South Africa win toss and bat

South Africa 15 for 1 v West Indies 147 for 8 (Powell 50) - match abandoned
Scorecard

Heavy rain had the final word at Kingsmead, as the third one-day international between South Africa and West Indies was abandoned early after the change of innings. West Indies will be especially disappointed, as they would have fancied their chances of victory after Duckworth/Lewis calculations meant South Africa faced a potentially tricky run-chase. The five-match series is now beyond Brian Lara's grasp.

West Indies made an encouraging start to defending their total of 147 for 8 from a reduced 40 overs, restricting the South Africans to 15 for 1 from five overs. On a soggy, seaming pitch, Graeme Smith and Herschelle Gibbs started uncomfortably before the heavens opened, and they still required 154 runs from 35 overs. Smith was the man out, caught at mid-off by Lara, off the impressive Merv Dillon (10 for 1). The bowlers' tails were up, but another downpour washed out their hopes.

West Indies' innings began slowly, but ended in dramatic fashion, with a flurry of wickets and an entertaining array of poor shots, as they failed to make good use of a nine-over dash, once rain had shortened the game.

Resuming after two breaks, with the score on 98 for 3, Lara immediately upped the tempo, swivelling outside off to hit the shot of the innings down to the fine-leg boundary, much to Lance Klusener's bemusement. Ramnaresh Sarwan countered Shaun Pollock's menacing bounce on the damp wicket, with a majestic blow to the cover boundary, but the very next ball he was comfortably caught on the ropes by Boeta Dippenaar (118 for 4).

Two balls later and Lara was gone as well, just when his team desperately needed him to stay for the duration. He top-edged Jacques Kallis's first delivery, and Mark Boucher took a high catch (119 for 5). Dwayne Smith enjoyed a scintillating, if brief, dual with Klusener, first smashing him through mid-off for four, and next ball hoisting him over midwicket for six. But Klusener had the last word, as Pollock raced round to mid-on to catch Smith after he mistimed a wild swing (134 for 6).

The batsmen continued to come and go, with Kallis accounting for Ryan Hurley and Dillon in successive balls, and Ridley Jacobs was left marooned at the non-striker's end. It represented a tame end, and the beginning wasn't much better either.

From a slow start, Ricardo Powell wrestled West Indies back to some sort of parity amid the gloom, with a responsible 50 runs from 71 balls, after Pollock and Andre Nel kept things tight. Chris Gayle fell to Nel, spooning a leading edge to the safe hands of Gibbs (3 for 1).

Powell and Shivnarine Chanderpaul then shared a 49-run partnership, but Chanderpaul was completely out-of-sorts, struggling to 17 off 55 balls. Eventually he realised he had to get on or get out, and he duly obliged, edging Klusener to deep square-leg, where Jacques Rudolph held a steepling catch (52 for 2).

Powell, who played with a confident fluency and hammered a series of boundaries on the on-side, claimed his seventh one-day half-century, but two balls later he was out, lofting Klusener to Dippenaar at square-leg (79 for 3). In the grand scheme of things, his innings meant little, but at least it brightened up a dull Durban day.