Mathews keeps Bangladesh winless

Sri Lanka's spinners effected a mid-innings trauma and Bangadesh returned the favour, before Angelo Mathews' collected 74 not out overcame a collapse and sealed victory. The hosts' bowlers made a game of the dead rubber, carving through Sri Lanka's in-form top order early in the chase, but a target of 205 had always seemed insufficient, even on a worn pitch. Bangladesh's lack of ambition both with the bat and in the field perhaps ceded crucial moments to the opposition, who strode home by three wickets, and one over remaining to extended their unbeaten run in the country.

The Bangladesh openers had made 74 before Ajantha Mendis made the incision that began a top-order haemorrhage - five wickets for 45 runs. Mendis befuddled Shamsur Rahman with an offbreak, hitting him on the pads with a ball that would have clipped leg stump, before sneaking one under Mominul Haque's bat four balls later.

Mushfiqur Rahim attempted an injudicious scoop off Chaturanga de Silva three overs later, and was also trapped in front, before part-time offspinner Ashan Priyanjan struck twice in his three overs. Perhaps eager to complete his second consecutive half-century, Anamul Haque advanced to Priyanjan's first ball, but chipped it to Lahiru Thirimanne at midwicket, who snaffled the chance in a diving second attempt. Shakib Al Hasan sought to spur a now-flagging run rate, but in the 34th over, an inside edge off an attempted shot through cover carried to short midwicket. His demise left the team at 119 for 5. They would never really recover.

That Sri Lanka's innings was not similarly derailed was thanks to Mathews' increasing appetite for finishing matches, allied with a sharpening cricketing wit. Sri Lanka never faced a tall required rate, so he shelved his familiar belligerence and forged an innings of restraint. He struck at 71 and only played three violent strokes in the innings - an advancing six over long off and two heaves through midwicket, one of which brought the winning runs. Bangladesh made a late surge, dismissing Chaturanga de Silva and Thisara Perera when Sri Lanka were in sight of victory, but Mathews did not allow losses to rattle him.

Sri Lanka's collapse had occurred at the outset. Kusal Perera swiped at an Al-Amin Hossain short ball, sending a thin edge to the keeper, before Kumar Sangakkara was handed his first failure of the tournament, nicking to slip as he cover drove. With plenty of overs remaining to achieve the modest target, Mahela Jayawardene may have hoped to bat himself into touch, but he was thwarted by his partner before he had made a run. Lahiru Thirimanne called him through for a single, then sent him back, after Jayawardene had traveled most of the distance to the other end. He was short by a distance, leaving Sri Lanka at 8 for 3.

Ashan Priyanjan and Thirimanne promised a sustained resurgence, as they became accustomed to the pace of the pitch, but a Mushfiqur hunch brought another wicket: Ziaur Rahman, who had bowled only 12 overs in the series, drew an outside edge from Priyanjan in the 15th, before Thirimanne departed eight overs later, as Rubel Hossain sprinted around from long-on to take a catch in front of the sightscreen.

At 75 for 5, Mathews and de Silva joined to provide the definitive partnership in the match. Like Mathews, de Silva began sedately, but soon was matching his captain shot for shot, showcasing particular ease against spin, as he mined gaps square of the wicket, and found the fence when the bowlers missed their lengths. Their march was measured and efficient, with 82 runs off 98 balls, but it was not without incident; Mathews edged just wide of the keeper on 21, and de Silva had two leading edges fall short of fielders. Mushfiqur was perhaps also guilty of allowing the match to meander. Too many of Sri Lanka's runs were achieved without risk.

Sri Lanka's decision to rest Lasith Malinga had eased the Bangladesh openers' task, but the hosts had begun cautiously nonetheless, seeking the same security at the top of the innings that had been the foundation for their plunder in their last match. Suranga Lakmal extracted away-swing and Thisara was accurate, but neither was a significant menace to batsmen intent largely on seeing them out. Anamul progressed largely in singles, but Shamsur was more reliant on boundaries. When the spinners arrived, he smote Sachithra Senanayake through the covers off consecutive balls. But the spurt would not last long.

Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain kept the hosts afloat with a 55-run stand after the collapse, but when their expansive attempts were repeatedly thwarted by the slowness of the surface, they settled for the singles Sri Lanka were content to offer them. The batting Powerplay brought only 18 runs, and though they had set themselves for a dash in the last 10 overs, both batsmen were dismissed by Lakmal for 30.

Malinga was barely missed at the death as Lakmal provided the yorker-length balls. His penultimate over went for only two runs, and there were no boundaries off the bat between the 44th and 49th overs. Thisara knocked two men over after Ziaur Rahman broke that drought to lift the hosts beyond 200.

'I am better off coaching myself' - Afridi

The Asia Cup is Pakistan's first tournament under a new-look team management, with Moin Khan as coach and Zaheer Abbas as chief consultant. The regime change has coincided with a stunning return to batting form for Shahid Afridi, whose unbeaten 18-ball 34 against India and a brutal 25-ball 59 against Bangladesh were instrumental in Pakistan reaching the final.

But correlation, Afridi has said, didn't quite mean causation. While praising the support staff for backing him, he said he was essentially his own coach.

"It was different earlier, it's not that it was not good," Afridi said, after Pakistan's practice session on Thursday. "The support team that we have now are all knowledgeable and keep you positive. As I've said earlier also, having played at this level for so many years, I don't need a coach. I am better off coaching myself. I know very well what to do and what not to do. It's about having the right people to back you and support you."

Pakistan, Afridi said, had peaked at the right time in the tournament, and this would help them at the World Twenty20 as well.

"I've already mentioned before how important for us this series is," he said. "The World Twenty20 is coming up after this. I think we peaked at the right time, that was the requirement."

Pakistan have never beaten India in an ICC world event, be it the 50-over World Cup or the World T20. Asked if they could overcome the jinx when they meet in the World Twenty20 on March 21, Afridi said he wouldn't think about it till the Asia Cup ended.

"I'm not looking that ahead," he said. "My and my team's focus is just on the Asia Cup final at the moment. When the World Twenty20 comes, we will talk about the India-Pakistan then."

Afridi said India and Pakistan should play each other more frequently.

"It should be like that only," he said. "Pakistan have always supported India at every step. Despite threats, Pakistan have always toured India. I think cricket can only revive India-Pakistan relations. Sport brings friendship. The way I enjoyed my cricket in India, I never enjoyed anywhere else. We are after all neighbours. The relations should be good between us. Cricket can only help better the relations."

This year's IPL, like most other editions before it, will not include Pakistan players. "Ask your Indian government," Afridi said, when his views were sought on this. "Why ask me?"

Afridi will turn 35 during the 2015 World Cup, and will have entered the 19th year of his international career. But the thought of retirement, he said, had not entered his mind yet.

"Obviously, the World Cup 2015 is going to be a huge thing for me and my team," he said. "As long as I'm fit and give my life to cricket, I'll continue playing the sport. I will sideline myself the moment I start thinking that I'm becoming a burden on my team. I will not give anyone an opportunity to talk."

Harris, Haddin, Rogers to push on

Australia's coach and selector Darren Lehmann wants to keep the conquering Test team of 2013-14 together for as long as possible, declaring that the senior trio of Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris and Chris Rogers can all have a place on the 2015 Ashes tour provided they keep performing in the current vein.

The tourists' tense but ultimately successful hunt for victory in South Africa on the final day of the Newlands Test was the crowning moment of a summer in which the Ashes were also regained at home - a dual achievement to rate with anything achieved by Australian teams in a single season. Not since 1994-95 when Mark Taylor's men followed up an Ashes jaunt by the ending of West Indies' 15-year unbeaten reign at the top of world cricket have two more significant series victories been fit into a similar period.

Harris, Haddin and Rogers were all integral to that achievement, adding enormous experience, nous and grit to the team. Their performances on the field were spinal also, from Harris' courageous defiance of considerable knee and hip pain to secure the win at Newlands to Rogers' steadying presence at the top of the order and Haddin's combination of brazen batting and tidy glovework.

All have expressed an interest in going on to 2015, Rogers and Harris hopeful of Ashes berths while Haddin has set himself the goal of being part of a winning World Cup team at home earlier in the year. Lehmann has shown little tendency to shuffle his teams on the basis of age, and indicated that all three can make it to the Ashes provided they continue to churn out runs, wickets and dismissals. "If they're playing well they'll play," he said. "If they're not they wont. It's pretty simple."

Lehmann's explanation for the team's ability to win in South Africa, their first overseas Test series triumph since the 2012 tour of the West Indies, revolved largely around the improvement in Australia's batting. First innings runs from the top order under pressure at Centurion and Newlands gave a fearsome bowling attack plenty of time and scoreboard weight, something Harris, Mitchell Johnson and company took rich advantage of.

"We found the ability to cope with a high-class bowling unit. They're a very good bowling attack, South Africa. That's why they're number-one in the world," Lehmann said. "Our batters can take a lot of credit for what they did in this series. In Australia it was more about the bowlers actually bowling them out and batters probably not doing their role well enough, but here they were outstanding, obviously apart from Port Elizabeth where the first innings we were pretty disappointing.

"I'm pleased for the lads and pleased the way we played. Obviously in Australia we were outstanding and for two Test matches here we were outstanding. It's probably only in Port Elizabeth we were disappointing. The way we played overall was exceptional. The brand of cricket we played, we talk about that all the time, the positive brand, if we keep doing that and backing it up each and every day we'll keep improving. I'm pleased with the way they [players] have bought in to what we're about as a team."

From the day of his coaching appointment in Bristol last year, a mere two weeks before the first of two Ashes series, Lehmann has preached a message that goes beyond the winning of matches. He wants to do so in style, with attacking cricket and entertainment for spectators running far in advance of any desire to avoid defeat. The victories in South Africa achieved just that, and Lehmann said he hoped other teams would now follow suit.

"We're not afraid to lose and trying to play the brand of cricket to win Test matches," Lehmann said bluntly of the difference he saw between Australia and South Africa. "It's easy to say that now in hindsight but the way we always push for victories is always important for us. We're happy to lose, but also happy to play cricket in the right way that entertains the crowd.

"Obviously the crowd came in at the end of the day but it was a pretty disappointing crowd for a couple of days here in Cape Town. We want to get people coming through the gates. If other teams want to play on flat wickets and make it quite dull, if you like, then that's their choice."

Some questions have been raised about the overt aggression demonstrated by several of Australia's players on the final day at Newlands, and the captain Michael Clarke admitted to "overstepping the mark" in his verbal joust with Dale Steyn. Lehmann however stated his contentment at the conduct of the series.

"Very happy. It was always going to be a tough series against the No. 1 team in the world, but it's always been the same for many years," he said. "Michael plays it hard, Dale Steyn plays it hard, Graeme Smith was outstanding for a leader for South Africa and he played it very hard. The way it was played, I'm really happy with that."

South Africa face winds of change

In one summer, South African cricket has lost 30 years. The retirements of Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis took away three decades of experience and ended an era. Not just any era. South Africa's most successful era.

Before the 2013-14 season began, South Africa's Test side had lost only one series in eight years. That was to Australia at home. They had gone from Antigua to Auckland, and Birmingham to Brisbane, and did not lose for 14 series.

That run isn't as good as those of the great sides - Australia were unbeaten for 16 series between 2001 and 2005 and West Indies for 29 over 15 years - but it broke new ground for South Africa. It made them serious contenders to be considered among Test cricket's legendary outfits. They might not have the longevity, but they do have the ingredients.

Comparisons between Clive Lloyd's West Indian attack and this South African one began when Vernon Philander's rise completed a three-pronged pace battery. With Kallis as the fourth seamer, South Africa had the complete set, though they lacked a world-class spinner. But so did that West Indian team.

Comparisons with Steve Waugh or Ricky Ponting's Australia for ruthlessness, however, could not be made with certainty. South Africa were known more for the art of not losing rather than the art of winning. They play hard but their aggression has not yet been sharpened to be as crafty or nuanced as Australia's. Still, when they wiped the floor with last summer's opponents - New Zealand and Pakistan - there were signs the killer instinct was awakening.

The defining characteristic of this South African side was resilience. It was their greatness. They learned conditions around the world, sometimes better than they did the ones at home, and developed a style of play suited to every location. They learned how to get themselves off the ropes and put the opposition on them. The ability to counterpunch is no less a skill than the ability to land the first blow.

Now, South Africa will have to stage their most difficult counterattack yet. This is the challenge Smith talked about 19 months ago, when his team wrested the Test mace from England. He said they would have to learn to stand firm when the wind came to blow them off the mountaintop. The South Easter has arrived.

The great sides of West Indies and Australia had more than one wave of success, and that is why they became iconic. South Africa need a second wave, because the first has washed ashore.

Not only are Smith and Kallis gone, the leader of the triad Mark Boucher went before them. Though South Africa rose to No. 1 without Boucher, who was forced into retirement before that England series by injury, they had been infused by his influence. Boucher remained best friends with Kallis and Smith and close to the rest of the squad. He joined them at training sessions and on team-building camps.

The other person instrumental for South Africa's successful team environment is also no longer a part of the set-up - their former coach Gary Kirsten. Like he did with India, Kirsten took a group of talented individuals and turned them into a winning team. He did that by allowing players the freedom they needed to become a family.

The majority of that family is still around, and they will have to fill the gaps left by the absentees. Dale Steyn has already put his hand up to do that. On the team's early morning flight to Port Elizabeth for the start of the Twenty20 series against Australia, following the Newlands Test defeat, he tweeted a picture with the captain: "Bouch, Kallis and now Biff gone! Officially the old man in the team looking after the new kids!" The photograph was of Steyn sitting next to Quinton de Kock. The young wicketkeeper was fast asleep.

South Africa's coach Russell Domingo spoke about his desire to see AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Hashim Amla and Vernon Philander use what they learned from Smith, Kallis and Boucher and become icon players themselves. De Villiers and Amla have already done that with their batting. Now they need to it through their leadership.

De Villiers already does to some extent as captain of the ODI team, and Amla does it quietly through example. That has its own benefits because as much as South Africa need to find a new core of seniors, they also need to find suitable personnel. They have already seen how difficult that can be, in the quest to fill the Kallis-sized hole.

Because there have been very few like Kallis in cricket, South Africa have had to try out different lower-order allrounders to find a replacement. It is too early to tell which of Ryan McLaren, Wayne Parnell and Kyle Abbott is the long-term solution, especially given Philander's ability to do a similar job in the tail.

Now South Africa have the additional task of finding an opening batsman, possibly two. Alviro Petersen is only just clinging on to his spot. Dean Elgar was fighting him for it, but now that Smith is gone Elgar has an easier vacancy to fill. The opening duo of Petersen and Elgar will not inspire the same confidence as Smith and Petersen, or Smith and Elgar, or Smith and anyone did.

It's that syndrome South Africa will have to get over. The only way to move on from losing Smith - and Kallis and Boucher - is to make a clean break. No comparisons, no longing for their return and no excuses. It needs to be balanced against making sure they get the appreciation and praise they deserve for their all they have given South African cricket.

When last spring sprung ,nobody would have said with certainty that both Kallis and Smith were about to join Boucher and Kirsten as men who had decided the autumn of their careers was over. Domingo has already endured one winter of discontent in his first assignment as national coach with the ODI side, in Sri Lanka last August. He will not want another when he takes the Test team there this July under a new captain. Should South Africa come through that unscathed they can look forward to a good home summer. A summer of new beginnings.

Asia Cup stats

Asia Cup stats

Top 3 batsmen:

1. Kumar Sangakkara: 246 runs(3 innings)

2. Ahmed Shehzad: 223 runs(4 innings)

3. Umar Akmal: 194 runs(4 innings)

Top 3 bowlers:

1. Mohammad Shami/Ravichandran Ashwin: 9 wickets

2. Saeed Ajmal: 8 wickets

3. Ajantha Mendis: 7 wickets

India cruise to inconsequential win

Afghanistan's batting, apart from a match-winning partnership against Bangladesh, has been ordinary, particularly against spin. In a dead rubber against India, and in what was also their last chance to make an impression on this trip, Afghanistan's batsmen collapsed at the first sighting of turn. Ravindra Jadeja picked up two wickets in his first over, and then added two more to run through a middle order that was clueless against India's spin trio.

The three of them - Jadeja, Amit Mishra and R Ashwin - bowled unchanged from the 12th over until the 36th with combined figures of 25-3-73-7 during that period. Was it not for another Samiullah Shenwari riposte, Afghanistan could have folded well inside 50 overs.

Batting at No 8, Shenwari brought up his second half-century of the tournament and added 64 runs with the last three batsmen to avoid a capitulation. He farmed the strike, took vital runs off India's seamers during the Powerplay and despite appearing in trouble against the spinners, he was prepared to attack the loose deliveries. On a day when boundaries were hard to come by, he hit six fours and a six to take Afghanistan past 150.

The Indian team management had decided not to tinker with their playing XI, which meant there was still no place for Cheteshwar Pujara or Ishwar Pandey, the only two in the touring party not to get a game. Kohli, at the toss, mentioned it was important to be patient with the team. But contrary to that logic, they asked Ajinkya Rahane to open the innings with Shikhar Dhawan, instead of Rohit Sharma. The captain, though, couldn't have asked for more as the openers added 121 runs to set up the chase that India completed in the 33rd over.

Like most teams, Afghanistan showed they were enjoying the challenge of facing the Indian seamers as they collected 52 runs in the first 11 overs for the loss of one wicket. But facing quality spin on these slow and low pitches is a different challenge altogether. The other day, Afghanistan had scored only 40 runs in 16.4 overs of spin from Sri Lanka and lost five wickets. Today, the story was no different. Kohli introduced Mishra, who had been impressive in the match against Pakistan, in the 12th over and immediately, it became apparent the batsmen were out of their comfort zone. Noor Ali Zadran, who had been impressive again the seamers, survived an lbw appeal against a googly first ball. And the next over derailed the innings.

Jadeja's first delivery - a quick slider that often buys him wickets of batsmen who are slow to come forward - beat Rahmat Shah's inside edge and thudded on to the pad. His third delivery would have pleased him more; it was slower, loopy, and dipped and then bounced to catch the shoulder of Noor Ali's bat for Kohli to take a simple catch at slip.

Jadeja's next over worsened Afghanistan's position as Asghar Stanikzai slapped possibly the only bad delivery the spinner bowled limply to mid-on. Stanikzai left disappointed, because he knew he could have hit the half-tracker anywhere. What followed was a period of play where a wicket never seemed too far. Like Jadeja, Ashwin had a wicket off his first ball, in the 18th over; Najibullah Zadran heaved at a flighted delivery but top edged to mid-on.

Mohammad Nabi, the Afghanistan captain, was caught behind for 6 off Jadeja in the 21st over and Mohammad Shahzad, who had been pushed down the batting order, scored 22 runs that were not enough to alter the script. When Shahzad was trapped plumb in front by Ashwin, Afghanistan had slumped to 95 for 7.

Mishra, who had figures of 10-1-21-1, was possibly the most impressive of the spinners, beating the bat with metronomic regularity. His legspinners gripped the surface to turn past the outside edge numerous times, while his googlies were unread. After seven overs of bamboozling the batsmen, he too had something to show for his efforts as a googly took Mirwais Ashraf's inside edge and lobbed to Kohli at slip.

However, he still ended with a wicket less than Mohammad Shami, who had dismissed Nawroz Mangal after a wayward start and then trapped Shenwari lbw in the 46th over to end the innings.

On a slow pitch that required extra application from the batsmen, Rahane and Dhawan adopted the ideal game: there was no attempt to play fancy shots and the two relied primarily on maneuvering the ball in the gaps. In the nine overs before the 45-minute break, the openers added 34 runs, hitting only two boundaries. They continued in the same vein after the break, nudging singles to lift the total to 76 in 18 overs. Again, only two boundaries came in that period.

The tempo changed from the first ball of the 19th as Rahane hit consecutive boundaries off Shenwari. He stepped out first ball and clipped the full delivery over extra cover, a shot to which he can now lay claim as his own just because of the ease with which he pulls it off - he takes it low on the bat and punches it without any follow-through. The second one, a wristy flick against the spin beating mid-on, was even better. Dhawan caught the urgency bug too, hitting consecutive boundaries off Rahmat in the next over, the second bringing the century of the stand, India's first in 14 ODIs. It was also the first time Afghanistan allowed such an opening partnership, highlighting the strength of their attack.

India's smooth glide momentarily hit turbulence as they lost both openers in quick succession - Rahane played across the line to be lbw and Dhawan was bowled by Nabi. Rohit Sharma, who walked in at No. 3, and Dinesh Karthik added the remaining 37 runs to complete the formality.

Root's ton and Buttler's 99 lift England

Joe Root battled the pain of a blow to his thumb to score his first one-day international hundred and Jos Buttler fell one run short of his own maiden century as England posted an imposing 303 for 6 in the deciding match of the series. The pair added 175 for the fifth wicket, England's second-highest stand for that wicket in ODIs, in by far the most complete batting performance of either side over the three matches so far.

The innings was in the balance at the midway mark, West Indies having removed four wickets to even out Moeen Ali's maiden half-century, but the impish batting of Root and Buttler meant England did not stall from a potentially tricky 116 for 4. There was a key moment when Buttler had 22 and successfully overturned a caught behind decision and earlier Root had been given a life on 23 when Denesh Ramdin could not gather an outside edge off Sunil Narine.

England played Narine cautiously for most of his allotment but his ninth over cost 21 as Buttler twice cleared the boundary - the second occasion off a free-hit. The batting Powerplay had not proved to be the downfall it so often seems, bringing a consolidating 36 in the five overs, which set up a final 10 overs that accrued 94. Although the pitch is being used for the third game in a row extensive work since the previous game meant it was not as turgid as had been feared.

Root's hundred came from 112 balls but Buttler could not quite join him when he got a leading edge in the final over. Regardless, with this tour being about England's future, it will have been immensely heartening for Ashley Giles.

Root had started his innings facing a hat-trick delivery from Dwayne Bravo after the West Indies captain had removed Michael Lumb and Ben Stokes. He calmly defended the delivery, but was in some severe discomfort a short while later when a ball from Ravi Rampaul climbed at him from a good length, striking a nasty blow on the thumb of his bottom hand.

He needed several minutes of treatment, some strapping and a dose of painkillers before resuming and then had to ensure his thumb did not seize up during a brief rain break. He continued to shake his hand throughout the innings, especially when the ball struck higher up his bat, but in a tremendous display of focus and application did not let it impact his strokeplay. This was also another window into Root's character, coming as he has after a tour of Australia where he was dropped from both the Test and one-day sides.

Buttler had missed out in the first two matches of the series when his finishing skills were needed, but in this innings reminded that he can set a total as well as hunt one down. Early on he still barely knew what Narine was bowling, but reigned in his ambitions to attack him knowing that there was easier fare on offer from the other end.

After bringing up his fifty off 56 deliveries he then opened his shoulders to pick up four sixes, forming an ideal contrast to Root who, while possessing the power to clear the ropes, played the anchor role and ran West Indies ragged.

The other significant innings came from Moeen who batted fluently to enhance the positive reputation he has made on this tour. He placed the ball deftly on both sides of the wicket, with the pick of his early shots a drive wide of mid-off.

One of the players uncapped before the series, Moeen had twice made starts in the previous matches before picking out fielders on the boundary. He was still not afraid to loft the ball, reaching his fifty with a slog-swept six off Marlon Samuels, but with a more significant score for the taking chipped a return catch to Nikita Miller.

In the next over, Narine spun one back between Eoin Morgan's inside edge to abruptly end his first innings of the series after injury but a partnership between two players seen as central to England's future meant that his failure did not end the prospects of a commanding total.

The boy giant who stood up to legends

Graeme Smith trampled the grass between the slip cordon and the pitch, until he was level with David Warner. Then he let go with some straight talking about Joe Root and other home truths for Warner. Smith stood barely a metre from the batsman, towering above, but looking in another direction. Then, when he was sure Warner, and anyone with access to the stump mic, had got the message, he strolled, letting play continue once he was back in his spot at slip. That was Biff.

A short time later Morne Morkel was trapped in one of his overs from hell. Smith saw it, and ran up to help his lost fast bowler. He gave him the large paw on the shoulder, and deciding that Morne could use a bit more support, he stayed at mid-off until he was satisfied Morne was okay. Only then did he return to fill the massive hole he left at slip. That was Biff.

**

The squat is the same. So are the massive shoulders that his massive jaw is virtually on top of, clearly visible beneath a massive helmet. The arm guard is pointed straight at the umpire. His toes bobble up and down. There are two precise slow taps of the bat. Knees bent, back hunched like he is too big for his equipment, too big to even be that good at batting. He holds the bat like only he could lift it, not so he can swing it, but more so he can drop it on the ball.

And he faces Glenn McGrath. McGrath, the seasoned veteran who still looks like a boy, bowling to the confident boy with the man's body. In any sort of hand-to-hand combat, McGrath would likely be crushed. But with the ball, against a young kid thrown in at No. 3, McGrath wins often. Caught by Ponting, for 3.

In the second innings, Smith fights back. He turns balls from off stump to the leg side with that twist of his arms you will know so much you could imitate it drunk at 3am. When facing Shane Warne, he'll lean forward, eager to show he is not afraid of Warne. Then, when the ball suits him and he gets some air, he'll race at Warne, stamping his feet and lofting over mid-on with a beautiful lack of elegance. Eventually Warne will take the brash kid's wicket. Caught behind, by Gilchrist, for 68.

At Newlands, in 2002, that kid making his Test debut was dismissed twice, by four legends of the game.

Smith's form continued and he thought, rightfully, that he should have been in South Africa's squad to play the 2003 World Cup at home. And he wanted to make his point. He did it by demanding he captain Western Province against South Africa in a warm-up match. A bold move from someone his age. What was supposed to be an intra-SA friendly match turned darker and tougher when Smith demanded that his players take it seriously and take down the main team.

It could have gone horribly wrong. Considering the players on both sides, it probably should have. Western Province won by seven wickets and almost 20 overs to spare. That's not a contest. In the later games, which Smith did not captain, the senior team smashed their opposition. They had been burned once.

Smith's biggest impact might have been when he and Shaun Pollock went toe to toe during one of those matches. The issue was trivial. Smith was upset that Pollock wasn't adhering to the fielding conditions of an ODI match. He wanted it done properly, Pollock was just happy to have a warm-up. Here was a player in and out of the national team standing in the face of Pollock, a legend and captain. That is something people notice.

Smith had captained Gauteng school teams many times, and had experience in a few other senior games. But basically, that game he won for Western Province and him leading South Africa A in a comeback 2-1 win against a good Zimbabwe side was about it. And Shaun Pollock was captaining South Africa in the World Cup. Graeme Smith wasn't even in the squad.

Hosting the World Cup was a monumental deal for South Africa. They wanted people to see that they were growing, that they were changing and that their part of the world was getting it right. On one day of the tournament, someone who brought the old South African flag into a ground was turfed out. None of that, people are watching, we must be at our best.

Their team wasn't. They were so bad it even made news in the US when they crashed out of the tournament before it really began. Smith came in for three games, after Jonty Rhodes was ruled out with injury, and averaged 40. In Durban, he made 35 opening the batting against Sri Lanka. That's not what people remember from that game. They remember that South Africa got their Duckworth-Lewis calculation wrong. They became a laughing stock to the world, but at home they were upset.

So upset that despite being the second-ranked ODI team, the second-ranked Test team and having won 13 of their last 16 Test series, Pollock was out. They needed someone new.

It was stupid and reactionary. A jumbo panic button to stop the yelling. Cricket administrators are nothing if not adept at offering sacrificial lambs for the press and fans to slaughter. Graham Ford was upset Pollock was gone, "Polly was a soft target. All I can conclude is that people hit on him in order to save their own jobs."

Former South Africa coach, the late Bob Woolmer, said during that World Cup, "There is a vacuum in South African cricket. South Africa is not producing the type of cricketers it used to anymore. Many cricketers, both black and white, are not sure what the future holds for them." It wasn't just Woolmer thinking this. Allan Donald and Rhodes were done. Gary Kirsten was next. Pollock was embarrassed.

It wasn't a vacuum, but a monumental chasm. And it needed to be filled.

A vetting committee to help find a captain was formed. It was the national professional selection advice committee, or something like that. They didn't have many options. Kirsten was not going to last long. Mark Boucher was a wicketkeeper. Jacques Kallis was who he was. All they had was a young lad who had presence.

Presence is like an X-factor, hard to explain, but Smith had this immense presence when he was in front of you. Monstrous confidence radiated through him. Somehow he comforted the leaders of South African cricket, and they completely forgot their history as a conservative cricket nation, and Smith bustled his way through.

Smith was the youngest captain of his country. Almost 50 years earlier Ian Craig had been the same for Australia - a teen prodigy who had taken the job when Australia desperately needed someone. The idea was he would lead a youngish side into the promised land. He had already toured England, and captained New South Wales to a Shield win, and with six Tests to his name he took over the main job. He was practically the same age as Smith when he took over.

Despite having no quota system, a solid year of captaining older men behind him, no 24-hour news cycle or the internet, Craig, the young batting genius, captained in only one Test series - series he won, but in which he made no real runs and tried to drop himself for the last match. Due to illness and bad form, and without the backing of senior players, Craig was ruined.

There were some in South Africa who were worried that something similar would happen to Smith. So there was a compromise that was considered, a thought that Smith could be an apprentice to Pollock. Pollock said no, Smith said no. They were different men. Pollock backed Smith. Smith backed Smith.

Thirty-five days after his Western Province team had beaten South Africa, Smith was captain of his country.

He had barely played outside South Africa - a few ODIs in Sri Lanka - and he knew little of international cricket. But Smith knew he wanted to conquer it. He knew he wanted the team to lead, and with eight Tests and 22 ODIs to his name, he went about it.

Smith quickly distanced himself from disgraced (but still loved) former captain Cronje at his first press conference. What was left of Cronje's team was also leaving. He also distanced himself from Pollock as a leader.

Pollock was laid back and magically gifted. It had been bred in him. Smith was a worker and his team would be more like him. South Africa would get to the ground earlier, and train harder and longer. More would be made of the nationalistic side of playing for the country. Smith wanted his men as inspired and prepared as he was.

Smith also said stupid things in the early days. People didn't like him for it. He was not the only 22-year old to say stupid things, but he wasn't a normal 22-year old. Australia seemed to hate him on first sight and felt betrayed that he mentioned their sledging in public. Some in South Africa felt he was more mouth than talent. And he arrived in England full of words.

It was in England that his career as captain really started. With Matthew Hayden sledging him from many time zones away, and Nasser Hussain's massive insult of "wotshisname", Smith was learning that being captain involved more than just turning up half an hour earlier at the ground. So he reacted in a brutal way. He scored 277. His second double-century in 11 Tests. In his 12th, he would score another. Hussain retired. Hayden looked silly.

From there, Smith built an empire based around the all-round brilliance of Kallis, champion bowlers of different eras, two of the sexiest batting talents in modern cricket. He balanced all this on his frame. No matter how good the other players were, or how amazing their feats were, everyone knew who the leader was. He was at the front, and hard to miss.

Smith made a bunch of runs in the second best chase in Tests and the best chase in ODIs. He added Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss to England captains he saw off. He was in charge when South Africa were the No. 1 ODI team. He was in charge when they were the No. 1 Test Team. And it was under Smith that Australia's reign as the best team finally ended.

He did it all while opening the batting. When Smith is on the field, he has a little telltale sign that he is thinking hard, or something is going wrong for him. He slips his cap back a bit on his head, and rubs the front of his hair. Unlike most captains, he hasn't gone grey or even started to bald, despite that hefty duke rubbing his head several times a day. Then, after all that thinking, Smith goes out to bat. When he does that he averages 48.

With a dodgy technique, a frame too large for batting, political pressures on selection, the chief executive who gave him the job sacked, the pressure of captaincy for over a decade, a few coaches, a public split with an 'it' girl, growing into a man, dealing with a friend's career-ending injury, choking at World Cups, a long-distance relationship, and kids with illnesses, Smith still kept that average. That is a feat of a hungry giant.

But nothing is ever enough. In 2011, South African crowds booed Smith shortly after his team lost the World Cup quarter-final to New Zealand. A forensic examination of that South African team suggested a middle order that could be a problem under extreme temperatures. But, they had Hashim Amla, Smith, AB de Villiers and Kallis in the top four. Chasing a total of 221, I mean, come on. South Africa had tried to promote the phrase 'C is for Champions'. But after that, well, C went back to its old friend Choke. Smith was one hell of a leader, but even he could not carry his team to a World Cup victory, or even a final.

After the game, the South African players went home to show how sad they were at the airport. Smith did not. He went to Ireland. This seemed to infuriate everyone. It would turn out that he was doing to so seal the deal with the current Mrs. Deane-Smith. But he didn't take his punishment from the fans.

So the most successful captain in South Africa's history, the man who took his team to No. 1, who slayed Australia and burnt down English captains, was booed by his crowd. Some never forgave Smith for being brash when he was young. Others simply never stopped loving the confessed match-fixer Hansie Cronje (voted 11th greatest South African in a SABC poll in 2004). Even in Port Elizabeth, where Smith orchestrated a comeback win against the odds, there was a man wearing a Cronje t-shirt in the crowd. Cronje wasn't the batsman Smith was. He wasn't the leader Smith was. He wasn't even the man that Smith was.

But if you search the internet with questions about who the better captain was, you'll get bizarre answers like "Hansie WAS the best, unfortunately due to circumstances apparently beyond his control ... he was forced to do the 'devils' work." And " I suppose it also depends on whether you like Graeme Smith or not! Personally I cannot stand him. I loved Hansie and he was a brilliant sportsman". It's hard to argue that Cronje was not a good tactician in the field, certainly more adventurous than Smith, but Smith averaged 12 runs more, beat Australia in Australia and England in England when Cronje never did, lost the same amount of World Cups, has a similar win-loss record, captained a team to No. 1 in two forms of the game and never ever sold out his country for a leather jacket.

And Smith did it all after starting as the youngest captain in his nation's history, and then becoming the longest serving.

Smith has been in charge for 4006 days. In that time, a boy band could form, become No. 1, tour the world, split up to do solo stuff, end up in rehab, and then reform as retro throwback to appeal to their original fans. In 2003, we didn't know what an iPhone was, there was no Facebook and Julian Assange was an angry Melbourne hacker. There are 15-year old kids who have grown up only knowing Smith as captain. He has longevity, results and integrity. He isn't perfect, and has certainly spent years trying to prove that left-hand batsmen aren't actually more aesthetically appealing than right-hand batsmen. But he deserves to be respected as brutal, ugly monolith of world cricket. The large guy who was always there.

Since the age of 10, Smith had been saying he wanted to captain his country. He put goals on his fridge, and he accomplished them. Then he helped his country finally live up to its potential, while guiding a whole generation of players. But he isn't that kid anymore, he now has his own kids, one with an illness whom he needs to spend more time with. He isn't the angry young man demanding to get into the team, he isn't the bullish guy spraying people at press conferences, he is the old guy looking at a quieter life with his family.

**

Smith barged out onto the ground. His partner well behind him. The crowd stood. The officials rushed. The cameramen buzzed. Everyone looked miniature in comparison. Like a giant ape climbing a New York building, all eyes were on him. Smith the giant.

Australia waited in formation to honour him. The giant squeezed through them and out onto the pitch. His Western Province wicket. Clutching his GM chunk of tree, he would lead his country one last time. Them always behind him. He' led. He led for a long time. He led well. The brutish behemoth. Biff leads. Then Biff leaves.

Leaving a tremendous hole that would take more than one man to fill.

Harris bowls Australia to last-gasp win

Ryan Harris goes under the knife for knee surgery after this series - he does not know what the future holds. He may play Test cricket again, but at 34 there are no guarantees. Whatever happens, he has delivered one of the great triumphs in Australia's recent Test history, bowling the team to a series victory over South Africa, the world's No.1-ranked side, when it seemed almost inevitable that Graeme Smith would be farewelled by his men with a fighting, fitting draw.

Vernon Philander and Dale Steyn batted together for 75 minutes as Australia sought the two remaining wickets they needed for victory and as the shadows grew longer, the looks on the faces of Michael Clarke and his men became more desperate. With five overs left, Clarke asked Harris for one last effort and he delivered, yorking Steyn first ball and then slipping one past Morne Morkel's bat two balls later to clatter the off stump and deliver a 245-run win, and a 2-1 series success.

Harris finished with 4 for 32 from 24.3 overs, a remarkable achievement for a man who looked spent. At times throughout the day he was hobbling and he pulled up in his delivery stride once late in the day, stretching and checking on his knee as he walked back to his mark again. Mitchell Johnson picked up three wickets but Harris was the man who delivered when it mattered most, including by getting rid of the stonewalling AB de Villiers after lunch.

For much of the day it seemed that South Africa might just pull off one last draw for Smith. Under his leadership they won a lot but just as notable has been their ability not to lose. Their last series defeat before this was against Australia five years ago. Smith will leave the game having lost only two of his last 27 Test series as captain. That is some sort of record. In the end, his men were unable to keep the Australians out for long enough.

That a day on which only 194 runs were scored in 93.3 overs could be so gripping is encouraging for Test cricket. This day was never going to be about the runs; South Africa could have batted until day seven and not reached their target of 511. It was simply a question of wickets - could Australia claim the six they needed throughout the day. South Africa's ability to bat out a draw in similar circumstances in Adelaide a year and a half ago suggested that it would be tough work.

And as in Adelaide, de Villiers and Faf du Plessis did their best to deny Australia. They came together after the nightwatchman Kyle Abbott frustrated the Australians during a near two-hour innings of defiant defence. At times when he faced Johnson all nine fielders were in catching positions. Eventually he fell for 7 from 89 balls when he shouldered arms to a James Pattinson ball that nipped in and clipped the top of off stump.

De Villiers was laborious but effective for South Africa's purposes, using up 326 minutes and 228 balls for his 43. Harris was the man who got rid of de Villiers, who pushed half-heartedly outside off stump and got a thick edge behind off a ball that nipped away just enough off the seam. It was a vital breakthrough after lunch, although an equally important one came just before tea when Steven Smith struck in the first ball of a new spell, drifting one in and turning it just enough to have du Plessis lbw for 47.

That left four wickets needed in the final session. Worryingly for Clarke, Nathan Lyon was having no impact, just as had been the case in that Adelaide draw. At times he bowled too quick, and like his colleagues, offered up too many balls that the South Africans could leave. The Australians became frazzled and frayed, but Clarke managed to manufacture a wicket by placing a leg slip, Lyon, who pouched a leg glance off Johnson to end JP Duminy's innings on 43.

But Philander and Steyn were not going to fold quickly. Philander was the only South African who really played his shots throughout the final day, but rarely did he create a chance. Even more impressive was that he spent part of the innings battling a painful blow to his hand after an accidental beamer from Pattinson jammed him on the right glove. Another glove-related incident was to come.

Immediately before the final hour began, the Australians won an out decision from Aleem Dar when Johnson banged in a short ball that tickled Philander's thumb on the way to being caught, but Philander asked for a review. The third umpire, Richard Illingworth, felt there was enough evidence that Philander's hand was off the bat at the time when the ball struck his glove and overturned the decision, much to the dismay of the Australians, and things really heated up on the field after that.

Whatever Clarke tried did not seem to work. Philander and Steyn just batted on and on. The bowlers wearied, and sent down ball after ball that could be left alone. Until Clarke asked Harris to finish the job. Two wickets in three balls, both hitting the stumps. An emotional series win for Australia, whose summer ended with seven wins and one loss. A gut-wrenching loss for Smith in his final match.

But mostly, it was a fittingly tight way for the campaign to end. Australia had the better of the series, but South Africa made them earn it. It was not until the last five overs of the last hour of the last day of the last Test of the series that the outcome was determined. And if every Test series was like that, the game would be in pretty good shape.

Another spin battle to decide series

The Big Picture

The first two one-day internationals have been a combination of some very good cricket and some very ordinary cricket - both teams have provided both aspects. In the second match, England played justenough of the better stuff than West Indies, but it was a close-run contest as they found themselves in a heap of trouble chasing a small total.

Stuart Broad's reaction on hitting the winning runs showed how much it meant to him to register a victory. The team desperately needed a positive result after twice letting strong positions fritter away in the opening match. Going 2-0 down, in the face of chasing just 160, would have left the danger of painful memories from Australia being revived.

The result of this series will not mean a huge amount in terms of the challenges ahead but a number of players are taking their chance to impress for England, notably Michael Lumb, Moeen Ali and Stephen Parry who claimed three wickets on his debut. For West Indies, Lendl Simmons has twice held the innings together while Sunil Narine has been the handful expected of him.

However, the hosts need much more from their top order - which is missing Chris Gayle's power - and need to find a way of either putting more pressure on England's spinners or, at least, not losing early wickets which sets the innings back and leaves the likes of Simmons needing to stage a recovery.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)
West IndiesLWWWL
England WLLWL

Watch out for...

Nikita Miller can fly under the radar when all the attention is on the wiles of Sunil Narine, but he has had a significant impact for West Indies in recent ODIs. His last three matches - against New Zealand, Ireland and England - have brought him eight wickets and it was his dismissal of Michael Lumb which sparked England's collapse the other day. He and Narine make an ideal pair; if a team aims to largely survive against Narine, especially on turning pitches, Miller can take advantage of the pressure created.

Jos Buttler has not been able to show his finishing skills so far in his brief series. He fell trying to clear in the in-field as the asking rate climbed in the first match and was surprised by a short ball on a slow pitch in the second. Neither dismissal need raise major alarms, but England put a lot of onus on Buttler to be able to close out an innings. Behind the stumps, the amount of spin bowling has tested his glovework which, at times, remains fallible as shown by the controversial stumping of Dwayne Bravo.

Team news

West Indies' top four have struggled and Marlon Samuels appears to have overcome his injury so would be a logical swap for one of them, perhaps the rather leaden-footed Kirk Edwards. Samuels would also provide another bowling option, although he is not allowed to use his quicker ball after ICC testing ruled it illegal last year.

West Indies 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Kieron Powell, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Lendl Simmons, 6 Dwayne Bravo (capt), 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Sunil Narine, 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Nikita Miller

Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales trained on Tuesday, but with T20s around the corner neither may be risked even though it is a deciding one-dayer. That would mean a reprieve for the struggling Luke Wright.

England 1 Michael Lumb, 2 Moeen Ali, 3 Luke Wright, 4 Joe Root, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 James Tredwell, 11 Stephen Parry

Pitch and conditions

For the third game in a row the same pitch will used: it was tired during the second match, it could well be comatose this time. Expect more spin, albeit slow, and even less bounce - 150 may not be far off defendable again.

Stats and trivia

• England have bowled 314 deliveries of spin in two matches. Their most in a series of three matches is 384 during the 1977-78 series against Pakistan which was played over 35 eight-ball overs
• Luke Wright has gone seven innings across both limited-overs formats without reaching double figures
• For both teams a series win here will be their first in one-day cricket since February last year: West Indies beat Zimbabwe and England beat New Zealand

Quotes

"If I was asked to go up the order, I'd snap off the hand of whoever makes the decision."
Ravi Bopara on wanting to bat higher

"It caught us by surprise ... and we were not able to counteract it, or come up with a gameplan against it."
Dwayne Bravo on being out-foxed by England's spin tactics

South Africa stonewall but Australia eye victory

Adelaide, November 25, 2012. Set a record chase, South Africa go to stumps at 77 for 4 with AB de Villiersand Faf du Plessis at the crease. Through the unwavering concentration of du Plessis, they salvage a miraculous draw.

Cape Town, March 4, 2014. Set a record chase, South Africa go to stumps at 71 for 4 with AB de Villiers and nightwatchman Kyle Abbott at the crease. Faf du Plessis is next in. Surely they couldn't do it again? Could they?

Michael Clarke must have thought back to that Adelaide Test as he made his declaration calculations on the fourth day at Newlands. That match was an opportunity missed, and now his men had the chance to redeem themselves and secure an away series win over South Africa. They had dominated the match so far, in no small part thanks to David Warner's twin centuries, but the job still needed finishing. A draw from this position might just feel like a win to the retiring Graeme Smith.

At 15 for 3 after Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris skittled Smith, Alviro Petersen and Dean Elgar, the result seemed a formality. Clarke's declaration 40 minutes before tea gave South Africa a nominal target of 511 runs, but their only realistic goal was batting out four and a half sessions to settle for a 1-1 series. A post-tea stonewalling effort from de Villiers and Hashim Amla gave them hope of achieving that feat.

In Australia's favour, the fifth day was due to start half an hour early to make up for the loss of play due to rain on day two. And unlike the Adelaide Test, where James Pattinson broke down and left Clarke a bowler short, here he had the complete artillery still at his disposal, including the allrounder Shane Watson, who did not play in that Adelaide Test.

Pattinson performed an important function as the sun set behind Table Mountain, trapping Amla lbw for 41 with a ball that jagged in sharply and rapped him right in front. A hopeful review did not save Amla, who had spent 148 minutes at the crease and faced 109 deliveries. His 53-run stand with de Villiers occupied 30.4 overs. The runs were irrelevant, the time they ate up was not.

South Africa's scorecard had more dots than an Ishihara test; de Villiers alone had negotiated 89 of them by stumps, of the 100 deliveries he had faced. At the close of play, de Villiers was on 16 and Abbott had 1. South Africa had added only 56 runs in the final session, but for the loss of only one wicket. That was important after the mini-collapse that occurred before tea.

Johnson ended Smith's Test batting career on a low note. Applauded through a guard of honour by the Australians on his way to the crease, Smith managed only 3 before he tickled a quick Johnson delivery on to his body and the catch lobbed up to Alex Doolan at short leg. He walked off to a standing ovation and turned around to raise his bat to all sections of the crowd, but knew he had missed the chance for one last captain's innings.

Johnson soon rattled the stumps of Dean Elgar, who missed a quick delivery that seamed away just a fraction, and it left South Africa on 15 for 3 after Ryan Harris had earlier trapped Alviro Petersen right in front. It completed a demoralising couple of sessions for South Africa, after Clarke delayed his declaration in order to completely bat South Africa out of the contest.

The runs came quickly in the second session as Warner, Watson and Steven Smith enjoyed the freedom to go for their shots and Graeme Smith, in his last acts as South Africa's captain in the field, had little choice but to send his men back to the boundary to save as many runs as possible. Clarke called an end to proceedings with the total on 303 for 5, with Smith unbeaten on 36 from 20 deliveries and Brad Haddin on 3.

Warner was the key man throughout Australia's innings and finished with 145 from 156 balls when he edged behind off Abbott, who ended up with three wickets. Not since Phillip Hughes in Durban in 2009 had an Australian scored two centuries in a Test. Warner had started the day briskly and moved to his half-century from 41 deliveries, although by lunch he had fallen below the run-a-ball rate.

The only man to fall in the first session was Chris Rogers, who on 39 virtually gave his wicket away with a slack piece of running between the wickets when he jogged back for a second having swivelled the ball to fine leg. The direct hit from the deep caught Rogers short as he failed to ground his bat properly, and it led to a decline in the scoring rate as Doolan came in and looked to get himself set.

Doolan played some nice shots on his way to 37, including a classy on-drive for four, but he used up 87 balls to get there and was out shortly after lunch when he was caught top-edging a hook. Watson struck a quick 25 from 17 balls and helped plunder 22 off one JP Duminy over before he was caught at point off the bowling of Abbott, and Clarke fell for a duck trying for quick runs.

In the field, South Africa were on a hiding to nothing but failed to show the intensity that might have been expected of them after Smith announced his retirement overnight. Dale Steyn bowled three overs with his hamstring injury but had no real impact. None of it really mattered. It was in the batting department that South Africa would need to show real fight if they were to save this match.