PERTH, Jan 30: South Africa have stolen the world No 1 ODI ranking from Australia by inflicting a crushing 39-run defeat on their hosts in the fifth and final One-day International at the WACA Ground here on Friday.

The Proteas — guided by brilliant batting performances from Hashim Amla, A.B. de Villiers and J.P. Duminy — cruised to 288-6 and bowled superbly from the start to exact a morale-sapping 4-1 series defeat on their hosts.

Australia managed 249 from 49 overs in their run chase but were never in the hunt, with no top order batsman scoring more than David Warner (22).

The NSW prodigy was cruelly run out by a Wayne Parnell deflection at the non-striker’s end in the 13th over, leaving the score at 53-4 and Australia’s middle order with too heavy a burden to shoulder.

The lop-sided one-day series result rubbed further salt in the Australians’ wounds after South Africa ended a phenomenal streak by becoming the first visiting team to win a Test series Down Under in 16 years.

Opener Amla was the rock for the visitors, who elected to bat first on a typically bouncy Perth wicket after winning the toss.

Amla (97) cracked the highest score of the one-day series so far and received good support from de Villiers, who eventually fell to James Hopes for 60, in a 118-run partnership.

But Amla fell three runs shy of the summer’s first one-day century when he nicked Hopes to diving wicket-keeper Brad Haddin.

Hopes (3-44) and Ben Hilfenhaus (2-43) were Australia’s best performers with the ball, the latter snaring the important early wicket of Herschelle Gibbs (seven).

Gibbs was dropped by a scrambling Cameron White (12th man) at long-on in the fifth over, but fell when he top-edged a rising Hilfenhaus delivery to Hopes at mid-on in the sixth.

Top-order batsman Neil McKenzie (10) also struggled with the bounce of the WACA pitch and was the second man out, nicking a Hopes delivery to Haddin as he attempted to smash the ball down the ground.

A flurry of runs from young star Duminy, who belted an unbeaten 60 from just 42 balls, put South Africa in the box seat late in their innings.

Australia had no reply despite South Africa’s relatively inexperienced pace attack, which was missing Dale Steyn and Makhaya Ntini and led by debutant Lonwabo Tsotsobe, and lost early wickets to rule themselves out of the contest.

Tall newcomer Tsotsobe claimed 2-28 in a blistering seven-over opening spell working in tandem with Morne Morkel (2-45).

Tsotsobe returned later to help clean up the tail, finishing with match figures of 4-51.

Australia lost Shaun Marsh (five), Ricky Ponting (12) and Michael Clarke (zero) inside nine overs, and when Warner fell they could see their No 1 ranking slipping away.

West Australian brothers Michael (78) and David Hussey (32) provided some resistance with a 69-run partnership in the middle order, as did the brave Haddin (63), but despite their solid contributions they never seriously looked like reviving the doomed Australian innings.

It was another resilient performance from the South Africans, and achieved with one of their most inexperienced line-ups.

Scoreboard

SOUTH AFRICA:

H.M. Amla c Haddin b Hopes 97

H.H. Gibbs c Hopes b H’haus 7

N.D. McKenzie c Haddin b Hopes 10

A.B. de Villiers c Warner b Hopes 60

J.P. Duminy not out 60

J.A. Morkel b Johnson 14

V.B. Jaarsveld c D. Hussey b H’haus 5

J. Botha not out 14

EXTRAS (LB-9, W-12) 21

TOTAL (for six wkts, 50 overs) 288

FALL OF WKTS: 1-28, 2-58, 3-176, 4-196, 5-212, 6-256.

DID NOT BAT: M. Morkel, L.L. Tsotsobe, W.D. Parnell.

BOWLING: Bracken 10-0-70-0 (1w); Hilfenhaus 10-0-43-2 (1w); Johnson 10-0-58-1 (2w); Hopes 9-1-44-3 (3w); Clarke 7-0-30-0 (1w); D. Hussey 4-0-24-0.

AUSTRALIA:

S.E. Marsh c Amla b Tsotsobe 5

D.A. Warner run out 22

R.T. Ponting c de Villiers b Tsotsobe 12

M.J. Clarke b M. Morkel 0

M.E.K. Hussey b Tsotsobe 78

D.J. Hussey c Botha b Duminy 32

B.J. Haddin c Tsotsobe b Parnell 63

J.R. Hopes b Botha 11

M.G. Johnson c and b Tsotsobe 5

N.W. Bracken c sub b M. Morkel 4

B.W. Hilfenhaus not out 1

EXTRAS (B-1, LB-5, W-9, NB-1) 16

TOTAL (all out, 49 overs) 249

FALL OF WKTS: 1-10, 2-35, 3-35, 4-53, 5-122, 6-174, 7-218, 8-237, 9-244.

BOWLING: M. Morkel 10-45-0-2 (1nb, 4w); Tsotsobe 9-1-50-4 (1w); Parnell 10-0-52-1 (2w); Botha 10-0-38-1; J.A. Morkel 6-0-37-0; Duminy 4-0-21-1 (1w).

RESULT: South Africa won by 39 runs.

UMPIRES: B.N.J. Oxenford (Australia) and I.J. Gould (England).

TV UMPIRE: P.R. Reiffel (Australia).

MATCH REFEREE: R.S. Madugalle (Sri Lanka).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Hashim Amla.

MAN-OF-THE-SERIES: Albie Morkel.

FIRST MATCH: Melbourne, South Africa won by three wickets.

SECOND MATCH: Hobart, Australia won by five runs.

THIRD MATCH: Sydney, South Africa won by three wickets.

FOURTH MATCH: Adelaide, South Africa won by eight wickets.—Agencies