesurpassed Kapil Dev as Test cricket’s leading wicket-taker.Now he waved them goodbye for the last time from the middle and leftthe field to heartfelt hugs from West Indians and South Africansalike.As significantly, the win was a boost for the collective confidence ofthe generation to follow.They will depart for their next Test series, in Zimbabwe in July,unquestionably weakened by the loss of Test cricket’s highest wickettaker who was, once more, their most successful bowler in the series.But they are now assured they have the capacity to compete with thebest, a status not evident after their thrashings in England lastsummer and in Australia subsequently.For a long time yesterday it seemed as if the self-doubt that is theupshot of failure was again hindering the West Indies.It had often affected them during the series and, as Walsh and MervDillon trundled away ineffectively to mainly defensive field placings,South Africa’s overnight pair Neil McKenzie and Jacques Kallis solidlysettled.Cameron Cuffy had a bowl but did nothing to compensate for his earlierclumsy fielding. Dinanath Ramnarine took over from Dillon and, afterfour overs, Hooper replaced Cuffy.The closest the West Indies came to separating the pair was on an lbwappeal from Hooper against Kallis an hour and ten minutes into theday.Lunch was 20 minutes away when the breakthrough finally came.McKenzie, never entirely sure against Ramnarine, prodded forward tothe leg-break, failed to cover it sufficently and Leon Garrick snappedup the catch inches from the ground at silly point.McKenzie had defied the West Indies for four hours, 20 minutes for his51, yet South Africa still seemed on course for safety at 209 for fourat lunch, with Kallis entrenched with 51.Ramnarine changed that within four balls of resumption.Kallis, as always, had been keen to get after him before lunch, threetimes stepping down to lift him to the extra-cover boundary.Second ball into the second session, he was again on the attack,pulling. The ball was too close to him for the shot and he chopped itinto off-stump off the inside-edge, and the main stumbling block wasgone.Two balls later, Mark Boucher, who has had a miserable tour with batand gloves, reached forward to a leg-break and snicked to wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs.These were match-winning blows and South Africa’s resistance crumbled.Once Lance Klusener and Pollock batted together for half-hour afterRamnarine’s double-strike, Hooper handed Walsh and Dillon the secondnew ball three-quarters of an hour into the final session.The outcome was still not certain, for the left-handed Klusener wasbeginning to find the middle of the bat for the first time in theseries with blows for which he is renowned and Pollock’s battingcredentials were obvious in a series average of over 100.This time, Pollock had nothing left. Dillon removed him to a catch toJacobs off a wild cut shot with his second delivery and, to universaldelight, Walsh claimed Justin Kemp first ball to a clear-cut lbwdecision.Next ball, Walsh’s fellow Jamaican Marlon Samuels, 18 years hisjunior, embarrassed himself and his former watching classmates atKingston College, by dropping Allan Donald at cover.It prolonged Walsh’s next wicket for a few minutes before he knockedout Donald’s middle stump, his 519th and, as it turned out, last Testvictim.It would have been fitting for Walsh to formalise the victory with awicket with his last ball in Test cricket. But West Indiansentimentality did not extend that far. They have had enoughdisappointments of late to care only about finishing off the match.It came 50 minutes before tea when last man Paul Adams skied a catchoff Dillon that Samuels, pedalling back from cover, this time caught.Then, and only then, could the celebrations begin.