If there is one ground in the West Indies you want to bat on, it's undoubtedly got to be the Recreation Ground at St. John's, Antigua. The fact that Brian Lara broke the world record for the highest score at this very venue twice should be indication enough of what a batting beauty the strip is. Antigua certainly lived upto its reputation in the fourth Test of the Digicel series as well. Both West Indies and South Africa put up mammoth totals as the match meandered towards a predictable draw. Never before has a Test match witnessed eight centuries.
 

And as expected, there were too many heroes from either side who made an impression with the willow. But none more than Chris Gayle, who till then had hardly scored any runs in the series. The hard-hitting left-hander pulverised the Protean attack right from ball one on his way to the third fastest half-century by a West Indian in Test cricket. But he did not throw it away after reaching there as most West Indians do these days. Instead, he continued to provide entertainment to the crowds with some unbelievable stroke-play. His stand-and-deliver shots on such a placid track left the South African bowlers dumbfounded. Monde Zondeki was the worst hit, going for over eleven runs in each of his first three overs. But then he can take heart from the fact that even the experienced Shaun Pollock could not stop the flow of runs. Gayle settled down in the latter part of his knock and went on to register a well-deserved triple century, the fourth West Indian to do so.
 

Ramnaresh Sarwan also got his act together and marched to his second century of the series. Sarwan and Gayle shared a huge stand which took away any hopes South Africa may have had of running through the middle-order after Ntini sent back Hinds early in the innings for naught. Sarwan looked in complete control during his knock and gave enough evidence of why he's considered one of the more talented cricketers in world cricket. If he can show more discipline in his game, Sarwan can definitely become one of the best. For that, he first has to sort out his hook-shot problem, which has got him into trouble more than once and also not perish tamely, thereby providing his precious wicket to the opposition on a platter.

Apart from Sarwan and Gayle, Chanderpaul also took the opportunity to improve his aggregate. Playing in his usual style, the man with an awkward stance played yet another innings of substance and helped the West Indies gain some confidence ahead of the one-day series, as did Dwayne Bravo, who took the opportunity to register his maiden Test century.

The one big disappointment though was Brian Charles Lara. It would be an understatement to say that he has fond memories of this ground. But then, his short stint at the crease showed that even he was human. The usually attacking Lara faced 29 deliveries for a mere four runs before Zondeki bowled a short, rising gem that even the master batsman had no answer to. Lara nicked it and was comfortably held by the keeper. But the West Indies had nothing to worry about as they had already crossed the 300-mark by then.
 

The question to be asked though is, should we read too much into this batting performance by the Caribbeans, considering that the series was already gone and Antigua is one of the easiest wickets to bat on in world cricket? Instead of basking in the glory of this achievement, the West Indies must try and figure out where they have been going wrong in the past few years. It might seem strange, but the fact is that the West Indian batting line-up is not one of the weakest as their performance has often lead people to believe. Brian Lara is without doubt one of the greatest the game has ever seen while Chanderpaul and Sarwan are two very good batsmen. Even the openers Gayle and Hinds, even though they don't fall into the above two categories, are among the two most talented in world cricket. But the problem is their inability to click consistently as a team. It's always been a case of Lara scoring a big one or Sarwan or Chanderpaul on other occasions, and the rest just don't provide any support. They have been dismissed for less than a hundred on more than one occasion in the last decade, whenever no one has fired. Another major letdown is the lower-order. Even if the top-order fails, it's imperative to have a tail that can provide some valuable resistance. But the likes of Collins, King and Powell are easy meat even for part-time bowlers.

Coming back to the Antigua Test, West Indies amassed a huge total atleast for once with the top order firing in a big way. But all this was all only after South Africa had their share of batting practice.

And everything went right for Graeme Smith and co right from the start. After calling correctly and electing to bat, the openers had a feast on the rain-affected opening day. With nothing in the wicket to assist them, the Windies bowlers were all over the place, giving Smith and De Villers enough opportunities to score without taking any risks. The duo went on to register their third consecutive hundred run partnership. Smith, normally strong on the on-side, showed he can be equally good on the opposite side, while De Villers continued to play his favourite strokes off some rather generous bowling. The West Indians were pretty consistent in bowling to his strengths, and in the areas where he likes the ball to be pitched. Smith and De Villers had both reached their tons by the end of the first day's play that was cut short due to the weather. De Villers has given enough indication in this series that South Africa have discovered someone who should serve the Proteas for long if everything goes well. Smith on the other hand is taking gradual steps towards greatness. The cynics might say that his big scores in this series have come against a depleted side, but the elegant left-hander has certainly led from the front in this series. South Africa are still struggling to regain their old magic. However, in Smith, they have a leader who believes his team will regain the status they once enjoyed in world cricket.
 

After the dismissals of De Villers and Smith, the visitors lost two more wickets quickly. The Kallis-Prince show began after that. The duo batted through two whole sessions on the second day to put South Africa in command. Both were extremely severe on the West Indians, scoring quickly with boundaries all over the place. And of course, there was the occasional big hit that went for the maximum. During his entertaining innings, Kallis broke two much cherished records. He went on to become South Africa's highest scorer in Test cricket and also the highest century maker, surpassing Gary Kirsten's tallies of and 21 respectively.
 

Prince also went on to make a well-deserved century. The talented left-hander has been around the international circuit for a while and it seems he is beginning to find his feet in international cricket which is a healthy sign for South Africa.
 

Looking back at the four-match series, there was no doubt as to which was the better side. But the West Indies could have certainly put up a better show. Their indiscipline in all departments of the game cost them dearly. With the one-day series coming up, it is about time they pull up their socks.