Sabkush Headlines: Smith pleased with Proteas display

Sabkush Headlines: Smith pleased with Proteas displaySmith pleased with Proteas display

South Africa captain Graeme Smith hailed a workmanlike performance by his players as the tourists moved into a 2-0 lead in their ODI series against the West Indies. Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis came within touching distance of centuries as South Africa posted an impressive total of 300 from their 50 overs at North Sound in Antigua. The tourists got useful contributions from each of the top five but it was Amla (92) and Kallis (85) who provided the bulk of the runs, and Smith was pleased with his sides all-round display in the 17-run win. "We did what we had to do," he said. "The deck has been slow, we built good partnerships and manipulated the field well, especially in the middle period. We ran hard." Nevertheless, the hosts made a game of it late on, with Darren Sammy the chief aggressor. Sammy hit 58 off 24 deliveries to spur the hosts on to the brink of an improbable win, but the Windies fell short as they lost their final wicket with the score on 283 in the 49th over. Sammy came to the crease in the 41st over with the hosts on 200 and staring down the barrel of defeat, but responded with the fastest 50 in ODIs by a West Indian batsman to throw the result into doubt. However, the tail failed to wag alongside the impressive Sammy, who plundered six sixes in a remarkable cameo, and when Ravi Rampaul and Nikita Miller were run out within two balls of each other with just under two overs remaining the game was up. And Smith admitted Sammy had come close to dismantling his sides good work. "It wasnt our best day," he added. "Up until Sammys 20-odd balls, we were in control. Sammy played a great knock today." Smith refused to read too much into his teams late struggles, however, saying: "Its been a hell of a hot day and sometimes youre a little off your mark, and today he took advantage of that." West Indies skipper Chris Gayle, meanwhile, also praised the contribution of Sammy. "It was a good effort," he said. "Credit must go to Sammy for giving us some hope. "The middle period was our downfall - too many dot balls. "I think we can look at the positives from this game and take it to the next one. The middle period we need to work on. "We put pressure on ourselves in the middle and its going to make it difficult for the batters coming in to try and get 10 runs an over, so we need to try and work on that."