Cronje warns of of tough series ahead

And while South Africa reflected on maintaining the momentum for the second test, which starts in Port Elizabeth on December 10, Brian Lara and the West Indies were smarting after being slapped with a 10% fine for their slow overrate in the game which finished yesterday.

Cronje felt while savouring the taste of victory was one thing there were still four games to play and the tourists were missing a key member in Jimmy Adams while Carl Hooper's injury hampered the West Indies efforts to put a bigger total on the board in the first innings.

``We can take a lot of confidence from this win,'' Cronje said minutes after the game ended. ``We bowled well in their second innings and that is a good sign for the next game.

``But it is not going to be as easy again against such quality bowling from Courtney Walsh and Curtly Ambrose. We had to bat through the first session with the new ball and then bat positively,'' he added when discussing South Africa's successful pursuit of the 164 needed to win the match, which was accomplished shortly before the scheduled tea break.

``We have four more matches to play and each one is on a different surface to this one, so we will have to look at our game plan for each match we play in the series.

Yet, when the score read 14 for two with openers Gary Kirsten and Adam Bacher dismissed he was not ``overly worried'' as there was quality batting ``still to come''. Yet with 300 test wickets each, it was not going to be a matter of turning up and knocking off the runs.

While the long awaited thunderstorm, which had threatened all afternoon, failed to arrive by the time the final overs would have been bowled, South Africa finally wiped out the memory of the defeat by 52 runs with Ambrose named man of the match.

Cronje expressed disappointment at not being able to stretch the first innings lead to 100 mark he felt the way the bowlers had turned the game around on Sunday had been an important factor in South Africa going on to win the game.

``We have learnt a lot from this match, but the important thing is that we have become experienced and that helped us win here. In Barbados we relied on Kepler (Wessels) and Peter (Kirsten) and when they went early the next day we folded.''

Windies skipper Lara felt while South Africa had ``played the better between the two sides'' not too much should be made of the absence of the injured Jimmy Adams, while Carl Hooper's strained groin did curb their ability to put a bigger total on the board.

``We are going to have a look at our game plan and examine our thinking,' he said. ``It became a second innings game and we came up short. We needed to set them a target of about 250 and then I think it would have been a different story.'

Lara also felt Courtney Walsh, within sight of 400 test wickets, would be better prepared for the second test. His injury had not helped in the pre-match preparation but as with Ambrose the two bowlers need a good run and they had ``done enough in this match'' which suggests they are merely warming up for the rest of the series.

Walsh broke Malcolm Marshall's West Indies all-time wicket record of 376 wickets last Friday. So far he has taken seven wickets to take his tally to 382 and has promise Marshall he would be the first West Indian to take 400 wickets. He needs to collect a further 18 in four matches and may be in for a lot of bowling this series, looking to break a few other records as well.

On another front the politicans are already dabbling their fingers in the question of selection policy and threats being muttered by Steve Tshwete can be taken either with a pinch of pepper or something a little stronger. It may be election year next year and the former ``Mr Fix It'' is starting to wield his axe to leave his mark, but interferring in team selection could end up with the politicians making the same error the Nataional Part did when they were in power.