Dellmar photo
Brian Lara on the go during his innings of 41 yesterday.PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP):
SOUTH Africa routed the West Indies for 137 to triumph by 53 runs in the sixth Cable & Wireless one-day international at the Queen's Park Oval yesterday.
The home team - chasing South Africa's modest 190 all out off 49.5 overs - lost their last eight wickets for 40 runs to slide to defeat. South Africa, who rested several key players after clinching the seven-match series in Barbados, now lead the series 5-1 despite losing the opening match.
Rookie fast bowler Andre Nel led the visitors' bowling with three for 20 off 8.1 overs. He received support from fellow pacer Roger Telemachus, who took two for 26 from nine overs.
Gauteng right-hander Neil McKenzie earned the Man of the Match award after his top score of 73 dominated the South African innings on a pitch helpful to the bowlers.
The West Indies had made slow, but steady progress as they sought a consolation victory in front of a capacity crowd of 25,000.
The home team reached 71 for one off 25 overs before Jonty Rhodes halted the West Indies' progress with another outstanding fielding effort to run out star batsman Brian Lara.
Left-hander Lara, on his home ground, had carefully compiled 41 off 63 balls when he sought a single into the off side. He hesitated for one moment and Rhodes swooped and threw down the bowler's stumps with Lara metres short of his crease.
Lara struck five fours and added 53 for the second wicket with makeshift opening batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul.
Chanderpaul accumulated 27 off 84 balls before he was deceived by Paul Adams' top-spinner and was stumped by wicketkeeper Mark Boucher.
Nel soon delivered two more blows to the West Indies.
The 23-year-old Easterns pacer returned for his second spell and removed captain Carl Hooper and Ricardo Powell off successive deliveries to leave the West Indies at 108 for five.
Hooper snicked a nasty lifter to Boucher, who also held the catch off Powell's edged cut.
Wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs holed out off Jacques Kallis and Marlon Samuels lost his off stump to Telemachus trying to keep up with the mounting run rate.
The lower order succumbed quickly and Pollock wrapped up the match with a leg before verdict against Corey Collymore.
Earlier, the West Indies bowlers did a capable job to restrict South Africa to their lowest total of the series.
Pacer Cameron Cuffy led the way with two for 26 off 10 consecutive overs with the new ball. Hooper supported with two for 27 off his 10 overs of off spin. Collymore, Kerry Jeremy and Samuels also each snared two wickets apiece.
McKenzie hit eight boundaries in 73 off 117 balls. The Gauteng right-hander added 92 for the third wicket with Justin Kemp, who hit three fours and a six in 46 off 70 balls.
But when their partnership was ended in the 35th over, the last eight wickets tumbled for 67 runs. Jonty Rhodes, who was last out for 25 off 28 deliveries, was the only other batsman to reach double figures.
Cuffy removed both openers within the first 13 overs, bowling in-form Herschelle Gibbs and trapping Boeta Dippenaar leg before.
But McKenzie and Kemp revived the innings with their enterprising stand.
McKenzie enjoyed some luck, dropped by Jacobs off an inside edged cut at Cuffy when 23. But he recovered after that miss to play some fluent strokes, especially through the leg side.
The teams today fly to St. Vincent where the seventh and final one-day match will be on Wednesday.
