'We pride ourselves on bowling to the last ball'

Charl Langeveldt's sensational hat-trick helped South Africa scrape home by one run © Getty Images

Graeme Smith has hailed the sensational last-over hat-trick by Charl Langeveldt, who sealed the one-day series in a nail-biting finish in the third game in Barbados. This was South Africa's second consecutive one-day series victory after beating England 4-1 at home.

"I know he's got the skill but he really showed he's got the mind and the heart for the situation," Smith told Reuters when asked about Langeveldt's magical spell. "The wicket was a good one - I thought if anything we were 20 or 30 runs shy of where we should have been. It was a tight game - we've been on the wrong side of so many - but the side showed a lot of character."

Langeveldt, who deprived West Indies of getting four runs in the last over and helped South Africa pull off a dramatic one-run win, said he was used to bowling under such circumstances. "I'm used to bowling at the death when the pressure's on. We've got a never say die attitude - we always pride ourselves on bowling to the last ball. It's shown over the years - we never give up."

Shivnarine Chanderpaul, though downcast after the series defeat, pointed out the positives from the game. "From the start they got this morning we came back well. All the bowlers did well in the last part of the innings," he said. "We went pretty close - still needed another two but we didn't get it. It's just one of those things. The performance from today can set the tone for the next couple of games. I hope in Trinidad we can get it right."

The two teams head to Trinidad for a double-header over the weekend with the West Indies left with only pride to salvage after a woeful Test and one-day series.