West Indies batsman Fidel Edwards (left) is bowled out as South Africa's fielder Martin Van Jaarsveld watches on the final day of the fourth Test match at the Supersport cricket stadium in Pretoria yesterday.
CENTURION, South Africa (AP)
CAPTAIN GRAEME Smith and Herschelle Gibbs quickly bashed the required 46 runs for South Africa to beat the West Indies by 10 wickets yesterday on the last day of the fourth Test at Supersport Park.
With the win, South Africa sealed a 3-0 series victory.
West Indies resumed the fifth day at 263 for three, but lost their last seven wickets for 85 runs and barely avoided an innings defeat.
Rain delayed the start and interrupted afternoon play and South Africa's players kept an anxious eye on the sky while managing to take the last two West Indies wickets only a quarter of an hour after the tea break.
CAUGHT
Shaun Pollock had Mervyn Dillon caught by Smith at first slip for 29, and Andre Nel wrapped up the innings by bowling Fidel Edwards for 10.
"Yesterday we were a little bit off the mark," Smith said. "I think the ball landed in a puddle in the covers, and the seam went all soft and gooey.
"Today with the new ball, though, it whizzed past the bat and the bowlers did the job."
The West Indies collapsed after starting the last day with high hopes of holding out for a draw from its overnight score of 263-3 - 40 short of making South Africa bat a second time.
But Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan, both sitting on centuries, fell quickly in a morning session shortened by rain to 11 overs and 50 minutes.
"I think the opposition seemed to view the first day of the match more importantly than we did,"
said West Indies captain Brian Lara. "They grabbed their opportunities, and we simply had to play catch up cricket from there on in."
Makhaya Ntini made the most of the new ball that became due after the final over of play on the fourth day.
His ball well wide of the off stump induced a rash flashing cut by Gayle to have him caught by Neil McKenzie at backward point for 107 - only one more than his overnight score. He and Sarwan added 164 for the fourth wicket.
Ntini then uprooted Dwayne Smith's off stump with an in-swinger, and the 21-year-old who scored a century on debut in the last test in Cape Town was gone for a duck.
With that, Ntini claimed a combined 8-148 for the match, and his 29th wicket of the series, easily eclipsing Mike Procter's national record of 26 wickets in a four-match series.
NEW BALL
Asked when he decided to take over the retired Allan Donald's responsibility as strike bowler, Ntini said: "It was probably when Steve Elworthy got hit on the head on our last Australian tour in Sydney. It was then that I got the new ball.
"All I want to do is take wickets," added Ntini, who was named man of the series.
Sarwan moved from 107 to 119 before he was judged leg before wicket to Pollock. Sarwan equalled his highest test score, but the West Indies were reeling at 283 for six at lunch.
Pollock did the damage after the lunch break, getting Vasbert Drakes caught for four off a sharply rising delivery, while Ridley Jacobs was trapped leg before wicket for three.
Dillon attempted to hit his team out of trouble, but Pollock claimed his fourth wicket for 69 to lift his career tally to 326 Test wickets, four short of South African record holder Donald.
South Africa had scored 604 for six declared in their first innings. The West Indies were dismissed for 301, and South Africa enforced the follow-on.
South Africa won the first Test by 189 runs in Johannesburg, and the second by an innings and 65 runs in Durban. The third was drawn.
The five-match one-day series starts on Sunday in Cape Town.
