Player of the Match
Player of the Match
2093dReport by David Hopps

Victory keeps South Africa as No. 1

South Africa duly completed an eight-wicket victory against West Indies on the fifth day, but initially at least it was not quite the stroll in the park that the scorecard suggests

Match Centre

Statistics

Best performances - Batsmen

AB de Villiers
AB de Villiers
148(194) 15x4 - 1x6
Control %92%
  • Productive Shot
  • on drive
  • 27 runs
  • 4x4 - 0x6
9 8 14 39 28 3 24 23
MN Samuels
MN Samuels
74(150) 9x4 - 2x6
Control %70%
  • Productive Shot
  • on drive
  • 18 runs
  • 1x4 - 2x6
3 0 6 10 16 11 19 9

Best performances - Bowlers

DW Steyn
DW Steyn
O25
M6
R78
W4
Eco3.12
RHB
OFFLEG
1W
1W1W
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF
SR Harmer
SR Harmer
O24
M7
R82
W4
Eco3.41
RHB
OFFLEG
2W1W
1W
  • FTFULL TOSS
  • YYORKER
  • FFULL LENGTH
  • GGOOD LENGTH
  • SGSHORT OF GOOD LENGTH
  • SSHORT LENGTH
LHB
LEGOFF

Match Details

Toss

West Indies , elected to bat first

Player Of The Match

Player Of The Series

Series result

South Africa won the 3-match series 2-0

Match number

Season

Hours of play (local time)

10am start, Lunch 12.30-13.10, Tea 15.10-15.30, Close 17.30

Match days

2,3,4,5,6 January 2015 (5-day match)

Test debut

TV Umpires

Reserve Umpire

Match Referee

Scorecard Summary

WEST INDIES 329(99.5 OVERS)
1ST INNINGS

SOUTH AFRICA 421(122.4 OVERS)
1ST INNINGS

WEST INDIES 215(79.5 OVERS)
2ND INNINGS

SOUTH AFRICA 124/2(37.4 OVERS)
2ND INNINGS

Commentator: Alex Winter

Amla picks up the Sir Vivian Richards trophy and also collects the Test Championship mace and the cheque for finishing top of the tree - wasn't really expecting that now! But there we are, the world's best Test side crowned again. Comfortably victory and now they can take their success into the one-day cricket coming up, starting with three T20s against West Indies, the first one also here in Cape Town. Stick around for the best reaction to this Test and we'll be back on Friday for the first T20, 4pm GMT start, see you then...

Time to hear from the captains. Denesh Ramdin is reflecting on another defeat: "It was always going to be tough but we didn't do the good things for a long period of time we did it in short spurts. When you get starts you need to go on, South Africa did, we just made 50s and 60s. They're world class bowlers but we got starts so we did well but we need to go on. South Africa deserve to be No. 1 in the world and showed that here. Our one-day boys are here so hopefully we can get it a good go in the one-day series."

The Man of the Match is AB de Villiers : "The batting unit played really well, we stuck it out and waited for the right time to attack. You have to be patient in this game and wait to attack, I enjoy it when I get going but I like working hard for my runs. I've changed by technique on the front foot, it's important for me to feel confident but I can change my gameplan. But my mindset at the moment is perhaps the biggest change of all. I'm very happy for Simon Harmer, he took wickets in the second innings when perhaps he felt pressure to take wickets but all the bowlers as a whole did really well."

Man of the Series goes to the South African captain Hashim Amla: "We've got quite a few weathermen in our team but once we got out there I was really happy with the bowlers yesterday. Dale is a wonderful asset to have in the team, that spell yesterday was exceptional, working with Simon at the other end, they worked very well in tandem. We know the team is going to go through a period of change and the guys that have come into the team have done really well. The continuity of performances has been excellent."

Presentation coming up. Dean Elgar probably won't get much of a mention but he's played really well today. Calm and collected, did not panic when the pressure was on with those maidens first thing before gaining his fluency to take his side home with easy. Well done Deano, may have confirmed his place at the top of the order for a while.

For South Africa, it's a nice success for Hashim Amla who wins his first home Test series as captain. They have confirmed their World No. 1-ranking for April 1 and retain the Test Championship mace. He's been able to call on his bowlers who have delivered once again - that spell by Dale Steyn yesterday was outstanding - and also may have found a future spin option in Simon Harmer who enjoyed an excellent debut here with seven wickets.

This game was another case of if only for the West Indies really. In a good place in their first innings - so many starts for their batsman - they fell short of a score to create real scoreboard pressure. They then failed to bowl well enough for long enough and South Africa again built a handy lead via another AB de Villiers century. Yet again West Indies had a chance yesterday to give themselves a great chance in this match but Marlon Samuels chucked away his 74 and the floodgates opened. it was too much to ask for a fourth-innings fire.

No dramas for South Africa this morning, they have finished it off very comfortably to win by eight wickets completing a 2-0 series win. The gap between the sides properly displayed in the series scoreline, West Indies couldn't compete for long enough periods to put their hosts under enough pressure and a batting collapse was never far away, none more so than yesterday afternoon when they lost 6 for 13 to dash any real hopes of making South Africa sweat today.

37.4
4
Samuels to Amla, FOUR, too short, Amla back and cuts hard out through the covers, finding the gap, the skipper brings his side home
37.3
1
Samuels to Elgar, 1 run, full just outside off, tapped to mid-on and they take the fielder on, almost a run out to ruin Elgar's morning but he was in even with a direct hit
37.2
1
Samuels to Amla, 1 run, this clip is closer to the deep fielder and they just get a single
37.1
2
Samuels to Amla, 2 runs, full on the leg stump, flicked through square leg and they run hard for two, good running

END OF OVER:
37 | 9 Runs | SA: 116/2

  • Dean Elgar59 (102b)
  • Hashim Amla31 (46b)
  • Jerome Taylor7-3-20-0
  • Marlon Samuels3-0-16-0

The debate begins about who gets to score the winning runs. Elgar deserves it...

36.6
0
Taylor to Elgar, no run, fuller length just outside off, pressed firmly to extra-cover

Target now in single figures...

36.5
4
Taylor to Elgar, FOUR, short and pulled handsomely through midwicket, great timing
  • Amla enjoying captaincy learning curve

    Alviro Petersen has announced his retirement from international cricket following the series against West Indies and will take up a Kolpak deal in English county cricket

  • Almost unbeatable, and almost winless

    Stats highlights from the final day in Cape Town, when South Africa duly completed an eight-wicket win

  • WI left exposed by Chanderpaul failure

    For so long a cornerstone of West Indies batting, Shivnarine Chanderpaul's failure in this series left the tourists more exposed than usual and perhaps gave a worrying glimpse at the future

  • Victory keeps South Africa as No. 1

    South Africa duly completed an eight-wicket victory against West Indies on the fifth day, but initially at least it was not quite the stroll in the park that the scorecard suggests

  • A long day of lost potential for West Indies

    West Indies started the fourth day from a promising position before rain and South Africa's bowlers combined to trigger yet another batting implosion

Almost winless

1-47

West Indies' overseas win-loss record in Tests versus all teams other than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe since Nov 2000

Almost unbeatable

17-0

South Africa's win-loss record v all teams other than Australia at Newlands since 1993. Against Australia's it's 2-4

Elgar at Newlands

74

Runs Dean Elgar had scored in six innings in Cape Town, before making an unbeaten 60 against WI

lasts long, really long

5

Number of times that Marlon Samuels has faced 150+ balls in an innings against SA, more than against any other team

Seven in a single blow

7

Runs scored by Kraigg Brathwaite to get off the mark. Since 2001, he is only 4th batsman to score 7 runs off 1 ball.

Four 40+ Stands

2

Number of times that South Africa's first four partnerships have posted 40-plus runs each against West Indies

Run drought

10

Number of innings since Alviro Petersen's last Test fifty. He had three fifties in the six innings before that

Respectable

329

West Indies' second highest score in the first innings of a Test in South Africa - highest is 408 at Port Elizabeth (2007)

Starts, but stopped

5

Number of WI batsmen who have been dismissed between 40 and 60. This has only happened 6 times in Tests

Keeper making fifty

2

Number of West Indian keepers who have made a 50-plus score in South Africa - Ridley Jacobs and Denesh Ramdin

It's Simple for Simon

4

Number of South African spinners, including Simon Harmer, who have taken 3 or more wickets in an innings on debut in the last 20 years.