Johnson Charles slams 69, West Indies sweep Proteas 3-0

WEST Indies romped to a series sweep in their three-match Twenty/20 series against South Africa when they got a thumping eight-wicket win in the third and final match at Sabina Park in Jamaica on May 26.

West Indies reduced the "Proteas" to a modest 163 for seven, before racing to victory in the 14th over with a whopping 37 balls to spare.

After Player of the Series Gudakesh Motie (two for 21), Obed McCoy (three for 39) and Shamar Joseph (two for 26) played their roles in restricting South Africa, opening batsman Johnson Charles lit up the Sabina Park venue with an array of shots in a boundary-filled innings of 69 off just 26 balls.

After scoring 118 against the same South African opposition in Centurion last March, the right-handed Charles scored just 122 runs in his next ten T20 international innings for the Windies — averaging a meagre 12.2 runs per innings in the process.

With the Windies' first game at the International Cricket Council (ICC) men's T20 World Cup versus Papua New Guinea (PNG) less than a week away, Charles had a much-needed return to form and he put the Proteas bowlers to the sword as he smashed nine fours and five sixes in his innings — accounting for 66 of his 69 runs in boundaries.

Charles started the West Indies chase in a hurry as he drilled three boundaries off the first over by speedster Anrich Nortje, while he also smashed three straight sixes in the third over by Gerald Coetzee (one for 37) to send the home crowd into a frenzy.

With Charles on a rampage, the regional team raced to 50 inside four overs, while they completed the power play in an advantageous position on 83 without loss. With stand-in captain Brandon King (44 off 28 balls) a mere bystander in the early stages, Charles got to his fifth T20 international fifty off just 20 balls when he struck Nortje to the long-off boundary for four in the sixth over.

Perhaps, with thoughts of a second T20 century versus the Proteas on his mind, Charles was dismissed in the seventh over when he pulled a ball from young leg-spinner Nqaba Peter (one for 27) into the safe hands of Matthew Breetzke on the on side.

As he received the Man of the Match award, Charles was asked if he was concerned about his recent form atop the order. The 35-year-old said he feels good about his game and he wasn't trying to complicate things.

"It was about the basics to be honest. I tried to implement it in the first two games and it didn't work but it came off today. It's all about implementing it and getting everything in check for the World Cup," Charles said.

"It's all about building confidence. I'm feeling pretty good right now. But having said that, I'm building and building toward that first game."

The Windies were well-placed on 92 for one at the fall of the first wicket, and the momentum was maintained by King and new batsman Kyle Mayers, who reminded the spectators of his own brute power with an unbeaten cameo of 36 from 23 balls.

After a 38-run stand between the pair, King was caught-behind by a struggling Quinton de Kock off Coetzee's bowling in the 11th over.

The left-handed Mayers, who has been named as one of five reserves for the World Cup, went into overdrive after King's dismissal and he smashed Coetzee for a six over backward square in the 13th over, before finishing the game in true West Indian style as he smashed two more sixes in the subsequent over from Reeza Hendricks.

Earlier, after winning the toss, the Proteas batsmen never established a good rhythm against the West Indies attack, and they crawled to 63 for four at the halfway stage, before stand-in captain Rassie van der Dussen (51 from 31 balls) and Wiaan Mulder (36 from 28 balls) gave the innings impetus with a 77-run partnership for the fifth wicket.

Mulder and van der Dussen fell in consecutive overs to McCoy at the death, though, as West Indies put the squeeze on their guests at a crucial stage. Motie, who grabbed eight wickets for the series, got the wicket of the dangerous de Kock for 19, while his countryman Joseph had an improved showing as he bowled steadily in the power play and at the death – taking the wickets of Hendricks and Coetzee in the process.

After the fine bowling effort, the Windies top order then made light work of the 166-run target to get their first 3-0 series sweep against South Africa in T20s.

Summarised Scores:

South Africa: 163/7 (Rassie van der Dussen 51, Wiaan Mulder 36, Quinton de Kock 19; Obed McCoy 3/39, Gudakesh Motie 2/21) vs West Indies: 165/2 from 13.5 (Johnson Charles 69, Brandon King 44, Kyle Mayers 36 not out; Nqaba Peter 1/27, Gerald Coetzee 1/37). West Indies won by eight wickets and won the series 3-0.