Pollock
CAPE TOWN, South Africa (AP):
A LATE fitness test on injured allrounder Shaun Pollock was South Africa's only concern before the first one-day international this morning (Ja time) against the West Indies in a five-match series.
Pollock, a veteran of 203 one-dayers for South Africa, hurt his shoulder in a provincial game last week.
South Africa were highly confident of winning the one-day series after easily taking the four-Test series 3-0.
Captain Graeme Smith, fellow opener Herschelle Gibbs and allrounder Jacques Kallis scored nine centuries between them, and South Africa scored in excess of 500 runs in every first innings in the series.
The last time the teams met in a one-day international, it was in the opening match of the 2003 World Cup at the same ground, when West Indies won by three runs. It marked the start of a poor Cup campaign for South Africa.
The West Indies warmed up with a 66-run win over South Africa A at Boland Park on Friday. Defending 230, West Indies dismissed the hosts for 164 with almost five overs to spare of the allotted 50.
South Africa's reserve slow bowlers Justin Ontong and Nicky Boje were able to make considerably more headway against the West Indies batsmen than Robin Peterson did in the first Test. In that match, Brian Lara smashed him for a Test record 28 in a single over.
In the warm-up match, off-spinner Ontong took two for 27 in 10 overs and left-armer Boje claimed two for 35 in six overs in his return after a long-term leg injury.
An all-seam attack could mean the return of Lance Klusener despite last year's public spat, when Smith called him "disruptive".
"Lance and I have come a long way in the past two or three months," said Smith after training in the nets at the ground. "To say everything is rosy though is wrong, but we are talking and I really do think things are getting better."
The West Indies appeared to solve the question of an opening partner for Chris Gayle after Wavell Hinds left the tour with an injured groin. Shivnarine Chanderpaul opened against South Africa A, and while he made 13, he and Gayle put on a quick-fire 58 in less than 12 overs.
