Too blooming good

Nine minutes before the scheduled break for lunch yesterday, Hashim Amla leaned back to crack one of Marlon Samuels' flaccid offerings through an increasingly porous cover field to end the Test series.

With a sun-splashed Newlands forming a fine backdrop, South Africa beat the West Indies by eight wickets to win the series 2-0.

Minutes later, Amla accepted a cheque for $500000 (about R5.86-million) from ICC boss Dave Richardson - the Proteas' prize for cementing their No1 Test ranking.

All good? Not quite. The last question put to Amla at his press conference was whether he had had any indication from Alviro Petersen about the struggling opener's future.

"I think we'll hear about that a bit later," Amla said. Then the entire SA squad filed in and stood at the back of the room.

Except, that is, for Petersen, who took a seat at the top table to say: "I feel that at 34 it's time for me to retire from international cricket and for me to move on with my career."

Petersen will remain on Cricket SA's books until April 1, when his contract expires. He plans to continue playing franchise and county cricket.

Lancashire are understood to be on the verge of completing negotiations for a Kolpak deal with Petersen, who admitted that he had been thinking about quitting "for six to eight months now". He told the SA team management of his decision after the second day's play.

Petersen had not scored a century in his last 25 completed Test innings. But in only 12 of them did he face fewer than 40 balls.

"It was frustrating," Petersen said. "I feel I'm playing good cricket but the runs haven't come."

Almost four years ago, Petersen became one of then only four South Africans to score a century on Test debut, and that in the cauldron of Kolkata.

With cruel symmetry, his career ended at the other end of that scale with what became the last ball of Monday's play, which Petersen chopped onto his stumps. His score? Nought.

"I don't remember the last couple of overs," Petersen said. "I was thinking about other things."

Even crueller symmetry is in the fact that No5 in SA's century-on-debut club is Stiaan van Zyl, who has said he will open the batting for the Cobras for the rest of the first-class season.

Van Zyl is also expected to open for South Africa A in their four-day series against England Lions, which starts in Paarl on Sunday.

The home side, who needed 124 to win yesterday, took 45 balls to add to their overnight score of 9/1. But once they did the runs flowed freely. Dean Elgar eased to 60 not out and shared a stand of 73 with the unflappable Amla for the unbroken third wicket.

Why young Proteas are blossoming.

Scorecard

South Africa vs West Indies

Third Test at Newlands

• West Indies 1st innings 329 (J Blackwood 56, L Johnson 54; D Steyn 4/78).
• South Africa 1st innings 421 (AB de Villiers 148, F du Plessis 68; J Holder 2/87).
• West Indies 2nd innings 215(M Samuels 74, S Chanderpaul 50; S Harmer 4/82).

South Africa 2nd innings

D Elgar not out 60

A Petersen b S Benn 0

F du Plessis c J Blackwood b S Benn 14

H Amla not out 38

Extras (8b 2lb 2nb) 12

Total (for 2 wickets after 37.4 overs) 124

Falls: 1-9 2-51

Bowling:J Taylor 7-3-20-0, M Samuels 3.4-0-24-0, S Benn 17-8-24-2, J Holder 5-0-19-0, S Gabriel 5-1-27-0 (2nb).

South Africa won by 8 wickets and win the series 2-0.