The defeat by 10 wickets on the last day of the fourth and last Test extended the margin of South Africa's triumph to 3-0, the ninth series loss in the past seven years to the seven teams rated above them in the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test standings.

Only Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have been conquered away from the Caribbean in that time, a situation that neither the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) nor the constant changing of captains, coaches, managers and selectors has been able to arrest.

The trophy named in his honour and retained by South Africa was presented afterwards by Sir Viv Richards.

It would have been an emotionally difficult task for the former captain and now chief selector, has witnessed every ball of every Test during which the widespread confidence of a better result he shared with all West Indians was gradually eroded.
Jacques Kallis

The defiance of Ramnaresh Sarwan and Chris Gayle who resisted South Africa for three hours and 44 overs in adding 164 on the previous afternoon, was the latest glimmer of cheer.

Instead, it was rapidly transformed into swift collapse by Makhaya Ntini and Shaun Pollock using the second new ball.

Under dark, foreboding skies that brought enough overnight and early morning rain to delay play by an hour and 40 minutes and cause a further break of two hours before tea, the last seven West Indies wickets tumbled for 75 from 27 overs.

Eagerly seizing the new ball that was immediately due at the belated start, Ntini despatched Gayle in the fifth over after the commanding left-hander had added only one to his overnight 106.

Pollock accounted for Sarwan four runs and 14 balls later for the addition of 12 to his 107 and only care-free strokeplay by the fast bowlers at the bottom of the order, Merv Dillon, Corey Collymore and Fidel Edwards, ensured that South Africa were left with as many as 46 to win.

It might have been better had they won by an innings for what followed compressed into 3.4 bizarre overs some of the principal reasons for the West Indies' demise in the series.

There was no doubt about the result since 24 overs were available to South Africa. But the atmosphere was moist and the gloom deepening.

It was the chance to show some fight for the last, to press for a wicket or two, to prove that there was still some spirit left in spite of the earlier breakdown.

But it was too much to expect.

Edwards, a talented, but inexperienced young fast bowler whose energy and enthusiasm have been progressively drained by South Africa's remorseless batsmen, bounced his third ball into his half of the wicket from where it sailed over Ridley Jacobs for five wides.

In the same over, Sarwan fumbled a straightforward piece of fielding at deep square-leg and allowed a boundary to Graeme Smith.

When Dwayne Smith leapt like a flying fish on the long-on boundary to pull off a breathtaking catch from Herschelle Gibbs off Dillon, the television umpire detected he had touched the boundary marker with his right foot and converted the apparent dismissal to six.

Finally, Edwards sprayed four byes down the leg-side past the helpless Jacobs and formalised the result next ball with his second set of boundary wides.

It made no difference to the outcome but it epitomised so much of what has gone wrong for the West Indies in the field throughout the tour.

They were days when everything went right but those were few and far between and they were never in succession. So it proved again.

By their solid, sensible partnership, Sarwan and Gayle encouraged optimism that another defeat could be avoided, a possibility enhanced by the certainty that the weather would reduce the overs available to South Africa.

It took merely 40 minutes for such hope to disappear as Gayle, Sarwan and Smith fell within 3.3 overs and five runs of each other.

Gayle, who played with such composure and judgement in raising his second hundred of the series the day before, chose a ball from Ntini so short and wide that he just managed to get the bat to it with an awkward square-cut.

The predictable result was a catch to gully, ending a stand with Sarwan worth 174.

Sarwan had a couple of early scares, edging Pollock a foot in front of Smith at first slip and fending off Ntini's lifter short of square-leg, but was clearly unlucky to be the first of umpire Srinivasa Venkataraghavan's dubious lbw decisions.

Going back and across on his toes to Pollock, he was struck at the top of the pad. The ball would have passed well over the stumps, as the television "Hawkeye" indicated, but Venkat's finger was quick.

Seven balls later, Smith's expansive drive was not the best option against Ntini's full length inswinger and his off-stump was sent somersaulting as he missed the shot.

It was Ntini's 30th, and last, wicket in a rubber so dominated by batsmen that there were 20 collective hundreds. It was enough to deservedly earned him the Man of the series award.

The next three wickets went to Pollock, the last to Nel but not before Nos.9, 10 and 11 enjoyed themselves.

Pollock produced a sharp lifter over off-stump that found its way gently to gully from the shoulder of Vasbert Drakes' bat and gained Venkat's verdict for an lbw against Jacobs that appeared not only high but also marginally outside off-stump.

By then, the first of Dillon's six fours, lofted over mid-on off Ntini, had ensured South Africa would bat again and, after the lengthy rain break in mid-afternoon, he, Collymore and Edwards threw the bat with abandon and effect.

Dillon followed his first innings 30 with 29 from 30 balls before he steered Pollock's lifter to first slip.

Collymore had a couple of fours from his 29 balls and Edwards took obvious and understandable pleasure in clouting Pollock back over his head for four and over long-on for six.

But it was merely delaying the inevitable and Edwards' half-hour frolic ended when Nel bowled him off-stump to end the last wicket partnership of 25.