Proteas make a meal of bagging consolation

The happy ending for South Africa was that they won by four wickets, although not without a recurrence of their batting bad dream

AT 1.10pm yesterday, as Lonwabo Tsotsobe, ball in hand, ambled across the outfield towards Misbah-ulHaq leaning on his bat, a passing Gautrain sent a long, low groan to greet the crowd watching the third one-day international between SA and Pakistan.

The spectators groaned long and low in return, and the first Mexican wave of the day swelled moments later. Boredom is a bugger, especially when you pay for the privilege of being entertained and wonder whether you’ve wasted your money.

Pakistan left SA with neither a bang nor a whimper, but with the dull thud of a zombie movie soundtrack.

The happy ending for South Africa was that they won by four wickets, although not without a recurrence of their batting bad dream.

In a series won by Pakistan on Wednesday and that only ever existed as consolation for games India cancelled, this was a corpse of a cricket match.

So who could blame Pakistan for lacking the intent to inflict what would have been SA’s third ODI series whitewash and their first at home? Hints of that came at the toss, when it was revealed that Shahid Afridi would be rested.

SA, themselves without Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn, got the first half of the job done by dismissing Pakistan for 179 — a total that owed much to Misbah’s diligent 79 not out and even more to Vernon Philander’s sniping, swinging 3/26.

But the zombie, still undead, stirred as SA dwindled to 124/5. Then AB de Villiers put a bullet in its brain with a coolly clipped 48 not out.

That intervention was needed after the innings wobbled in the wake of Hashim Amla being run out for 41 just as he seemed to be taking control with superb touch and timing.

“We didn’t have enough respect for our partnerships,” De Villiers said. “We got through it but I was worried.”

In stands of 40 runs each with David Miller and then Ryan McLaren, De Villiers slayed the beast with 10.2 overs unbowled.

That sealed SA’s first win in the last eight ODIs in which they have batted second. It’s been a slow train coming.

Picture: JAMES OATWAY JUST OUT OF REACH: Ryan McLaren of the Proteas flies high trying to catch Sohaib Maqsood off his own bowling in the third and final ODI against Pakistan at SuperSport Park, Centurion, yesterday. He missed this one but got his man later in the innings