All posts by h716a5.icu

Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) president, faces a second no-confidence vote after the board tabled the motion at a special general meeting on September 8

Firdose Moonda09-Sep-2011Mtutuzeli Nyoka, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) president, faces a second no-confidence vote after the board tabled the motion at a special general meeting on September 8. The meeting to vote on whether Nyoka will be removed as president will be held on October 15.CSA confirmed the notice had been sent to Nyoka’s office and to his lawyer, but Nyoka declined to comment when ESPNcricinfo inquired whether he had received the documentation.This is the second time in the space of eight months that CSA have attempted to oust their president. They first removed him in February but Nyoka challenged that decision in the South Gauteng High Court. It was found that the axing was unlawful and he was reinstated.The latest effort came after CSA’s annual conference, where Nyoka walked out of a board meeting, claiming there were issues on the agenda that he was not informed of. Nyoka’s lawyer, Bernard Matheson, said the items included a complaint against Nyoka for breaching media protocol, objections about the way he dealt with press releases, and an allegation that the national team was concerned that he had set a poor example.Nyoka informed the board he would lay criminal charges. “He did not say who those charges were against or what the charges were,” AJ Sooklal, head of CSA’s legal and governance committee, said.CSA hit back, claiming Nyoka had “brought the organisation into disrepute” and “treated the board in a contemptuous manner.” They also accused him of contravening the Companies Act by receiving his annual honorarium in advance without the consent of the board.The latest developments were part of the year-long spat between Nyoka and CSA chief executive Gerald Majola, which started when 4.7 million Rand ($671,428) were paid in bonuses after South Africa hosted the 2009 IPL and the Champions Trophy. The payments were not processed through CSA’s remunerations committee (Remco) – although they were taxed – and were picked up as irregularities by CSA’s auditors Deloitte. An external investigation was set up to look into the matter.Eight weeks later, CSA moved the inquiry in-house because board members felt they had not exhausted their own procedures. A committee of inquiry was appointed under vice-president AK Khan. In November, the Khan Commission cleared Majola of any wrongdoing save for making “an error of judgment” by not declaring the payments through Remco.The first attempt to remove Nyoka came three months later, but when Nyoka returned to office in May, the matter was reopened. As part of his court battle, Nyoka asked that CSA undergo a forensic audit and KPMG were tasked with conducting it.The audit results were presented to the board on July 30. KPMG found that Majola could have breached the Companies’ Act in four instances and had to pass the matter on to a lawyer in order for CSA to take a decision. With the help of the South African Sports Council and Olympic Committee, Azhra Bham was appointed as the legal advisor.Bham delivered his findings orally to CSA the day before their AGM on August 20. The board issued Majola with a severe reprimand for his role in the bonus payments and resolved to institute better corporate governance measures. Nyoka did not attend the AGM for personal reasons and tried to get a copy of Bham’s report, which has not been released.The matter may end up in court again, further denting CSA’s reputation, and it has had consequences that directly affect cricket. With less than a month to go before the 2011-12 season starts, CSA is yet to announce sponsors for two of the three domestic competitions, the international Twenty20 team and all three international formats – Tests, ODIs and T20s. CSA’s commercial manager, Richard Glover, said the scandal had taken its toll because “the new sponsors want us to draw a line under the bonus saga before we make any announcements.” CSA’s only confirmed international sponsor is Castle Lager, who renewed and expanded their contract to include the Test and ODI teams in August.

A round-up of action from the World Cricket League Division Three tournament in Hong Kong

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jan-2011Papua New Guinea maintained their unbeaten record in the tournament with a comprehensive nine-wicket win over Denmark at the Kowloon Cricket Club. Denmark won the toss and batted, but were in strife right from the start as each of their top six batsmen failed to get into double figures. Loa Nou, Hitolo Areni and Chris Amini shared two wickets apiece as the Denmark batsmen failed to cope with their seam bowling and were reeling at 33 for 6. Denmark’s lower order showed some fight: Martin Pedersen made 17, and Bobby Chawla and Aftab Ahmed added 55 runs for the ninth wicket to take Denmark past 100. Ahmed was unbeaten on 39 as Denmark were bowled out for a paltry 112 in just under 42 overs.That score was never going to be enough to challenge PNG and though they lost Asad Vala in the first over, Tony Ura and Amini put on a solid unbeaten 114-run partnership to carry PNG home. Ura was unbeaten on 64 while Amini was 43 not out.Half-centuries from Waqas Barkat and Najeeb Amar carried Hong Kong to a thrilling one-wicket win over Italy at the Mission Road Ground. Italy elected to bat but started poorly, losing openers Andy Northcote and Damian Fernando with just 26 runs on the board. Italy captain Alessandro Bonora and Peter Petricola then put on 110 runs for the third wicket to set the base for a big total. Bonora was run out for 40 but Petricola remained solid as he added a further 42 with Damian Crowley. However, Italy frittered away the advantage as they lost five wickets for 50 runs to slide from 178 for 3 to 228 for 8. Petricola was unbeaten on 104 as Italy reached 235 for 8 at the end of their 50 overs.Italy looked set to defend that total as Gayashan Munasinghe struck with his medium-pace to pick up three quick wickets to leave Hong Kong struggling at 25 for 4. Hussain Butt and Nizakat Khan revived the Hong Kong innings with a 43-run fifth-wicket partnership but it was the 97-run seventh wicket partnership between captain Najeeb Amar and Waqas Barkat that got Hong Kong’s chase back on track. Both batsmen looked set to carry their team across the line before Amar fell for 52 in the 44th over with the score on 184. Hong Kong seemed to lose the momentum with Amar’s dismissal as Munir Dar and Nadeem Ahmed fell in quick succession. They needed 26 off the last 12 balls with just one wicket in hand but No. 11 Aizaz Khan played a blinder, swatting three sixes in an eight-ball 24 to take Hong Kong home with two balls to spare.United States of America overcame an early batting collapse to post a two-wicket win in a low-scoring encounter against Oman at the Hong Kong Cricket Club. Oman, who were sent in to bat, started strongly, with openers Hemin Desai (28) and Deep Trivedi (11) putting on 42 runs in just under 7 overs before Desai was bowled by Kevin Darlington. His dismissal triggered a collapse as Oman slumped from 42 for 1 to 110 all out in just under 38 overs. Only Sultan Ahmed, with his 30, offered some resistance as Usman Shuja, Orlando Baker and Asif Khan picked up seven wickets between them.USA’s chase started disastrously as medium-pacer Rajesh Kumar picked up three key wickets and ran out Sushil Nadkarni to leave USA reeling at 16 for 6 in the eighth over. However, No. 9 Usman Shuja (43) and No. 10 Asif Khan (31) held firm to carry USA home. The duo added an unbeaten 71 runs for the ninth wicket to anchor USA to victory with 16 overs remaining.

Florian Plettenberg has dropped an update on reported Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Konrad Laimer.

What’s the talk?

In a recent post on Twitter, the Sky Sports Deutschland reporter revealed that, while RB Leipzig are hoping to extend the central midfielder’s contract beyond its current expiry in the summer of 2023, the 24-year-old has his heart set on set on a move to the Premier League – with Tottenham heavily linked.

Plettenberg goes on to state that there are a number of English sides interested in the Austria international, two of whom are from the current top five, while Manchester United are also mentioned as holding an interest in the former RB Salzburg starlet.

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In his tweet, the journalist said: “Update Laimer: Leipzig want to extend beyond 2023 but the player still hesitates. He can really imagine to move in the Premier League. Several top clubs are interested, two from the current top five ‘intensively’. The interest of MUFC is ‘colder’.”

Supporters will love it

Considering just how impressive Laimer has been in Germany this season, in addition to the fact that the midfielder would appear to be something of a perfect fit for Antonio Conte’s set-up, the news that the 24-year-old appears keen on a move to the Premier League this summer is sure to be an update the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium faithful will love.

Indeed, over his 23 Bundesliga appearances this season, the £23.4m-rated talent has highly impressed in the heart of the Leipzig midfield, scoring four goals, registering four assists and creating four big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 0.7 shots and making 0.7 key passes per game.

The £49k-per-week dynamo – who can be deployed in defensive, central and attacking midfield, as well as at right-back and in right-midfield – has also impressed in metrics more typical of his natural position, making an average of 1.6 tackles, 0.2 interceptions, 0.3 clearances and winning 3.1 duels per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Adi Hutter dubbed “incredibly aggressive on the ball” average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.94, ranking him as Domenico Tedesco’s eighth-best performer in the German top flight.

As such, it is clear to see that the “elite presser” would be something of a perfect addition to Conte’s current options in the middle of the park, leading us to believe that Fabio Paratici must do everything he can to land the 24-year-old Leipzig star this summer.

AND in other news: Paratici now plotting “serious” bid for £116k-p/w Spurs target, Conte would love him

Injury expert and Sky Sports contributor Ben Dinnery has relayed a concerning update coming out of Wolves ahead of the Premier League run-in. 

The lowdown: What’s at stake…

As things stand the Wanderers sit in eighth position in the table with five games remaining starting with the visit of Brighton & Hove Albion to Molineux on Saturday.

Still with a realistic chance of earning European football for next term, Bruno Lage’s side will complete the 2021/22 campaign against title-chasing Liverpool at Anfield having faced Chelsea, Manchester City and Norwich City between now and then.

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However, the Portuguese manager looks set to be without one key figure for the all-important final weeks…

The latest: Kilman out

Taking to Twitter, Dinnery relayed Lage’s answer during the pre-match press conference and cited a report detailing a season-ending injury for Max Kilman.

“Kilman could miss the rest of the season. ‘It will be hard for him to return,’ said Bruno Lage. ‘We have 25 days in front of us, and I don’t believe he will recover. He twisted his ankle, and we need to understand what is the problem.'”

The report from Express & Star explains that the 24-year-old suffered an ankle injury in training that is still being assessed to discover the true severity.

Talismanic midfielder Ruben Neves and winger Daniel Podence also remain sidelined for the meeting in the Midlands.

The verdict: Big miss

Losing Kilman for the remainder of the season is an undoubted blow as Wolves continue their push for Europe.

Prior to the setback central defender had made 34 appearances across all competitions, winning 2.2 aerial duels, 2.6 ground duels and making 1.5 interceptions on average per match in 30 league outings (Sofascore).

Forging an impressive partnership alongside Conor Coady and Romain Saiss for the most part, Kilman had been indexed to a number of top-flight clubs back in February following an impressive breakthrough campaign.

Albeit ill-timed, this injury could perhaps deter suitors and allow Lage to reintegrate the ace back into the ranks in the summer.

In other news, Wolves are reportedly eyeing up a move for an exciting player. Find out who it is here.

A number of IPL franchises have expressed concern about the potential damage to the IPL’s image from Sahara Pune Warriors’ abrupt withdrawal from the league

Tariq Engineer05-Feb-2012A number of IPL franchises have expressed concern about the potential damage to the IPL’s image from Sahara Pune Warriors’ abrupt withdrawal from the league, with some saying the decision might make sponsors think twice about associating with the tournament in the future. An hour before the player auction on Saturday, Sahara India Parivar cut its ties with the BCCI, withdrawing its sponsorship of the Indian team and its ownership of the IPL Pune franchise. The announcement took the other franchises “completely by surprise” and has thrown the schedule and format of the tournament into doubt again.”When a franchise like this walks, it is not good for the league,” a team administrator told ESPNcricinfo. While he said allowances must be made as the IPL is a new product and, as with any new business, there will be teething problems, he said the reasons “why this is happening are not good”.The Pune Warriors are the fourth team over the past 18 months whose status ahead of an IPL season remains unclear. In 2010, the BCCI terminated Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab but they took the board to court and won the right to participate in the 2011 IPL. Last September, Kochi Tuskers Kerala became the third team to be terminated, though one of the team’s co-owners said last week that they plan to file a case of their own in court and are confident of being part of the 2012 season despite their players having been sold to other teams.It is this uncertainty over which teams will be part of the league, franchises said, that sends the wrong signal to sponsors and partners. No business likes uncertainty. Franchises typically sign multi-year deals with their sponsors. But if a sponsor can’t be sure the team they are backing will remain in the league, they are going to be jittery about committing their money and resources.The operational details of the IPL – number of matches, dates etc – are up in the air as well but, beyond the logistics, it is the constantly shifting goalposts that add to the confusion. It renders decision-making by both franchises and their partners more difficult because the underlying factors that determine those decisions are unclear. A sponsorship deal for a team that plays 14 matches will naturally differ from one for a team that plays 18 matches. If you can’t be sure of the number of matches, it becomes that much harder to put a value on a contract.Adding to the league’s concerns is the fact that the 2011 IPL produced the lowest television ratings of any of the four seasons, an average Television Viewer Rating (TVR) of 3.91 per game, down 29% from 5.51 in 2010. Even the final, which drew a TVR of 6.96, paled in comparison to the 12.85 rating in 2010. It was also the first final to draw a single-digit rating.Santosh Desai, brand analyst and managing director of Future Brands, said he felt that the 2012 season would be a crucial barometer of the IPL’s long-term prospects because of a number of coalescing factors, including the general slowdown of economies around the world and the other problems surrounding Indian cricket at the moment: the national team’s poor performances away from home and the loss of the domestic broadcaster. In such a scenario, he said, something like the Warriors quitting the league takes on a larger significance.”[The IPL] is sentiment-driven. The moment you take away the good cheer, everything looks darker and gloomier. It begs greater scrutiny on the part of the franchises of the harder, more rational aspects of the IPL. From every single quarter there seems to be some reason for doubt. So this could be the most challenging season.”Desai also said a lack of proper governance, going back to when Lalit Modi was the IPL chairman, was part of the problem. “Once you build something, you need a steady hand, someone with a long-term perspective. Auctions are too frequent. If you look at the manner of the BCCI overall, the conflict of interest issues have not been resolved. So certainly governance is an issue.”It’s too early, though, to say the IPL itself is in serious trouble. When the NBA went on strike last year, the consensus opinion was that the league’s viewership would suffer if and when the league started up again. The strike was eventually called off and six weeks into the 2011-12 season, television ratings are up across the board.Sahara’s issues with the BCCI relate largely to the IPL. In 2008, Sahara’s bid for one of the first eight IPL franchises was “thwarted”, as it said; in 2010, Sahara successfully bid US$370 million for the Pune franchise but later asked the board for a refund of what it called its “extra bid money” stating that its bid price had been calculated on the basis that 94 matches would be played per season from 2011 onwards but only 74 matches were played last season. Other requests, such as not having player retention to create a “level-playing field” or allowing one extra foreign player for the two new teams were also turned down.Some are also still hopeful that a compromise can be reached between Sahara and the BCCI. “We sincerely hope the parties come to a consensus and a solution is reached in the best interest of the league and cricket,” a franchise official said.

Shahid Afridi believes his Pakistan team can emerge from their scandal-hit tour of England with respect

Andrew McGlashan in Leeds11-Sep-2010Shahid Afridi believes his Pakistan team can emerge from their scandal-hit tour of England with respect. He has backed the side to build on their improved display in the first one-day international at Chester-le-Street and give the hosts a serious challenge in the remaining four matches.Although Pakistan lost by 24 runs in Durham – a considerable margin in a game reduced to 41 overs – they didn’t roll over as had been the case during the two Twenty20 internationals in Cardiff when the batting, especially, was awful to add to the woes of the spot-fixing controversy.On Friday Kamran Akmal managed his first half-century of the tour, Umar Akmal hit 43 off 33 balls and Asad Shafiq, who had only arrived 48 hours previously from the A-team tour of Sri Lanka, took Tim Bresnan for four boundaries to threaten a tighter finish.These are all aspects Afridi is clinging to in the hope that Pakistan can return home with their heads held high despite all the allegations that have been thrown their way since the spot-fixing story broke two weeks ago during the Lord’s Test.”We all want to go home with respect,” he said. “We want to play some good cricket and getsome victories. I know it’s very important for the team. Yesterday the performance was muchbetter, not 100% but I was quite happy with the efforts from the boys and that’s what I’m expecting in the next game as well.”We all know we are playing in a very tough situation but we are trying to forget everything that is going on. The players should focus on the games and as captain I’m trying to keep the morale high. We all know how important this series is for our team and our country.”Even though the three players at the centre of the spot-fixing storm – Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir – are now back in Pakistan, that doesn’t mean the issue has moved away from the tour. Wahab Riaz, the left-arm quick who took five wickets on his Test debut at The Oval, will be questioned by police in London next week although Afridi insists he is coping with the pressure and available to play.”At the moment he is feeling fine,” he said. “Let’s see what happens when the police investigate him. I really don’t know what is going on. I just heard the police want him. But he’s feeling okay.”Afridi also asked for the supporters back home to remember that no-one has yet been found guilty of any offences. “The guys are still not guilty and we are waiting for the results. We are good cricketers and want to maintain our respect and that is gained by playing good cricket. The PCB and ICC will take some action if things happened.”

As per Fanatik, an update has come to light on Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer plans involving Fenerbache defender Kim Min-jae.

The Lowdown: Tottenham target centre-half…

The Athletic recently revealed that Spurs and manager Antonio Conte have a new central defender in their sights this summer with a number of key targets already shortlisted.

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According to their information, Joško Gvardiol, Alessandro Bastoni, Sven Botman and Nico Schlotterbeck have all been identified for possible attempts this summer as club chief Fabio Paratici gets to work on the 2022/2023 campaign.

Now, with news emerging on another defensive candidate out of Turkey, it appears Conte has personally approved a move for Kim.

The Latest: Conte green-lights move…

According to Fanatik, Tottenham and Everton have ‘taken action’ over Kim with Lilywhites officials scouting the player and recommending him to Conte.

Subsequently, the Italian has now personally approved a move for the South Korea international defender by giving the ‘green-light’.

The Verdict: Right call?

The 52-year-old wants to see new additions at N17 over the summer as he seeks to improve Tottenham further over his first full season in charge next year.

Kim, who could cost around €23 million (£19m), certainly comes as an affordable alternative to fellow targets on the list with the defender also being called a ‘monster’ in his homeland.

The 6 foot 3 powerhouse, branded one of the stars of the transfer window this summer by Fanatik, may well be one to watch out for if Spurs can’t offload players like Tanguy Ndombele for a profit.

In other news: Tottenham official dispatched as Conte identifies ’emerging superstar’ signing, find out more here.

Pakistan’s high commissioner to the United Kingdom has said that the ICC was “playing to the public gallery” when it provisionally suspended the three players linked to the spot-fixing scandal

Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin03-Sep-2010The provisional suspension of three Pakistani players under the ACSU code of conduct on Thursday has sparked off a war of words between the ICC and Pakistan’s top diplomat in the UK. Reacting to the suspensions, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, Pakistan’s high commissioner to the UK, claimed that the ICC had made a mistake and that the governing body was “playing to the public gallery.”Speaking to the BBC, Hasan said that the ICC had “no business taking this action.” Instead, he claimed that cricket’s governing body had, “made an assurance to us when it said it would wait until Scotland Yard’s investigations were over.”Haroon Lorgat, the ICC’s chief executive, rejected the claim on Friday morning, telling Cricinfo that he had informed Hasan and the PCB that notices would be served to Pakistan captain Salman Butt and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.”I went yesterday [Thursday] later in the afternoon as a matter of courtesy and met with the High Commissioner and Ijaz [Butt, PCB chairman] and explained to them we will be serving the notice by the end of the evening if we are completed with our work, which we did,” Lorgat said.”I obviously couldn’t give all of the details due to matters of confidentiality, but they were aware we were busy with our investigations and we were close to conclusion, and that were likely to serve notice by the end of last night.”Lorgat said that the ICC had not suspended the players without the PCB’s knowledge. “I didn’t do it without his [Ijaz Butt’s] permission. I spoke to Mr Butt on the telephone before going public. He said he is fine. In fact, I asked him to join us when we served the notice. He said he was fine and he would send the Pakistan security manager.”The ICC’s move to suspend the three players came on the same day Pakistan announced that the players had opted to voluntarily withdraw from the forthcoming limited-overs series in England. Hasan’s remarks about the suspension, which reiterated his earlier belief that the players had been “set up”, are at the centre of what appears to be the Pakistan camp’s discontent with the suspension. Though Ijaz Butt remained silent on the matter – despite attempts to contact him – another official close to the investigation also questioned the development.The official said that no evidence had yet been shared with the PCB. “We’re very surprised the ICC has done this because to my knowledge there had been no indication of this,” the official said on Thursday night, after the suspensions were announced.”This is a bit inappropriate doing it now because the Scotland Yard investigations are ongoing and they could have waited till the end of that,” the official said. “What if they clear the players of any wrongdoing now?”Pakistan are thought to be unhappy at the number of investigations currently being carried out in the case. “The ICC and ACSU are doing their investigation and helping the police, Scotland Yard are carrying out their criminal investigation and the board is also doing its own internal inquiry,” the official said. “This can cause overlapping and confusion and it would’ve been better to let things happen one at a time.”

Taunting from visibly drunk fans at the T Murugaser Stand got out of hand at the P Sara Oval, and the victim was Yuvraj Singh, India’s 12th man

Sidharth Monga at the P Sara Oval03-Aug-2010Taunting from visibly drunk fans at the T Murugaser Stand, which is situated just outside the Oval Taverners bar and right next to the players’ passage, got out of hand at the P Sara Oval, and the victim was Yuvraj Singh, India’s 12th man. Yuvraj was seen pointing out the disruptive members to authorities, and police had to intervene.At the end of the day’s play, when Yuvraj was coming back from his cooling-down exercise, the fans chanted: “We want water boy. Boy boy, water boy.” They also praised Suresh Raina for having taken Yuvraj’s place in the side. It all started when Yuvraj was carrying drinks for the team, and the fans, in what is the members’ stand at the ground, started heckling him with “water boy, water boy why ain’t you playing” chants. According to an eyewitness, a provocative gesture was shown to the player.”The crowd was trying to misbehave with the player,” Ranjib Biswal, India’s manager, said. “The police was asked to intervene and the situation was brought under control. Yuvi was not at fault, he didn’t try to provoke the crowd at all. I was sitting next to Yuvi when it happened and I can tell you they were trying to provoke the player.”Naturally, it’s a basic human tendency to react to situations when you are being repeatedly provoked but Yuvi was quite restrained,” Biswal said. “The police have taken the spectators out and we will definitely lodge a complaint.”Tony Perera, CEO of the Tamil Union Cricket and Athletics Club, which owns the P Sara Oval, said: “Tomorrow we are making a few adjustments but the fans will definitely come and see the teams play. We will take corrective and preventive measures tomorrow.”Taverners was built to add lustre to the club and not for fans to intoxicate and behave in a way that is detrimental to cricket. It’s very much a part of the place. Just a few people doesn’t mean the whole club should be held responsible. I am still looking into the details of who those people were. But necessary action will be taken tomorrow.”

Some inept West Indian fielding towards the end, and lack of intensity in pushing for an unlikely win, let them down and it was left to AB de Villiers to steer the more deserving team home

The Bulletin by Kanishkaa Balachandran30-May-2010
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were outHashim Amla eased to his second century of the series•AFPIt really shouldn’t have got so close. South Africa appeared to have the match in the bag while Hashim Amla was at the crease and for a while after too, but somehow found a way to press the pressure button and take the game to the final ball. Some inept West Indian fielding towards the end, and lack of intensity in pushing for an unlikely win, let them down and it was left to AB de Villiers to steer the more deserving team home.The required run rate soared to 8.60 at the end of the 45th over, when South Africa had to take the mandatory batting Powerplay. Two missed chances in the outfield gave South Africa a breather and it came down to the final over, when the visitors needed a more manageable three. The scores were level after the first two balls, but Dwayne Bravo tightened the noose in the next three. de Villiers pushed the third to mid-on, shouldered arms outside off to the fourth expecting it to be a wide before failing to dig out a yorker. The infield was packed and the din around the ground increased with the expectation of a great escape. de Villiers squirted the last ball to Darren Sammy at short midwicket, who ought to have effected an easy run-out but failed to gather the ball and fluffed a throw at the stumps.Though both teams made blunders under pressure towards the end, West Indies had more wounds to tend to, primarily because of an underwhelming display in the field. With both Kemar Roach and Jerome Taylor out injured, they lacked a raw quick bowler to hurry the batsmen with bounce on a good batting pitch, and the support cast of medium pacers were ineffective with the new ball. South Africa exploited that weakness for the most part and it seemed that only complacency could cost them the game, which it almost did.Their response to 303 was set up by Hashim Amla, who was at the centrefold spread again with an ice-cool century, his second in the series . His is not a commercially driven slam-bang approach which would make IPL scouts sit up and watch. He relies more on conventional strokes and a risk-free approach, accelerating according to the match situation and picking up singles whenever possible. He battled exhaustion, scored the bulk of his runs in singles – only 30 of his runs came off boundaries when he reached his century – and could have batted till the end if his body allowed him.Using the crease, Amla drove through the covers, played short-arm pulls, cut past backward point and even scooped Sammy for six over long-off. West Indies set innovative fields for Graeme Smith – placing two short midwickets – but not for Amla. Having taken so many runs off them in the series so far, West Indies could have identified a weakness and forced him to do something different, but instead just went through the motions. The intensity dropped after Smith’s dismissal as Amla calmly collected the singles and reached his fifty, off 45 balls.He took charge of two stands of 59 and 119 with Smith and Jacques Kallis respectively, and continued grafting it out till he neared his century. A squirt to backward point got him there, but he was already running low on battery, squatting on the pitch whenever he had a breather. He tried hitting out to conserve energy, but eventually fell to a tired shot to long-off. As he trudged back, South Africa were still in control with 80 needed off nearly 12 overs with seven wickets in hand.They were lucky to have an in-form de Villiers at the crease, but the man at the other end, JP Duminy, wasn’t as fluent. West Indies plugged things back to such an extent that they didn’t concede a boundary for close to nine overs. The required rate soared to nine before de Villiers eased the pressure with a paddled-four off Ravi Rampaul. Duminy was let off twice, first by Dwayne Bravo and then Darren Bravo. An 18-run over off Kieron Pollard tilted the game back in South Africa’s favour before fortunes oscillated again till the final ball.The drama overshadowed what was an impressive comeback by the West Indian batsmen after the third ODI. It was a lesson in crafting an ideal one-day innings – start off aggressively, consolidate in the middle overs and keep wickets in hand and then let loose in the slog overs. The three main players in each of those phases were Dale Richards, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo, who dictated terms in different styles to take West Indies to 303 and give the Sunday crowd at Windsor Park a match to watch.Richards compensated for Chris Gayle’s failure with an attacking knock, using the crease well to unfurl elegant shots down the ground. The South Africans were disciplined through the middle overs to peg West Indies back, but importantly, the duo of Chanderpaul and Dwayne Bravo were prepared to see off the period by grafting, instead of letting the frustration get to their heads.West Indies took the Powerplay in the 45th over and the pair of Darren Bravo and Pollard inflicted maximum damage in a stand of 59. Darren Bravo, who has a style to match Brian Lara with his trademark high backlift and stylish foot movements, punctuated the passage of play with carved boundaries over extra cover and a one-handed six over long-off. Pollard, under pressure to deliver for West Indies, brought out a couple of monster hits off Charl Langeveldt to take West Indies towards 300.Unfortunately, it was a day the hosts couldn’t get their batting and bowling to click in cohesion and as the series rolls into the final dead rubber on Thursday, the same questions on skill and commitment will be asked.