First Twenty20 international, Trinidad: South Africa 136-7 (20 ovs) bt West Indies 123 (19.5 ovs) by 13 runs Match scorecard
 McLaren took 5-19 as the West Indies struggled to score in Antigua |
Ryan McLaren ripped through the West Indies batting line-up to take 5-19 as South Africa won the first of two Twenty20 internationals in Antigua. Jacques Kallis had struck 53 off 45 balls to guide South Africa to 136-7 off 20 overs. The 34-year-old hit three sixes and one four in a second-wicket stand of 73 with captain Graeme Smith. And, on a two-paced wicket, the West Indies were unable to build up any momentum as they lost by 13 runs. It was the first international match played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium since the Test against England in February 2009 which was abandoned after 10 balls because of a sub-standard pitch. Both sides made changes to their line-ups after disappointing World Twenty20 campaigns. West Indies left experienced batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul, wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin and paceman Ravi Rampaul out of their squad of 14, while, South Africa omitted keeper Mark Boucher, batsman Hashim Amla and seamers Morne Morkel and Lonwabe Tsotsobe - handing the wicketkeeping gloves to AB de Villiers.  | 606: DEBATE |
McLaren became only the fourth bowler to collect five wickets in a Twenty20 international with his commanding display. "It's a good way to start off the tour having practised indoors and not outdoors for the last few weeks. "But it's only the first day, and there's plenty more cricket to come, so hopefully, I can better this performance," he said. "We all know the nature of Twenty20 cricket - the bowler is always up against it. You can take five wickets one day, and the next day, take a thumping, but I enjoyed it. "It was not an easy day for the batters, and you had to graft pretty hard." West Indies captain Chris Gayle, who was caught at long-on for 14 off the bowling of McLaren, promised an improvement from his side. "It was a disappointing start for us," said Gayle. "We wanted to put our dismal performance in the World Twenty20 behind us, but this was not the best way to do it, and was not the best start to the series. "We still have a match on Thursday, so we have to pick ourselves up. This is no time for pointing fingers. "We have a lot of corrections to make out there, and we have to return to the drawing board to try and get the best out of the players." South Africa were subsequently fined 10% of their match fees for maintaining a slow over-rate, with skipper Smith fined 20%. As Smith was also found guilty of a similar offence during the World Twenty20, a third transgression would see him handed an automatic one-match suspension.
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