Weakened West Indies seek revival

South Africa won the first three Tests and Lara has admitted his team were outplayed.

They go into the fourth Test without veteran strike bowler Courtney Walsh and may be without Walsh's long-time new-ball partner Curtly Ambrose as well.

Walsh tore his left hamstring while fielding on the last day of the third Test in Durban Tuesday and has been ruled out for Newlands, while Ambrose, suffering from fluid on the left knee, is a doubtful starter.

Walsh and Ambrose, with a combined career total of 740 Test wickets, have taken 28 of the 43 wickets to fall to West Indian bowlers in the series, despite Ambrose having a poor match in Durban and failing to add to his career tally of 349 wickets.

Before the extent of the injuries to his key fast bowlers was known, Lara admitted that not enough individuals were contributing to the West Indian effort.

``We need to get a bigger group of guys performing at the same time,'' he said.

Lara insisted: ``We are a competitive unit. We are not down and out. South Africa outplayed us in all three Test matches but we have to pick ourselves up and play good cricket.''

Despite the lack of depth in bowling, Lara said batting had been his team's biggest weakness. ``I still maintain that if we bat properly we can win in South Africa.''

Lara himself carries an enormous load as the team's star batsman. When he fell to a sensational diving catch by Herschelle Gibbs after putting on 160 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul in the second innings in Durban, a threatened revival by the tourists turned into a rout.

The last eight wickets fell for 58 runs and South Africa were left with a small target of 146, which they reached with nine wickets to spare.

Lara acknowledged the difficulty of leading a losing team. ``As captain you've got to try as much as possible to lead from the front. You can't show a despondent mood, you've got to be very high-spirited, you've got to try to regroup.

``I was not looking forward to this in my first (away) series, so early. We came here expecting to do well. It is a learning experience for myself and a lot of other guys in the team, but it is not something I want to repeat.''

South African captain Hansie Cronje, meanwhile, has a less taxing problem. He has to ensure that his team's motivation and commitment remain high after three victories achieved with increasing ease.

The first Test in Johannesburg was won by four wickets, followed by a 178-run win in Port Elizabeth and a nine-wicket crushing in Durban.

South Africa have the luxury, too, of having to decide between two in-form players for the final place in a cohesive, smoothly-functioning team.

Allrounder Lance Klusener, regarded as a key member of the side before suffering an injury during the third Test in England during the 1998 season, is back in the squad after recovering from a foot operation.

The choice between Klusener and successful newcomer David Terbrugge, who bowled well in the first three Tests, will be difficult.

The only definite change in the South African team is the inclusion of left-arm wrist spinner Paul Adams ahead of offspinner Pat Symcox, whose bowling performances failed to match his combative lower-order batting.

Although he acknowledged that the winning of the series may enable his team to play ``with a little more freedom and flair,'' Cronje said: ``We still have ten days of Test cricket ahead. There won't be a different approach. Winning the series after three Tests was a bonus. We are still going to go out there to try to win the next two.''

The squads:

South Africa: Hansie Cronje (captain), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Daryll Cullinan, Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Allan Donald, David Terbrugge, Paul Adams. 12th man, Ashwell Prince.

West Indies: Brian Lara (captain), Philo Wallace, Junior Murray, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Carl Hooper, Darren Ganga, Ridley Jacobs, Rawl Lewis, Nixon McLean, Curtly Ambrose, Franklyn Rose, Mervyn Dillon, Clayton Lambert, Stuart Williams, Floyd Reifer.

Umpires: David Orchard (SA), Srinivas Venkataraghavan (India).

TV umpire: Cyril Mitchley (SA).

Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).