CENTURION, South Africa - South Africa ensured that Stephen Fleming's Black Caps would return home empty-handed from their tour of the Republic when they completed a commanding five-wicket win the rain-affected fifth and final one-day international at Centurion on Sunday.
New Zealand were posted a modest 215 all out after
losing the toss and the home side stormed to 105-2 from 19 overs when a violent thunderstorm claimed over an hour from the match.
The target was reduced to 140 from 30 overs, effectively just 35 more from 11 overs.
Graeme Smith ensured that revenge for last year's 5-1 drubbing in the corresponding series in New Zealand last year was all the sweeter with an aggressive 66 from 65 balls and, for once, failed to rise to the verbal jibes aimed in his direction.
Daniel Vettori briefly threatened to make a game of it with two quick wickets - including the bizarre stumping of Ashwell Prince who had started to leave his crease at the end of the over when McCullum removed the bails - but Mark Boucher (22 not out) ensured there would be no twist in the tail.
The Black Caps had earlier recovered from the loss of Fleming to the second ball of the match to produce the significant top order partnership that has eluded them throughout the series.
Nathan Astle and Lou Vincent added 75 for the second wicket with a fearless approach that unsettled the seasoned new-ball pairing of Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini.
Pollock, having persuaded Fleming (0) to edge a wide delivery to Boucher, was then belted to the cover fence by Astle and Vincent, given a life on one, struck a glorious, straight-driven six back over Ntini's head.
But Astle's charmed life ended on 37 when he slapped seamer Charl Langeveldt to the cover boundary where Andrew Hall held the catch and the rot set in straight away when a hopelessly out-of-form Hamish Marshall (2) edged the same bowler to Boucher.
All rounder Hall then took three wickets for seven runs in four overs to rip the guts out of the middle order and ruin any chance of a total in the region of 260.
Styris (19) edged an away swinger to Boucher, Vincent - dropped on one and 51 - chipped a slower ball to extra cover and Craig McMillan (9), 'super-subbed' into the game before Andre Adams had even taken the field, was trapped lbw.
When Daniel Vettori was run out by Boucher after facing a single ball, the Black Caps were 152-7 with 18 overs remaining and it was simply a case of hanging around and pushing the total towards 200, something the normally aggressive Brendan McCullum (27 from 49 balls) did through gritted teeth.
The Black Caps now face Australia in the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series on home soil with problems in the middle order where the killer instinct of Chris Cairns was obviously missed and a bowling attack that only bared its teeth when Shane Bond had the ball in his hands.
SOUTH AFRICA V NZ SCOREBOARD
* Scoreboard from the fifth and final one-day cricket international between South Africa and New Zealand:
New Zealand
S Fleming c Boucher b Pollock 0
N Astle c Hall b Langeveldt 37
L Vincent c AB de Villiers b Hall 66
H Marshall c Boucher b Langeveldt 3
S Styris c Boucher b Hall 19
C McMillan lbw b Hall 9
B McCullum c Boucher b Hall 27
D Vettori run out 0
J Franklin c Boucher b Nel 12
K Mills c Prince b Ntini 19
S Bond not out 9
Extras (3lb, 4nb, 7w) 14
Total (all out, 49.3 overs) 215
Fall: 0, 75, 91, 134, 141, 152, 152, 185, 187, 215
Bowling: S Pollock 8-1-34-1 (2nb, 1w), M Ntini 8.3-0-49-1 (1w), A Nel 9-0-46-1 (4w), C Langeveldt 9-2-36-2 (1nb), A Hall 10-1-23-4 (1nb, 1w), J Kallis 5-0-24-0
South Africa
G Smith b Franklin 66
A de Villiers c Fleming b Mills 11
J Kallis c Fleming b Vettori 15
A Prince st McCullum b Vettori 9
A Morkel c Astle b Styris 5
M Boucher not out 22
J Kemp not out 1
Extras (3lb, 1nb, 7w) 11
Total (for 5 wkts, 28.1 overs) 140
Fall: 61, 103, 106, 113, 131
Bowling: K Mills 8-0-45-1 (1w), S Bond 5-0-27-0 (1w), JFranklin 4-1-19-1 (1nb), S Styris 6-0-27-1 (1w), D Vettori 5-0-18-2, N Astle 0.1 0 1 0
Result: South Africa won by 5 wickets (Duckworth/Lewis method).
South Africa won series 4-0
- NZPA
Cricket: Black Caps sent home empty handed
South Africa celebrate after taking the wicket of New Zealand batsman Scott Styris (left) during the fifth and final one-day international in Pretoria. Picture / Reuters
CENTURION, South Africa - South Africa ensured that Stephen Fleming's Black Caps would return home empty-handed from their tour of the Republic when they completed a commanding five-wicket win the rain-affected fifth and final one-day international at Centurion on Sunday.
New Zealand were posted a modest 215 all out after
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