Tony Becca - FROM THE BOUNDARY AFTER THE West Indies lost to South Africa in the Test series, West Indians were hoping, in fact some were willing to take a little wager that despite the 3-0 margin and in spite of the home team's strong batting, bowling and brilliant fielding, the Windies would win the five-match one-day contest.
Apart from blind patriotism, the reason for the optimism was the West Indies batting.
According to the faithful, or the hopeful, although the Windies bowling, like their fielding, was poor, the batting, led by captain Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan and including the aggressive Chris Gayle, Ricardo Powell and newcomer Dwayne Smith, was good, was explosive, and in a 50-over contest, with the bowlers forced to bowl closer to the batsmen, it was capable of batting them to victory.
There were those, however, who believed the West Indies had no chance.
As far as they were concerned, although the West Indies batting fired a few times during the Test series and the bowling never did - not even once, it is hardly any better than their bowling or their fielding and Sunday's performance in the first match proved that to be true.
Batting under lights, and especially in Cape Town, is never an easy job, and regardless of how well the West Indies batted, even if Lara, Chanderpaul and Sarwan were in the pink of form and Gayle, Powell and Smith were at their explosive best, it was hardly likely that they could have won the match after South Africa had posted 263 for four.
Losing is one thing, however, surrendering is something else, and although Lara, like so many batsmen before him who have been adjudged out leg before wicket may not have been out, the overall performance was an embarrassment to West Indies cricket.
On a good pitch for batting, the West Indies, routed for their lowest one-day total ever and suffering their heaviest defeat as far as the margin of runs was concerned, were bowled out for 54 to lose by 209 runs.
To be dismissed for so little was embarrassing, and to lose by so many was also embarrassing. What was really embarrassing, however, what really shocked West Indian fans was the ease with which Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini, Andre Nel and Lance Klusener cut down the West Indies batsmen.
They were like lambs to the slaughter.
Looking totally outclassed as they played and missed and edged catches behind the wicket, the entire West Indies team, all 11 batsmen, were in and out in 23.2 overs.
Can the West Indies win the series?
Although it is not impossible, that seems unlikely - very unlikely.
Can the West Indies win a match?
With Gayle, Lara, Chanderpaul and Sarwan around, with Powell and Smith capable of a whirlwind innings, that is likely - very likely.
To do one or the other, however, the West Indies batsmen, just like their bowlers and fielders, will have to come good really good.
As weak as the bowling has been, as poor as the fielding has been, the batting has once again demonstrated that as scintillating as it can be at times, it is hardly any better. In fact, the batting on Sunday in Cape Town must be the most embarrassing performance by the West Indies in South Africa.
