Cricket: Warned off by the dark arts.

SHANE WARNE bowled Australia to a controversial win over South Africa in near darkness in Durban yesterday.

The great leg-spinner took six for 86 in the second innings to help his side to a 112-run victory and an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

There were only 6.1 overs left when Warne took the last wicket.

Makhaya Ntini was Warne's final victim, but TV replays showed that umpire Billy Doctrove made a poor lbw decision as the ball was outside off stump and far too high.

Warne had earlier been helped out by two more dodgy decisions. He had South Africa skipper Graeme Smith caught at slip off a forearm and then Jacques Kall is got a poor lbw decision from umpire Steve Bucknor.

That left Warne with his 35th five-wicket haul in Tests and his world record for dismissals on 662.

The South Africans blamed the groundsman for producing a wicket which gave the Hampshire captain a lot of help.

Warne was surprisingly given the man-of-the-match award rather than skipper Ricky Ponting, who scored a century in both innings.

Ponting missed most of the last day's play because of a bout of food poisoning.

Although there is nothing at stake in Friday's final Test at Johannesburg the game is sure to be played in a bad spirit, with several rows festering.

Aussie Andrew Symonds was thrown out of a night club at the weekend after a row with Smith, and South Africa pace bowler Andre Nel faces disciplinary action after a bust-up with Adam Gilchrist.

CAPTION(S):

WARNE: Took 6-86