Herschelle Gibbs takes a breather (Getty Images).
South Africa v New Zealand
By Brenden Nel, PA International, Johannesburg
Click here for scorecard
New Zealand skipper Stephen Fleming scored his highest score in one-day
internationals as he led his side to an unlikely nine-wicket victory in their
Pool B World Cup showdown at The Wanderers.
Chasing a revised target of 226 off 39 overs after rain disrupted their reply
to South Africa's mammoth 306 all out, Fleming scored a personal best of 134 off
132 balls with 21 fours as he led his side to their first ever win over South
Africa with 13 balls to spare.
The win was the Black Caps' first in the Republic in 11 games.
The captain's innings eclipsed his 116 not out scored against Australia in
Melbourne in the 1997-98 season and kept the Kiwis on course for the second
round while the pressure mounts on the World Cup hosts.
South Africa have now lost two games in their pool and will need to beat Sri
Lanka in Durban and hope that the West Indies beat the same opposition for them
to go through as they have already beaten the sub-continent side.
Fleming was ably assisted by Nathan Astle who scored 54 not out to chip away
at the target.
But while the Kiwis batted superbly, the South African bowling attack lacked
any real teeth and their fielding missed Jonty Rhodes.
Other than captain Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini, there was little of the
normally sound bowling and fielding by the other four bowlers employed with many
questions still to be asked about Allan Donald's future after he conceded 52
runs in 5.5 overs with only the wicket of Craig McMillan (25) to show for it.
Jacques Kallis, Lance Klusener and Nicky Boje were equally ineffective.
But South Africa will pay dearly for the dropped chance of Fleming when he was
on 53, as Mark Boucher bobbled a ball out of his gloves.
Boucher's costly mistake came after he put down two catches and missed a
stumping in Potchefstroom against Kenya.
Fleming's 50 came up in only 47 balls while his century was equally swift,
being scored from 109 balls.
The target was reduced after play was disrupted three times, first by a power
failure in a sidescreen and then by rain.
The target of 307 was reduced by 11 overs, after the two rain interruptions
with the reduced target being made easier by the Duckworth-Lewis method.
|
