12 January 2004	Monday	19 Ziqa'ad 1424

BENONI, Jan 11: West Indies suffered yet another injury blow to their tour of South Africa when left-handed batsman Wavell Hinds was forced to return home on Sunday because of a groin problem.

Hinds picked up the injury during the drawn third Test in Cape Town and team manager Ricky Skerrit confirmed that the player's tour was over. No replacement will be sent for ahead of the fourth and final Test which begins at Centurion on Friday although an extra player may be called up for the one-day series which follows.

Hinds is the fourth West Indies player to head home from the tour following injuries to off-spinner Omari Banks, paceman Jerome Taylor and batsman Marlon Samuels.

The latest blow came as West Indies endured another mediocre day on the field, dismissed for just 263 in their second innings in their tour match against South African first class champions Easterns at Willowmore Park in Benoni, near Johannesburg.

At the close Easterns were precariously poised at 28 for two, requiring a further 257 runs for victory. Captain Ramnaresh Sarwan (72) and opening batsman Daren Ganga (51) made solid contributions for West Indies, but it needed a sixth-wicket stand of 100 between Sarwan and Vasbert Drakes to steady the ship after they had been reduced to 136 for five. Once the partnership was broken the remaining four wickets fell for the addition of just 27 runs.

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES (1st Innings) 334 (C.H. Gayle 145).

EASTERNS (1st Innings) 313 (A. Morkel 132; R. Rampaul 4-63).

WEST INDIES (2nd Innings, overnight 27-0):

C.H. Gayle c Z. de Bruyn b A. Morkel 28

D. Ganga run out 51

S. Chanderpaul c Cullinan b Z. de Bruyn 21

C.S. Baugh c Seymore b Malao 31

R.D. Jacobs b A. Morkel 1

R.R. Sarwan c Cullinan b M. Morkel 72

V.C. Drakes c Z. de Bruyn b Flusk 37

D. Mohammed c P. de Bruyn b Flusk 1

A. Sanford b M. Morkel 6

R. Rampaul b A. Morkel 0

C.D. Collymore not out 0

EXTRAS (B-3, LB-7, NB-5) 15

TOTAL (all out, 86.2 overs) 263

FALL OF WKTS: 1-44, 2-69, 3-113, 4-136, 5-136, 6-236, 7-238, 8-257, 9-262.

BOWLING: A. Morkel 15.2-3-48-3; Z. de Bruyn 12-0-34-1 (1nb); Malao 16-3-54-1, M. Morkel 6-0-25-2 (4nb); P. de Bruyn 7-2-18-0; Flusk 9-5-18-2; O'Connor 9-2-20-2; Toyana 12-0-36-0.

EASTERNS (2nd Innings):

A. Seymore not out 8

D. Jennings c and b Sanford 0

Z. de Bruyn b Rampaul 15

D.J. Cullinan not out 0

EXTRAS (B-4, LB-1) 5

TOTAL (for two wkts, eight overs) 28

FALL OF WKTS: 1-5, 2-28.

BOWLING (to-date): Sanford 4-1-16-1; Rampaul 4-1-7-1.-Reuters