DWAYNE SMITH established in a lengthy net session here yesterday that he can bat and bowl without obvious hindrance, in spite of a protective splint on the right little finger he dislocated in the field during the third Test.
Now it only requires the dynamic young Barbadian to prove at final practice today that he can manage fielding to be cleared for the fourth and final Test, starting at Supersport Park tomorrow.
It may be cockeyed optimism to expect him to repeat the sensational debut hundred on the final day of the Cape Town Test that guaranteed a draw and, more significantly, restored battered West Indies pride.
But the presence of someone with such uninhibited self- confidence and flair - as well as the courage to bat through his 93-ball hundred with his painful injury - provides a lift to a team decimated by injuries, outplayed by superior opponents and widely derided for the abysmal standard of its outcricket.
It was the same spirit that brought the West Indies their remarkable victory in the final Test over Australia in Antigua last May when they put heavy defeat in the first three Tests behind them to achieve a record target of 418 with three wickets to spare.
South Africa have been as dominant in the first three Tests here as Australia were in the Caribbean. They have already taken the series, and retained the Sir Viv Richards Trophy, 2-0 but it is by no means a dead match for the West Indies.
Through the efforts of Smith and the third-wicket partnership of 156 between captain Brian Lara and vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan in Cape Town, they halted a sequence of seven successive Test defeats in South Africa.
The evidence so far does not indicate the West Indies have bowling effective enough for an uplifting victory but it didn't in Antigua either.
If Smith does report discomfort during the fielding tryout this morning, the tour selectors (Lara, Sarwan and chairman Sir Viv Richards) would have to decide whether it is worth the gamble of having the finger further damaged.
In such circumstances, he would not be allowed a substitute, having carried the injury into the match. But the risk would be minimised by posting him in the deep positions of fine leg and third man.
It is a difficult call - unless Smith comes through the drills this morning as he did with the bat and ball yesterday.
Smith owed his selection in Cape Town to one of the multitude of injuries that have befallen the West Indies on their southern African tour.
He was included in the eleven when Shivnarine Chanderpaul's strained thigh muscle, sustained in the second Test in Durban, wasn't sufficiently healed.
The experienced Chanderpaul is now fit again and reclaims his place at No.5. But as he returns, so does Wavell Hinds - back to the Caribbean with the groin injury that became progressively worse throughout the series.
Left-hand opener Hinds endured a dreadful run in the three Tests with 59 runs in six innings. But his departure leaves only Carlton Baugh as the No.6 option should Smith not be up to it - and the reserve wicket-keeper limped through the West Indies' four-day match against Easterns over the weekend with a tender toe.
Baugh was picked ahead of Smith for the second Test in Chris Gayle's enforced absence with a serious hamstring tear. He is a combative little cricketer with three first-class hundreds to his account but he looked out of his depth when the West Indies were up against it in Durban.
In addition to Smith and Baugh of those still present, there are others with niggling injuries.
Merv Dillon has not bowled since he was dropped for the third Test in which he damaged his hand missing a skied catch on the forgettable fourth day and Daren Ganga and Ramnaresh Sarwan both took painful blows fielding against Eastern.
"Yes, a few guys are still injured but we're expecting a wholehearted effort from everybody, with both the bat and the ball and in the field," Lara said yesterday.
"Statistically, the series might be dead but we still want to improve a lot," the captain added. "We started the New Year positively by drawing in Cape Town and winning against Easterns and we want to continue with that improvement."
The victory over Easterns in Benoni on Monday was the West Indies' first in a first-class match in South Africa following the winless tour in 1998-99 when they lost all five Tests and to Free State.
Lara said "there's no problem" with Ganga while Sarwan is "taking it slowly".
"He's played every game since Zimbabwe and he still has the five one-dayers in front of him," Lara noted. "You've got to commend that effort. His knee is okay and he'ss definitely play on Friday". Dillon is also expected to be fit enough for consideration and is likely to replace left-arm wrist spinner Dave Mohammed in a reversion to four fast bowlers. Ends.