Smith hails bowlers after win

CAPE TOWN, Feb 11 (Reuters) South African captain Graeme Smith acclaimed his bowlers after his team thumped Pakistan by 10 wickets in the fourth one-day international today.

South Africa put Pakistan in to bat and dismissed them for 107. The home side then surged to victory by scoring 113 without loss in 14 overs.

The result gave South Africa an unbeatable 2-1 lead in the series ahead of the final match in Johannesburg on Wednesday.

''It's one of the best bowling performaces I've seen from this team,'' Smith told reporters. ''The bowling unit took a bit of flak after Durban (where Pakistan scored 351 for four to win by 141 runs), but they've been superb for the past few years and today they were fantastic.

''Every bowler hit fantastic lengths. I don't think the wicket did that much after eight overs, but the pressure we built on them and the way we fielded was an incredible effort.'' Medium pacer Shaun Pollock, who led the attack with his return of two for 13 from 10 overs, said a responsive pitch helped the South Africans.

''It definitely did a bit for us this morning, but once the heavy roller came on it flattened things out,'' Pollock told reporters.

Pollock praised the rest of the South African attack as well as the support the bowlers enjoyed from the field.

''Every bowler kept the pressure on and gave them nothing for free, and the fielders were also superb.'' Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said he hoped his team would prove more competitive on Wednesday.

''Credit goes to the South African bowlers, but we definitely played poor cricket,'' Inzamam said.

''I would have said 230 or 240 would have been a good total on this track, then we could have put some pressure on the South Africans.

''But we're confident that we can play hard cricket in Johannesburg to level the series.'' REUTERS DH VC2104