da apostebet： A little old lady last night suggested that Cable & Wireless extendits offer of voluntary severance packages beyond its employees
Haydn Gill07-May-2001A little old lady last night suggested that Cable & Wireless extendits offer of voluntary severance packages beyond its employees.The option should also be given to the international cricket team thecompany sponsors, she insisted.It was a comment made in the aftermath of yet another disconcertingdefeat by the West Indies, their third in succession that left anotherpacked Queen’s Park Stadium in an understandable state of despondency.South Africa, once more vastly superior in every facet of the game,won the fourth Cable & Wireless One-Day International by eight wicketswith 23 balls, to complete a disastrous weekend for the West Indiesand take a 3-1 lead ahead of the fifth match in Barbados on Wednesday.Clearly, we’ve had two poor days. We didn’t bowl yesterday (Saturday)and today (yesterday) we didn’t bat well, West Indies captain CarlHooper said afterwards.West Indies managed to raise a competitive, if not satisfactory totalof exactly 200 after there was the potential of another embarrassmentwhen they struggled through the first 20 overs.When they took to the field, however, it was the same old problem oftrying to contain the rampaging South Africans in the first 15 overs.But before anyone’s lunch could be fully digested, the scoreboard wasalready rapidly ticking over.Of the 20 boundaries South Africa struck, nine came in the first 10overs from Cameron Cuffy and Nixon McLean.It meant that the first 50 was posted in 56 balls and when the 20overs were completed South Africa were already half-way to theirtarget which was eventually reached from the first ball of the 47thover with only two wickets lost.By 3 p.m., everyone was sure South Africa would win their 13th One-DayInternational in their last 15 matches, but West Indians in the standstried to make the afternoon an enjoyable one by participating in anextended Mexican Wave and the continuos cacophony of noises fromdrums, whistles, horns and triangles.When you lose a game you’re disappointed, Hooper said.We didn’t want to go two games behind. We have put ourselves in aposition where we’ve got to win three games to win the One-Daycompetition, which is a big ask.We’ve got to stay positive and keep preparing ourselves well for thesegames.The way in which the first five West Indian batsmen found ways to getthemselves out triggered several unprintable words from the stands.Had it not been for Marlon Samuels’ 65, Hooper’s 46 and Brian Lara’sbrief onslaught against Allan Donald, there would have been many morefour-letter words.In chronological order, Ricardo Powell, Chris Gayle, Lara and Hoopergifted their wickets from strokes that they will quickly want toforget. Mind you, the first two were prised out by typically excellentrunning catches by the sure-handed South Africans.Powell, opening the batting in the absence of Wavell Hinds and LeonGarrick, opted to launch into Justin Kemp’s slower ball and paid theprice with a skied catch that Mahkaya Ntini hauled in.Gayle was even more culpable than his fellow Jamaican. Seemingly notsatisfied with his six over long-off off Kemp, he inexplicably chargeddown the pitch two balls later in another attempt to hoist the ballout of the stadium.Once he realised that Jonty Rhodes was the fielder sprinting to try tomake the match, he knew he was good as gone.Shivnarine Chanderpaul was the only one in the top five who did notfall to an entirely irresponsible stroke, but there was a hint ofcarelessness in the way he sliced a catch to gully off Ntini.By then Lara had greeted Donald with three scorching boundaries fromthe fast bowler’s first three balls he delivered.The first of them, a ferocious pull, made the 32-year-old left-handerthe second West Indian to pass 7000 runs in One-Day Internationals andthe 12th all told.Donald, however, enjoyed the final laugh. Like Gayle, Lara chargeddown the track, but edged a catch to the keeper to become the first offour wickets for Donald.When Lara departed, the West Indies were struggling at 61 for fourafter 21 overs, the pressure having been caused by Shaun Pollock’stight opening spell for six overs in which he conceded three runs andNtini’s seven overs for 13 after he came on to replace Kemp.Samuels and Hooper tried their best to revive the desperate situationwith a fifth-wicket partnership of 67 in 15.2 overs, but just when theWest Indies captain was looking dangerous and was four shy of a halfcentury, he fell to a catch at deep square-leg off Donald.Samuels, who counted eight fours, mainly from drives between extracover and mid-on, at least gave the West Indies hope of competitivetotal before he was eighth out with the score on 185.The tail-enders, with some luck, managed to get the West Indies to alandmark that was greeted with the type of celebrations that wouldhave suggested the total was 400.South Africa went about their business in their usual way withHerschelle Gibbs again successfully charging down the pitch to thefaster stuff of Cuffy and McLean.Gibbs raced to 30 off 27 balls before hitting a catch to cover off aball of no real merit. The bowler was Kerry Jeremy, who in spite offour generally tidy overs, was never given the ball again.Gary Kirsten completed his second half-century in successive days withan innings of 72, but South Africa probably took more satisfactionfrom Boeta Dippenaar’s unbeaten 62.The 23-year-old Dippenaar took the place of the injured Jacques Kallisat No 3 and it was the first time in the entire tour that he was givena chance to play a significant innings in an international match sincearriving in the Caribbean two months ago.For the second straight day, Hooper’s off-breaks proved economical,but again the support was lacking.