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Gibbs and Kemp carry South Africa to series win

Justin Kemp blasted South Africa across the line at Port Elizabeth and carried them to an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the five-match series. Herschelle Gibbs laid the foundations for the run chase with a stylish 81, but a committed performance in the field by New Zealand took the game down to the final over. South Africa needed nine and it took Kemp just two balls as he dispatched Shane Bond for six and four to seal the win.


When Kemp was joined by Shaun Pollock South Africa needed 42 off 30 balls and New Zealand sensed a chance to keep the series alive. Mark Boucher was brilliantly run out by a diving Lou Vincent at cover and the pressure was starting to mount. However, Kemp is becoming the next Lance Klusener and believes he can achieve any target with his powerful strokeplay. On this occasion St George's Park wasn't big enough for him and New Zealand were left to ponder how they are going to beat this South Africa side after wasting three gilt-edged chances.


Their total of 244 represented a decent recovery after the top order slumped against the new ball on a juicy wicket. Scott Styris held them together with a well-paced 78 before Andre Adams gave the innings a grandstand finish by clubbing 24. But South Africa knew that, with a short boundary and quick outfield, a good start would put them in the driving seat.


Their rapid opening stands have become customary in this series - but so has their inability to build on them. This time Graeme Smith had a new partner - the recalled AB de Villiers - but the pattern was the same.

de Villiers was especially impressive, cracking a series of cover-drives and one mightily pulled six onto the roof of the stand at deep square-leg. Adams provided the much-needed breakthrough when Smith played an airy drive and inside-edged a catch to Brendan McCullum. Mills then struck a second blow when de Villiers also edged an attempted drive. Despite abundant talent de Villiers has yet to transfer his impressive start at Test level (average 53) to the one-day arena. His top-score is 39 after 10 matches and, with such a dominant start, the manner of his dismissal was a waste with a big score for the taking.


The innings stalled as Jacques Rudolph, also on his return to the side, struggled against tight medium-pace bowling. At least Gibbs was finding his touch, locating the cover boundary with sweetly timed drives. Gibbs' form has been building throughout the series and today he was near the top of his game. He took an aggressive approach against Daniel Vettori - Stephen Fleming's trump card - taking 15 off one over to put New Zealand on the back foot.


He formed a series of useful - but not match-sealing stands - with Rudolph, Boucher and Ashwell Prince, but when he spooned a slower ball to point, where Hamish Marshall held a stunning catch, the result wasn't a certainty. Pollock struck two crucial boundaries before Kemp added his finishing touches as South Africa's superb run in ODI matches continued.

Although the match finished as a relatively close encounter, South Africa always held an advantage from the moment they had first use of a helpful pitch. Fleming was frustrated at having to bat first, his demeanour all day was of a captain annoyed by how the tour was going, and his mood didn't improve when the top three all fell to flat-footed wafts.


Styris's 78 gave them the chance to post a defendable target as he formed a series of rebuilding partnerships in the middle order. He and Fleming added 59 but, just as the score was ticking along, Fleming's day went from bad to worse. After reaching a composed half-century from 80 balls he was run out in freakish circumstances. A fierce straight drive by Styris ricocheted off Kemp's ankle and smashed into the stumps.


Craig McMillan and Styris scampered between the wickets and managed to locate the fence with the occasional boundary. But another run out at a vital time, via a brilliant piece of fielding for Pollock, caught McMillan short. The ball dropped at McMillan's feet and Pollock collected in his follow-through, turned and hit the stumps at the bowler's end with the batsman a couple of inches short. However, McMillan could have made Pollock's task harder by running the line of the stumps.


While the bowling of Pollock and Ntini was impressive the back-up was less on the mark. Charl Langeveldt had an especially poor day and, although he ended Styris's innings during the closing overs, Adams clubbed his last over for 15. But it still wasn't enough for New Zealand, as this well-drilled South African outfit again showed their ability to win the tight matches.