CRICKET/Test match Scoreboard:Captain Graeme Smith paid tribute to retiring all-rounder Shaun Pollock after South Africa wrapped a 2-1 Test series victory against West Indies in Durban on Saturday.
"He's an icon, he's up there with South Africa's greatest cricketers," Smith said after the hosts won the third Test by an innings and 100 runs on the third day. "It's very important that people celebrate what he's given to South African cricket and what he has achieved as an individual. He has been unbelievably consistent. As a captain, to know what you're going to get from him on any given day is fantastic.
"We're all sad and emotional. When you win a Test series you are buoyant, but there are a few other emotions in the dressingroom at the moment. He deserves to be celebrated."
Pollock announced his retirement after the close on the second day, ending a career of 108 Tests in which he took 421 wickets - the most by a South African. South Africa's one-day series against West Indies will be Pollock's swansong in international cricket.
Smith replaced Pollock as captain after South Africa crashed out of the 2003 World Cup in the first round. "He gave me incredible support right through my captaincy," Smith said. "You couldn't have asked for more from a senior player, and from a guy who had just lost the captaincy."
West Indies won the first Test in Port Elizabeth by 128 runs before South Africa levelled the series with a seven-wicket win in Cape Town. Smith said he was satisfied with the way his team had performed under pressure.
"There have been some wonderful highlights, some really good individual performances, and a really good fightback from a South African team that has shown a lot of skill and a good will to win," Smith said.
West Indies coach John Dyson felt his team had been competitive at stages of the series. "South Africa batted better than us, they've bowled better than us, and they've fielded better than us, but not by huge amounts," Dyson said.
The teams next meet in a Twenty20 match in Johannesburg on Friday before playing five one-day internationals.
West Indies: first innings 139; South Africa: first innings 556-4 declared.
WEST INDIES - Second innings (23-0 overnight)
D Ganga c Kallis b Ntini 11
B Parchment lbw b Steyn 20
R Morton lbw b Pollock 37
M Samuels b Steyn 105
D Bravo lbw b Steyn 75
D Ramdin c Boucher b Nel 25
D Sammy c and b Steyn 17
J Taylor not out 17
D Powell b Steyn 0
F Edwards b Steyn 0
S Chanderpaul absent ill
Extras (lb-8, nb-1, w-1) 10
Total (all out, 86.5 overs) 317
Fall of wickets: 1-33, 2-49, 3-88, 4-232, 5-273, 6-292, 7-305, 8-305, 9-317.
Bowling: Steyn 21.5-6-72-6, Ntini 20-4-95-1, Pollock 17-4-50-1 (nb-1), Nel 17-2-67-1, Kallis 8-2-14-0 (w-1), Amla 3-0-11-0.
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