Sport

Lara hails Smith's 100

CAPE TOWN, CMC:

WEST INDIES CAPTAIN Brian Lara praised young batsman Dwayne Smith yesterday for his majestic century that helped the West Indies secure a draw that snapped a seven-game Test match losing streak in South Africa.

Smith, who turns 21 years old next Monday, smashed a run-a-ball 105 not out and dragged the West Indies out of trouble to finish on 354 for five after they were set a formidable 441 to win.

"It is great to see a guy, who gets the opportunity, grasp it with both hands and make full use of it," Lara said during the post-match press conference.

Smith, who joined the tour last month because of an injury to Marlon Samuels, became the first West Indian batsman since Basil Williams to score 100 on debut and struck 15 fours and two sixes in his astonishing innings. Williams scored an even 100 against Australia in Guyana in 1978.

Tremendous

In spite of his limited experience, with only 15 first-class matches, Smith played with the composure and assurance of a seasoned international player and Lara commended his attitude.

"It's good to see the young guys coming in and being very positive ­ they seem to have the passion for the game. That's been missing for quite some time," said Lara, who was instrumental in drafting young fast bowler Fidel Edwards into the West Indies unit.

"What I've seen from young Smith so far is tremendous. His work ethic is great and that is what you need. You need to prepare yourself properly for Test cricket and that's what he is doing.

"I played a couple of games against Dwayne, one in Barbados and one in Jamaica at Kaiser and you could see that he is a very positive individual and that's what he brought to this venue in Cape Town and that's what he brought to the team," Lara said.

Smith (105), Brian Lara (86) and Ramnaresh Sarwan (69), led the resistance against the South Africa on the final day.

With the result, the West Indies avoided their second consecutive Test whitewash on a South African tour, but the home side will enter the final Test at Centurion Park with a winning 2-0 lead.