JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, CMC:
THE WEST Indies, fresh from their fighting effort to draw the third Test against South Africa on Tuesday, arrived in Johannesburg yesterday to begin preparations for the final Test match.
They start a four-day fixture against Easterns tomorrow and the West Indies have given themselves the task of improving the bowling and fielding to improve their chances in the last Test, starting on January 16.
The West Indies got a sensational unbeaten hundred from 20-year-old debutant Dwayne Smith, to secure a draw in the Cape Town Test on Tuesday and snap a seven-match losing streak in Tests in South Africa.
But the South Africans, who won the first and second Test matches, now have a winning 2-0 lead in the four-match series with that result and the West Indies will be playing for pride when the final match starts at Centurion Park next week Friday.
Brian Lara, the West Indies captain, says their aim now is to lift their bowling and fielding performances to better support the batting.
"We are 2-0 down (going) in the last Test match and we must try to produce something better than this performance," he said during Tuesday's press conference after the third Test.
"To score 400 plus runs in the first innings and 300 plus for five in the second innings is a team that is batting well. Under any situation away from home that is excellent batting, I just think we need to get it together as a fielding and bowling team," he added.
