Right, that’s it from me. Stick around on site for all the reports and reaction and join us again (depending where you are in the world) either later today or tomorrow for England v Sri Lanka. But for now, cheerio!
A final stat: De Villiers averages 137 in ODis against West Indies in 2015.
Here’s AB De Villiers: “The credit’s got to go to the guys up front who laid the base for us. And Rilee inspired me a bit with the way he was playing … after getting a bit of momentum the rest was history.”
Updated
South Africa beat West Indies by 257 runs
Not the record then, but the largest margin of victory (in terms of runs) in World Cup history and the joint-fourth highest of all time in ODIs.
AB de Villiers beats West Indies by 11 runs.
— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) February 27, 2015
Updated
WICKET! Benn c Amla b Morkel 1 (West Indies 151 all out)
Too good from Morkel, just short of a length and rising chestwards – Benn can only guide it to first slip.
Updated
33rd over: West Indies 151-9 (Benn 1, Taylor 15) Steyn strikes Benn on the elbow with his first, but the No11 avoids a duck with a single off the last.
WICKET! Holder c Amla b Steyn 56 (West Indies 150-9)
CLANG! Holders smites a monumental six off the returning Dale Steyn. And just as thoughts start straying towards him adding a century of runs with the bat to the century of runs he conceded with the ball, Steyn tucks him up with a short one and he miscues a pull straight to Amla at mid on.
Updated
32nd over: West Indies 144-8 (Holder 50, Taylor 15) Morkel returns and beats Holder a couple of times outside off but then he nudges a single that takes him to a quietly wonderful little half century, his first in ODIs. He’s a better batsman than a No9. And now Jerome Taylor has joined the party with a brilliant cover drive over the top for four. He mistimes an attempt to repeat the trick from the next ball but he still gets enough on it to threaten the rope and then run two.
31st over: West Indies 137-8 (Holder 49, Taylor 9) Taylor is living an incredibly charmed life here – another top edge has four fielders converging on the ball but none able to get there before the ball plunks into the turf. Holder, though, is going from strength to strength. An aesthetically glorious pull off Abbott whistles away for four to cow corner. There’s a hint of Stuart Broad When Stuart Broad Was Good At Batting about Holder. He moves on to 49 from 41 balls.
30th over: West Indies 129-8 (Holder 42, Taylor 8) Tahir’s final over then. Again a huge Taylor heave just drops safe over the man at backward point. Holder adds a bit of salt to the wound with another thunkingly good strike over the covers for four and a magnificent straight six, two shots that take his team past that record ODI defeat marker.
29th over: West Indies 116-8 (Holder 31, Taylor 6) Taylor somehow manages to squirt a full toss one-handed over wide midwicket for four. Not sure how much he knew about that. And he’s lucky to survive as a big swipe steeples away to third man but drops a couple of yards short.
28th over: West Indies 110-8 (Holder 30, Taylor 1) Taylor block, blocks, blocks again and is then beaten all ends up by Tahir with one that rips a foot wide of the outside edge. A maiden.
The most impressive stat in cricket right now? @ABdeVilliers17 in ODIs since 2009: pic.twitter.com/BNSpxGJyg4
— Alt Cricket (@AltCricket) February 27, 2015
27th over: West Indies 110-8 (Holder 30, Taylor 1) Abbott returns as South Africa look to polish this off. Holder guides one square for a single that means his side have at least avoided the first ever 300-run ODI defeat. From the last Holder is pinged on the pad by a full one and after the cries of appeal have died down they opt not to appeal. It’s out, out, out, leg stump cartwheeling away in some computer’s virtual brain, but Holder survives.
Updated
26th over: West Indies 108-8 (Holder 29, Taylor 0) And that’s over.
WICKET! Ramdin b Tahir 22 (West Indies 108-8)
The TV broadcasters keep flashing up the “At this stage South Africa were…” graphic, which seems unnecessarily cruel. Tahir continues to search for his fifth wicket. Ramdin top-edges a sweep for a couple, then gets hold of one properly for a single. But from the last ball of the over Tahir gets his man – Ramdin misreads and misses a googly. Five for Tahir.
Updated
25th over: West Indies 102-7 (Holder 26, Ramdin 19) Ramdin misses out as du Plessis drags down a half-tracker, but then successfully chops backwards of point for four. That takes them to the 100 – just 19 more required to avoid that record defeat.
24th over: West Indies 96-7 (Holder 25, Ramdin 14) What a glorious shot this is from Jason Holder – a languid and lovely drive off Tahir for four. He moves on to 25 from 21; Ramdin has 14 from 40.
AB de Villiers. Needs to pick it up a bit more at the start. 12.122..1111212114114411116442.2.444114411226.4114624442641266266 #cwc15
— Simon Caney (@simoncaney) February 27, 2015
Updated
23rd over: West Indies 91-7 (Holder 20, Ramdin 14) Du Plessis once more. Again the batsmen find runs pretty easy to come by. Six from the over.
22nd over: West Indies 85-7 (Holder 17, Ramdin 11) Ramdin taps Tahir down the ground to move into double figures – in the face of this ludicrous target his 32-ball 10 has been a source of strangely perverse enjoyment. Holder then strides down the pitch and whumps the spinner into the stands once more – another six! A bit of stress-release for the West Indies captain.
21st over: West Indies 76-7 (Holder 10, Ramdin 9) Faf du Plessis into the attack with his gentle part-time leg breaks. The batsmen work the ball into gaps and pick up a few ones and twos.
20th over: West Indies 72-7 (Holder 7, Ramdin 8) Well done Jason Holder. He’s just crashed Tahir into the stands at wide mid off for a huge six. Eight from the over.
19th over: West Indies 64-7 (Holder 0, Ramdin 7) Instead of AB it’s Dale Steyn steaming in to the West Indies captain, who leaves alone outside off.
This has been such a listless effort from the West Indies, but in a way you don’t want to be too critical. They’re not just facing scoreboard pressure, it’s a scoreboard black hole. The psychological challenge here was always going to be an impossible one to overcome.
Updated
De Villiers should bring himself on to bowl at Holder. It’d only be fair.
Looking back to that day, no one saw Jason Holder's whirlwind double-century coming. But he was very, very, very angry. #CWC15
— Geoff Lemon Sport (@GeoffLemonSport) February 27, 2015
Things aren’t getting any better. He’s faced only two balls but has already gone down with cramp. Physio called on.
18th over: West Indies 63-7 (Holder 0, Ramdin 6) Jason Holder comes to the crease. You have to feel a little sorry for him. His bowling figures after six overs were 6-2-17-1. After 10 overs: 10-2-104-1. And now the West Indies captain has to walk out into this mess.
WICKET! Russell c Abbott b Tahir 0 (West Indies 63-7)
South Africa have been brilliant in the field and this is another superb catch. Andre Russell looks to chop Tahir away, but skews it uppishly through point and Abbott takes a wonderful diving catch an inch off the turf.
Updated
WICKET! Sammy st de Kock b Tahir 5 (West Indies 63-6)
Brilliant work from de Kock behind the stumps as Sammy has a bit of a heave at Tahir, is beaten all ends up and can’t get his toe back to the turf in time. Just a reminder: West Indies need 119 to avoid the heaviest run defeat in ODI history.
Updated
17th over: West Indies 63-5 (Sammy 5, Ramdin 6) The required rate, for what it’s worth, is well over 10 an over now. Steyn beats a groping Sammy then finds the edge but sees the ball fly down to third man for a single. Ramdin has a loose and lazy drive at one outside off then an uncertain little poke to end the over. He has six off 23.
16th over: West Indies 62-5 (Sammy 4, Ramdin 6) Tahir continues to twirl. Ramdin continues to defend. Another four dots for him. And that’s drinks.
15th over: West Indies 61-5 (Sammy 3, Ramdin 6) Steyn returns. Sammy charges through for a single and again it’s a run-out-in-waiting but Miller misses the stumps from close range. A couple of shambolic run outs would probably put the tin lid on this for West Indies. Ramdin blocks out the remaining five balls. He might as well at this point – as Steve Rackett points out on email, creeping to 250-odd does West Indies much more good than thrashing themselves to 100 all out.
14th over: West Indies 60-5 (Sammy 2, Ramdin 6) Tahir’s a lovely bowler to watch – you sense he believes everything he sends down is a wicket-taking delivery. Each one is followed by a grimace or an agonised fling of the arms. He’s this close to skidding one through Sammy here, and the batsmen are kept to three singles.
13th over: West Indies 57-5 (Sammy 0, Ramdin 5) Replays show there was a huge inside-edge on that Simmons lbw decision. Why he didn’t review it I’m not sure. Ramdin cuts Morkel for four through point and is denied another boundary by a brilliant diving stop from Miller in the same region.
12th over: West Indies 53-5 (Sammy 0, Ramdin 1) Not sure what West Indies should really do from here: keep attacking and risk a quite monumental defeat? Or go all Sunil Gavaskar in 1975?
WICKET! Simmons lbw b Tahir 0 (West Indies 53-5)
Simmons misses one that doesn’t turn and is almost on his way back to the pavilion dugout before the umpire’s finger goes up.
Updated
WICKET! Smith c Miller b Tahir 31 (West Indies 52-4)
What a catch! Smith looks to plant Tahir’s first ball into the stands at long on but Miller runs round to take a superb leaping catch above his head. Uh oh …
Updated
11th over: West Indies 52-3 (Smith 31, Ramdin 0) There’s an odd atmosphere at the SCG now – whether it’s the general futility of the West Indies’ efforts or simply a post-AB onslaught comedown I’m not sure. It’s like everyone’s just woken from the best night ever to find themselves lying in a field, trousers in a tree, and someone handing them a cup of tea telling them it’s time to return to reality.
WICKET! Carter c De Villiers b Morkel 6 (West Indies 52-3)
Carter punctures the infield at last with a pull through midwicket for a couple, then a big airy edge for a couple more down to third man. But from the next he’s gone: a pull shot goes awry and De Villiers makes a diving catch look simple.
Updated
10th over: West Indies 47-2 (Smith 30, Carter 6) Smith larrups Abbott down the ground for another boundary, then tickles him away for a single. Carter hasn’t found his timing quite yet – he goes hard at a couple but can only pick out fielders on the square. Five from the over.
9th over: West Indies 42-2 (Smith 25, Carter 6) Dwayne Smith pounces on some friendly length from Morkel and carts him away wide of long on for four.
“This will be done in next two hours unless Holder decides to return the favours and clobbers 120 runs in last four overs,” writes Mahendra Killedar. “But what effect will it have on group B? It makes India’s match against WI a must win to avoid going down the standing and potential QF with Aus/NZ.” It’s a complicated situation that’s for sure, but West Indies net run rate is under some serious threat here.
8th over: West Indies 37-2 (Smith 20, Carter 5) DROPPED! Tahir has dropped a dolly at mid on. Smith floats one to mid on, but the spinner shells a simple chance. Smith celebrates the reprieve with an inside edge that flashes past stump and keeper and whistles away for four.
@John_Ashdown #CWC15 lessons: If you're not Ireland, you're not going to chase 300+, so bat first?
— Ravi Nair (@palfreyman1414) February 27, 2015
Bat first. Do little for 35 overs. Unleash hell. That’s the plan.
7th over: West Indies 31-2 (Smith 15, Carter 5) Morne Morkel enters the fray and Carter stays watchful for three balls until setting off for a nonsensical single from which Smith pulls up halfway down the track in the knowledge that he’s got about as much chance of getting home safe as a rabbit stumbling back from the pub via the fox and wolf neighbourhood. Roussouw’s shy at the stumps, though, misses by a whisker.
6th over: West Indies 29-2 (Smith 14, Carter 4) Shot! Dwayne Smith gets close to one knee and crunches Abbott through the covers for four. Lovely. And Jonathan Carter joins the fun with a thunking pull for four more, a nice way to get off the mark. Abbott has sent down a strange mix of the very good and what in cricketing parlance is known as the Very Ordinary.
5th over: West Indies 20-2 (Smith 10, Carter 0) Smith swipes and misses at Steyn, gets tucked up by a short one and then is fortunate to survive a caught-and-bowled half-chance after bunting one back to the bowler. And it was only a half-chance – Steyn actually did pretty well to avoid having his nose smeared across his cheek.
Just to return to that record defeat thought: West Indies need to score 119 avoid that particularly inglorious achievement.
4th over: West Indies 16-2 (Smith 8, Carter 0) Jon Carter comes to the crease with Windies wobbling under the weight of this challenge. Just one from the over.
Updated
WICKET! Samuels c de Kock b Samuels 0 (West Indies 16-2)
Gone, gone, gone. Samuels goes for an unhappy eight-ball duck. It’s Abbott who shapes one away this time and the batsman tries to force through the covers on the back foot but can only feather an edge through to the keeper. This is looking very grim for West Indies. Time to check out those ‘heaviest ODI defeat’ records …
Updated
3rd over: West Indies 15-1 (Smith 7, Samuels 0) Beautiful bowling from Dale Steyn, beating Samuels’ outside edge with one that’s just short of a length and just shaping away. Although Samuels ended 133 not out against Zimbabwe the other day, it was one of the scratchiest ODI centuries you’ll ever see so it’s hard to say that he’s in great nick despite that innings – and a nasty one that stays low won’t help him settle.
“James Boardman, Andy Lewis and Matt Corder reporting in live from the SCG,” writes James Boardman, Andy Lewis and Matt Corder. “This is threatening to become one of the most ridiculous games ever. De Villiers was absolutely extraordinary. I’ve never seen a crowd screeching in a frenzy like that at a cricket match before. Unbelievable stuff!” You weren’t there when me and Nathan Dumelow put on 54 for the opening partnership against Yoxall under-15s that time, though. Crowd went wild that day.
Updated
2nd over: West Indies 13-1 (Smith 7, Samuels 0) No Gayle, no party. Samuels is slammed on the pad absolutely plumb, but Abbott’s appeal is turned down. There’s just enough doubt in the fielding team’s mind about whether the bat just got there first so they opt not to review, but the replays show Samuels would’ve been gone had they done so.
WICKET! Gayle b Abbott 3 (West Indies 12-1)
Kyle Abbott takes the new ball at the other end, Gayle steps away to leg and misses a full straight one. The entire world sags slightly.
Updated
1st over: West Indies 10-0 (Smith 7, Gayle 3) The successful teams at the World Cup thus far have basically been setting themselves up for mini 15-over T20s – keep wickets in hand until the 36th over then attack with the power of a thousand suns. South Africa were 186-3 at the end of the 35th over. The difficulty for the teams chasing is then something of a mental one – how can you cope with ticking things over when you’re chasing 320+ never mind 400+.
Anyway, both Smith and Gayle have gone pretty hard at the ball from the off. Gayle skews one over extra cover and Smith pulls the last gloriously into the stands at cow corner for six! Ten from the over – they’re ahead of the required rate!
The players are back out. Dale Steyn has a white ball in his hand and a look of furious intent on his face …
Hello all. John Ashdown here. Well, that was … incredible. AB went to his century in the 48th over. And ended up with 162 at the end of the 50th.
Cue Gayle to kick things off with a crowd-baiting leave. Or a ramrod straight forward defensive.
We thought West Indies had bowled pretty well until about the 35th over, when they’d restricted Amla and du Plessis and kept the scoring rate down.
Their last 16 overs went for: 10, 8, 18, 12, 16, 18, 11, 11, 6, 13, 13, 11, 7, 34, 14, 30.
It’s a glut, a feast that crosses over to becoming slightly sickening. It won’t make for a great match, chances are, but it’s a spectacle in itself.
You have to praise AB de Villiers, who now has the fastest ODI score of 150 or more by a matter of about 30 balls. He’s red as a radish but he’s made the West Indies blush harder. 64 from Jason Holder’s final two overs, the poor bugger. Time to go and lie down with an ice towel and forget this ever happened.
That’s it for the first innings - Geoff Lemon signing out to go an austerity binge, while John Ashdown will take you through the West Indies reply.
50th over: South Africa 408-4 (de Villiers 162, Behadien 10)
Jason Holder must hate AB de Villiers so much. He must have dreams where he ties AB to a chair on a hot day and just sits in front of him eating an ice-cream. Slowly. Real slow. Lick. Nod. Lick. Eye contact unbroken. It lasts for hours. Jason Holder wakes up feeling more tired than when he went to bed. He gets up. He goes out to bowl.
Two runs, wide of long on.
Six runs, a scream from the crowd rather than a cheer, as de Villiers comes across again, kneels again, and even though it was a reasonable length on leg stump, uses the arc to swing that ball firework-high over backward square leg.
Six runs, as he gets a shorter one, drops his knees and bashes the pull shot.
Four runs, as he gets a yorker six inches short and slams it down the ground, one bounce to long off. A foot off being another six.
Six runs, as Holder comes around the wicket, AB clears the front leg, notes the angle across him and hits back through that line to send it over long on.
Six runs, as the last ball is a low full toss and de Villiers kneels to batter it into the square leg crowd for one final time.
That’s it. That’s the game. I said they’d make more than 300. You didn’t ask about 400.
The words have all been used.
Updated
49th over: South Africa 378-4 (de Villiers 132, Behadien 10)
Murder on the dancefloor. Behardien gets two through square, then slogs over long on for six more. Stop showing off, Farhaan, get back in your box. Off strike with a single, good lad.
Dropped again. Would have been a miracle though. De Villiers pulls Russell to deep midwicket, the boundary rider came around and dived but it was going hard and flat and only whisked through his hands. Near impossible.
Dropped AGAIN. This one straightforward. He smashed it, but straight at cover, and gets a single from the spillage.
To close, Behardien misses. Dot ball. Aaaaand breathe in.
Updated
CENTURY! AB de Villiers, 105 from 52 balls
48th over: South Africa 364-4 (de Villiers 127, Behadien 1)
12 fours and three sixes in his innings as de Villiers lofts Holder over long on for six to bring up his hundred. The second-fastest in World Cups after Kevin O’Brien’s 50-ball effort against England. It’s been brutal, clinical, brilliant. That six came after the first ball went through long-on for four. That six also came off a no-ball.
The resulting free hit only goes for two to long off. AB doesn’t need your pity sixes. He’ll hit his own, thanks.
Then another no-ball that AB sweeps over fine leg for four more. The free hit goes to the fence this time, full toss to square leg. What delivery is it? I have no idea where I am anymore.
Four more! Reverse sweep this time as Holder went wide on the crease and angled in.
Dropped. Oh Lord. Benn running back from mid off couldn’t get fingers to it, another hanger that dropped safely. I’m still blaming the fielder.
Six. Just to finish it off. I can’t even type anymore. The massive drive over wide long-on, the big AB swing. That ball is gone.
34 from the over. THIRTY-FOUR.
Updated
47th over: South Africa 330-4 (de Villiers 95, Behadien 1)
It was the same again before that wicket. Russell went wide outside off, de Villiers did the shuffle and kneel and sweep routine again. This once bounced inside the rope, but he did only hit it with one hand. Miller was dismissed two balls later. Farhaan Behardien walks out, hands the strike back to de Villiers, but he can only get a single that would have seen him run out by five yards had the throw from cover hit.
WICKET! Miller 20, c Taylor b Russell
What a catch! That’s lazy and spectacular and beautiful - Miller lofts to long on, Taylor runs around the rope, then casually extends one hand and snares the ball without a worry. His foot nearly kicks the boundary rope but it doesn’t, and he runs back in as Russell drops to his knees and salaams in worship at the effort. Holder? The captain just burst out laughing.
46th over: South Africa 323-3 (de Villiers 89, Miller 20)
Miller is doing well: two, two, two. Though really he should just be getting AB on strike. Holder is bowling very wide and full. He gets away with one that Miller misses, but is called for one a couple of inches wider. Then another two, down the ground, then...
Dropped! Or perhaps just missed, they didn’t get hands to it as two West Indies fieldsmen converged on that ball at point. Miller had sliced it high from a big drive to a full toss, Gayle was running back, backward point was running in and I think that put Gayle off committing to the dive. Should have caught that. Two more, so even without striking them that well, Miller has taken 10 from that over, plus the wide.
45th over: South Africa 312-3 (de Villiers 89, Miller 10)
Bloody hell. There’s that shot again, the one de Villiers kept playing in that hundred in SA recently. The one where he goes well outside his off stump, kneels down and ramps six over fine leg. The one where he seems to know, to have a premonition, when the bowler is going to aim full and wide, and he so panics them with his movement that they send it at full-toss height.
Are they unable to adjust and aim at the stumps? Because that’d be handy when a guy’s on one knee on the return crease. Maybe handier than bowling it at his bended knee.
That was the last ball of an over that had otherwise gone for singles and twos, and cost 13 runs all up. They’re not going at 10 an over through this last 10 overs, nothing so pedestrian as that.
The 300 blew by years ago, if you wondered.
44th over: South Africa 299-3 (de Villiers 78, Miller 8)
Four, four. Benn bowling and de Villiers sweeps one along the ground past short fine, and one on the scoop over him. He’s on for a ton here. Then they go single, two, wide, dot, single. Miller couldn’t get Benn away as easily as his captain. 13 from the over nonetheless.
43rd over: South Africa 286-3 (de Villiers 69, Miller 5)
Russell produces the rare gryphon of an economical over. Ones and twos only, six from it. David Miller has five from four balls. Purring start.
WICKET! Rossouw 61 (39 balls), c Ramdin b Russell
Finally some relief for West Indies. A big outside edge as Rossouw advances and drives, and Ramdin moved well to hold on.
42nd over: South Africa 280-3 (Rossouw 61, de Villiers 68)
Nothing to be done. Nowhere to hide. Rossouw drives Benn through cover for four, de Villiers swats him behind square. Another 11 from that over.
41st over: South Africa 269-3 (Rossouw 55, de Villiers 63)
Comparatively, an icy calm descends over the ground as Andre Russell takes up the ball. Single, dot, two, dot.
Nope. Barely short but de Villiers pulls off the front foot through midwicket, then charges Russell to swat over cover - it was well wide of de Villiers but he got down almost on one knee and reached for it. That is supernatural hand-eye co-ordination.
Updated
40th over: South Africa 258-3 (Rossouw 54, de Villiers 53)
It’s carnage here. It’s an activist slaughterhouse video. Benn comes on, two singles as sighters, then de Villiers cuts six over cover, pulls four through midwicket, then cuts four behind point. Two more driven through cover to end things at 18 from the over.
That’s 72 from the batting Powerplay - a record for the tournament so far. I was saying they might get 200 to 210 by now and aim for 100 from the last 10 overs. Well, from here they could end up with 360.
Half-century for AB de Villiers in the meantime. 51 from 30 balls, to remind Rilee who’s boss and who has a name like a cheerleader.
Updated
39th over: South Africa 240-3 (Rossouw 53, de Villiers 36)
Taylor nearly runs out Rossouw after a quick single from the first ball of Taylor’s over, then it all comes apart. An overthrow from the next ball, a wide that the keeper can’t take cleanly and ends up costing three, then Taylor drags very short and wide and Rossouw plays an extraordinary shot, mid-air leaping at that ball and somehow still cutting it way over backward point for six. Both feet tucked up behind him as he struck it. That’s ridiculous. 16 from the over after two from the last ball. Taylor coming apart. West Indies coming apart. The innings is gone already, now it’s just down to whether they can manage a big-hitting Gayle chase.
That’s Rossouw’s half-century too, lost in the excitement. He reached 51 from 31 balls.
This is one of the better arguments I’ve heard in favour of the seven-week tournament.
@GeoffLemonSport Is the best thing about a 43-day world cup how many times we get to hear somebody say the name 'Faf du Plessis'?
— Richard Parkin (@rrjparkin) February 27, 2015
38th over: South Africa 224-3 (Rossouw 42, de Villiers 34)
Rossouw has 40 from 26 so de Villiers just wants to give him the strike. Holder has bowled tightly all day though, and his first three balls only go for singles. He loses it thereafter, a low full toss that de Villiers puts away straight. Then a really good wide yorker that is nonetheless driven through cover for four. Maybe it was six inches overpitched. It’s a hard game.
37th over: South Africa 212-3 (Rossouw 40, de Villiers 24)
Bring back Taylor, they said. Your strike bowler, they said. Two new batsmen at the crease, they said.
Fools.
Rossouw crashes through cover for four. Through cover for two more. Then oversteps for a no ball that is cut through third man for four.
The free hit only goes for a single, but that’s because de Villiers couldn’t get out of the way and it hit his foot. AB made up for it by driving the next ball down the ground for four.
18 from the over. Three Powerplay overs to come. Strike bowlers, hey?
36th over: South Africa 194-3 (Rossouw 28, de Villiers 19)
The batting Powerplay now starts, compulsory by the 35th over. Jason Holder comes on to try to keep the runs down. De Villiers swats two to midwicket, then a single down the ground. Rossouw edges a run, AB takes another, then Rossouw gets very mobile in his crease to walk outside his off stump and play down the ground. Again, AB’s running makes it a two. There are three extra runs to his credit already. Another single and the over has gone for eight.
Good start for the green team. This is going well. If they can manage their last 10 overs as they like, they’re well on track for over 300.
35th over: South Africa 186-3 (Rossouw 24, de Villiers 15)
Jerome Taylor is back, and he’s getting another long chat from the umpires - again, it looks like this is about the state of the ball. Was he the cause of their conference with Holder before? Is there a suggestion of tampering here? No doubt these questions will be asked by the press after the game. It’s not a great look out on the ground, but there may equally be no basis for jumping to that conclusion.
Don’t blame me, I’m just curious...
Taylor is mostly bowling cutters rather than pure pace, trying to make use of any grip in the pitch. No one has looked fluent yet batting on this surface. Theories welcome. Rossouw drags a pull, AB produces a ramp that doesn’t have enough pace to make the fence, but finally from the last ball Rossouw gets one short and leg-side enough that he can get a full swivel in and swat it for four.
10 from the over is not what Holder wanted from his strike bowler’s return.
Finally AB is back to a respectable rate of 15 from 15 balls. (12 from 13... I ask you...)
34th over: South Africa 176-3 (Rossouw 17, de Villiers 12)
Gayle remains in the game, the captain hoping for one more from Golden Arm. Taylor and Holder have five overs each remaining, Russell six, Benn three. Four singles and a wide from the Gayle over. You’ll probably take that. Rossouw tries to fox Gayle with some fake footwork, but it doesn’t ruffle the Ice Chest.
33rd over: South Africa 171-3 (Rossouw 10, de Villiers 10)
Well. Rossouw clearly doesn’t want to let momentum flag. And there must be a team plan to get after Darren Sammy today. They’ve played against West Indies a lot lately, so they must have identified Sammy as the link they have to attack hardest. Rossouw gives him an ugly slog to midwicket for four, then a proper pull for the same as Sammy goes shorter. Singles all round and that makes 12 from the over. Sammy’s seven have gone for 50 runs.
32nd over: South Africa 159-3 (Rossouw 5, de Villiers 8)
Rilee Rossouw is a left-hander, for those of your eclining in your garden chairs seeing this game in your mind’s eye, and he swats Gayle though the left-hander’s cover region for a couple, then takes a single. Again it was AB’s hard running that made an extra run on that two. AB gets a wide and a couple.
8 from 9? Boo.
31st over: South Africa 153-3 (Rossouw 2, de Villiers 6)
Knowing that South Africa will want a couple of overs to settle down, Holder takes advantage and gets Sammy back on. Important to get some economical offerings from him. Only four from that over as AB surveys the scene. Some excellent running to turn one into two. The 150 ticks by.
AB: 6 from 6 balls. Strike rate...
30th over: South Africa 149-3 (Rossouw 1, de Villiers 1)
How often has AB de Villiers walked out in an ODI to find three catchers around the bat? That’s what Holder has in place for Gayle as he finishes his over. Two from it, both the set batsmen too. Even if Gayle doesn’t make 200 today he’s made a huge contribution. Dragged West Indies back into the contest.
I was about to question why de Villiers hadn’t come out at No4 with only 20 overs left, but it’s alright, he was out in the middle in short order anyway.
Nor was he fussed. A calm single to midwicket. He loves a 100 strike rate.
WICKET! Amla 65 (88 balls), lbw Gayle
That’s two in three! The new Rossouw took a single, then the next ball was straight, on the stumps, maybe it was held back a bit and fooled Amla for pace, but he missed it. He was back on his stumps trying to flick it away, and though he asked his partner whether he should review, the answer was “Don’t bother.” Dead in front.
Updated
WICKET! du Plessis 62 (70 balls), c Ramdin b Gayle
No, he’s not catching anyone. But he’s been caught, cutting at a Gayle delivery that bounced more than he expected and took the top edge to the keeper. A faint one, but Faf went without demur. The Gayle move has paid off.
Updated
29th over: South Africa 145-1 (Amla 65, du Plessis 62)
Gracious. Samuels comes back from the other end, Faf du Plessis backs away, gets on the back foot and lifts an inside-out drive over cover for a one-bounce four. That was the ball after scooping one over the keeper’s head for two. He’s catching Amla.
28th over: South Africa 136-1 (Amla 64, du Plessis 54)
West Indies are caught a bit short with their bowling, trying to save Taylor’s overs for the more attacking times in the game, so Chris Gayle is having a trundle. That three-step approach to the crease, wandering up like he’s buying a newspaper, then lobbing down a straight one. They work his efforts happily, with five singles, a two, and a wide.
27th over: South Africa 128-1 (Amla 60, du Plessis 51)
Half century! Click go the gears boys, as Faf pulls for two, clumps a lofted four over long-off that lands just inside the rope, then takes a single for his 50th run. 59 balls but only two boundaries. That tells you a lot about how efficiently he’s played.
Updated
26th over: South Africa 119-1 (Amla 59, du Plessis 43)
Only ones and twos, but they’re hitting their shots a lot harder now. There’s a sense of building momentum. Benn’s over goes for seven. Hang in there, I think we’re about to see the gears go up.
25th over: South Africa 112-1 (Amla 56, du Plessis 39)
Half century! Amla raises it with a six. He’s had enough of hanging around. It wasn’t too full from Sammy, but Amla drove through the line, didn’t catch it fully but got enough for it to clear the rope, just, dead straight behind the bowler. 10 from the over.
Updated
24th over: South Africa 102-1 (Amla 47, du Plessis 38)
The team 100 comes up from 141 balls. Five singles from the Benn over. The one dot ball should have been a four, short and wide and slapped to the point fieldsman. Then Amla absolutely crashes a drive back at du Plessis, who’s nearly hit. Long-on saves.
23rd over: South Africa 97-1 (Amla 44, du Plessis 36)
Amla is really struggling outside his off stump today, can’t get his timing, can’t get his placement. Sammy’s over goes for three singles. The main thing though is that Amla is still there. Can still hurt them later if they don’t shift him.
22nd over: South Africa 94-1 (Amla 42, du Plessis 35)
Benn bowling well, more and more flight as he grown in confidence and rhythm. Also fielding well, probably saves four by taking the heat off another straight drive that only goes for a single. Four of those from the over.
21st over: South Africa 90-1 (Amla 40, du Plessis 33)
That’s a much better over from Sammy, tying up Amla outside the off stump, and with the yorker. Only three singles from it.
Thomas Walker is feeling the Cup vibe “from a freezing cold Manhattan... As a native Sydney-sider it’s great to see the old SCG bathed in glorious sunshine – the ground should fill up on a Friday afternoon once everyone knocks off at the office. Doesn’t get better than world cup action.”
It is a most excellent way to pass the afternoon.
20th over: South Africa 87-1 (Amla 39, du Plessis 31)
Benn dives well to stop a straight drive from his own bowling, but the others in the over are worked comfortably for singles. Less comfortable is a conference between both umpires and Jason Holder where it looks like they may be warning him about the state of the ball. Not sure if that’s the case, but that’s the TV speculation from the replays.
19th over: South Africa 83-1 (Amla 37, du Plessis 29)
Darren Sammy starts his day’s bowling - West Indies’ former captain. Sturdy medium pace at around 120 km/h, but he can be deceptive with cutters and pace. One draws a miscue that du Plessis hits in the air past short midwicket, another takes the edge, but those shots bring only runs. Three singles, two doubles, seven from the over.
18th over: South Africa 76-1 (Amla 33, du Plessis 26)
Benn is playing the typical spinner’s cat-and-mouse game, drifting the ball around, varying the drop. Amla get a big nick for a couple of runs. They take four from the over.
17th over: South Africa 72-1 (Amla 30, du Plessis 25)
This is sweet, the umpire is dressing Faf. Helping tuck his collar down and straighten him up for school. The pitch here looks kind of sticky, a bouncer in that over just didn’t come onto the bat at all. Seemed to jam in the wicket and slowly loop through. Russell gives Faf a wide and three runs in all.
16th over: South Africa 68-1 (Amla 30, du Plessis 22)
The momentum continues. It helps when you get a rank short ball from a spinner first up that you can cut for four. Amla and du Plessis then get a brace and a single each, and it’s ten from the Sulieman Benn over. That’s drinks with the run rate looking a little less parched.
Updated
15th over: South Africa 58-1 (Amla 23, du Plessis 19)
Now the consolidation starts to pay off. Russell drops short outside off and du Plessis punishes him through midwicket. Amla drives three through third man. Add a couple of singles and that’s nine from the over.
14th over: South Africa 49-1 (Amla 19, du Plessis 14)
Sulieman Benn begins his day’s work, the proper off-spinner replacing the part-timer. Another very tall bowler, natural loop in his delivery from his height. Only the three runs from it, all singles to the on-side.
13th over: South Africa 46-1 (Amla 17, du Plessis 13)
Quietly audacious from Amla. He started outside leg, then stepped a good yard across until he was outside his off stump, and flicked Russell for two to backward square. Predicting this dry line and moving to manipulate it. He drives two more through cover, then repeats it for a single.
Faf du Plessis enjoys some luck next ball, with a big top edge from a pull shot that goes too fine for third man to catch. It is fielded, and they only get two runs.
12th over: South Africa 39-1 (Amla 12, du Plessis 11)
Marlon Samuels will offer spin from the other end, flattish fast off-spin. Amla works a single, du Plessis immediately pulls out the scoop and flicks the ball over the keeper for two. A couple more singles follow. Things freeing up slightly.
11th over: South Africa 34-1 (Amla 10, du Plessis 8)
Andre Russell bowls his first over, and comparatively it sets South Africa flying. A leg bye, a single, then two runs to du Plessis. Hold onto your inflatable novelty items.
Amla 10 from 26, Faf 8 from 21.
10th over: South Africa 30-1 (Amla 9, du Plessis 6)
Holder is metronomic. Outside off stump ball after ball. Only from the final ball, as he strays a little, can du Plessis find a single. Sout Africa in consolidation mode.
This in from Graeme Parsons: “Like many today, I’m sure, I’ll be ambling along later to the SCG to catch the match live. I was there a few weeks ago, to catch the warm-up match between the Windies & Scotland, & rushed to get there, as I knew Chris Gayle would try to get as much time at the crease as possible, after a woeful game against England a few days before. Long story short, he looked well out of touch, lasted about 10 balls & then failed to appear when the Windies were in the field. I was all for putting a few dollars on both Ireland & Scotland making the quarters. I’m sure CLR James would have something wise to say about the fickleness of the game & its players. My lasting impression of the day however, was a very stoic looking Clive Lloyd watching on, wondering perhaps, where it had all gone wrong.”
9th over: South Africa 29-1 (Amla 9, du Plessis 5)
Taylor drags a slower ball very wide, Amla cracks it on the drive, but it’s very well fielded on the dive at backward point. The next ball is better, hit harder, and goes straight to point. Two shots, two dots.
Mark Nicholas is on the TV talking a lot of sense directly to the ICC, about how the close contests in this Cup have shown the value of Associate teams, and of retaining or even extending the format to make sure they stay involved. He’s also suggesting playing two games on most days would make the whole tournament tighter. All good sensible arguments that many have been making.
Some truth here too:
@GeoffLemonSport Duminy's absence is a rather specified strain for us in SA, less calm in the middle order and a handy bowler short.
— Fynbos umlungu (@RK_ct) February 27, 2015
8th over: South Africa 27-1 (Amla 8, du Plessis 4)
Holder is still keeping things tight here, Amla getting a single off the first ball, then du Plessis kept quiet until pulling two runs from the fifth. Steady stuff, consistent lines. Holder said he wasn’t unhappy to be bowling first. You also get the sense the Windies power hitters are more suited to chasing a target, even if it’s a big one.
7th over: South Africa 24-1 (Amla 7, du Plessis 2)
A wide from Taylor to start, then some sharp hustle by Simmons cuts off the chance of a single as Amla works behind square. Two more runs as Amla opens the face to drive behind point.
Interesting how when you bowl a short wide ball that gets smacked for four, it’s trash. But when that short wide ball gets a wicket, it’s a clever tempter that set up the batsman.
Ravi Nair on Twitter wants to know why Duminy missed out: he has an unspecified “slight strain”, which could mean anything from a groin tear to a non-interventionist method of making tea. Whatever the ailment, he’s been left out to recover from it.
Amla gets a single to midwicket, then loses his shoe while running it. Faf brings it back, having learned from Cinderella that it works well to follow a single by returning a shoe.
Faf gets two through cover to complete the fairytale.
6th over: South Africa 18-1 (Amla 4, du Plessis 0)
A successful outing for the over-the-shoulder Holder bowler, who dots up Faf du Plessis to conclude a wicket maiden.
WICKET! de Kock 12, c Russell b Holder
It’s early in the day but de Kock is out! He was tied down, facing his 19th ball with only a couple of scoring shots from them and he lost patience. Tried to uppercut a Holder ball that wasn’t that short, and only succeeded in flipping it to point.
Updated
5th over: South Africa 18-0 (de Kock 12, Amla 4)
Amla gets away with a nice straight drive from Taylor, just to the on-side of the ground for two, then inside-edges two more through square. That’s enough for him from the over, as he shuts up shop.
4th over: South Africa 14-0 (de Kock 12, Amla 0)
Holder bowling well, aside from a wide. Amla still can’t score, he gets off strike with a leg bye and survives the corresponding appeal for lbw. High and leg side. Holder comes around the wicket to de Kock, obvious plan there for West Indies, and QDK edges a ball past his stumps to fine leg for four.
3rd over: South Africa 8-0 (de Kock 8, Amla 0)
QDK is playing and missing a bit with Taylor’s pace. Tries to lift one over slip that he can’t hit, then is whacked on the thigh by one that cuts in, then just keeps out a full ball angled in from around the wicket to the left-handed batsman. Another maiden. Not that South Africa will worry, we’ve seen how they can lift their pace later in an innings.
Speaking of, who watched Shenwari’s mighty 96 for Afghanistan? At one point he had 40 from 100 balls. Then he steamed home to take them to the brink of the win. Just goes to show there’s room for patience even in this game.
2nd over: South Africa 8-0 (de Kock 8, Amla 0)
Good over from Jason Holder, the very tall and young West Indian captain who’s doing his best with a pretty tough job. He ties up Amla, who only really plays one shot in the over, and mistimes it. Can’t score, and very nearly gets an inside edge to one ball that cuts him in half, but survives the appeal. It’s a maiden.
1st over: South Africa 8-0 (de Kock 8, Amla 0)
The outfield is fast, and so is the start. Jerome Taylor hits a good line and length across the left-handed de Kock first ball, but the second is punched off the back foot and timed away to beat two fieldsmen behind point. Taylor comes around the wicket to angle the ball in, and de Kock cover-drives four more. Lazy work from Samuels who could have saved that, but tried to hoof it back from the rope rather than diving after it, and it kept trickling after he’d passed by.
The countdown begins. Drop me a line throughout: Twitter at @GeoffLemonSport, or email via geoff.lemon@theguardian.com. Always good to get word from out there in the world.
South Africa have won the toss and will bat on a sunny afternoon at the SCG. A few changes: Duminy gone, Parnell gone, Philander injured, Rossouw, Abbott and Behardien in, Sulieman Benn in for West Indies, Nikita Miller out.
This version of Rally Round the West Indies sounds like it was taken from a Jamie Foxx easy-listening album.
South Africa
Amla
de Kock†
du Plessis
Rossouw
de Villiers*
Miller
Behardien
Steyn
Abbott
Morkel
Imran Tahir
West Indies
Smith
Gayle
Samuels
Ramdin†
Simmons
Carter
Sammy,
Russell
Holder*
Taylor
Benn
Updated
South Africa v West Indies. The Africans of the South were trounced against India, shellshocked in front of 90-odd thousand screaming Indian fans at the MCG, and that after a less than dominant win against their smaller neighbours Zimbabwe. West Indies lost to Ireland first up, then came back to demolish Zimbabwe and Pakistan.
Where does that leave us? Who knows.
Hello! Good evenmorn, happy Easter, merry spring tidings and bon iver. All the greetmeats of the world are laid on a tray for your delectation. Geoff Lemon leaping into the hosts chair as we prepare for some over by over by over action, over and over until it’s over. I hope humbly that my overcraft will fly.
Geoff will be here shortly to kick things off, so why not have a read of Dileep Premachandran’s take on Chris Gayle’s sensational knock in the West Indies’ last outing while you wait.
This was very much an innings of two halves. For 35 overs, except for the sporadic explosive stroke, both Gayle and West Indies were relatively subdued, easing to 165 for 1. After that, it was like throwing a lit match into a fireworks factory. Gayle’s second hundred took only 33 balls, as West Indies racked up 207 in the final 15 overs. Only 5,544 had come through the turnstiles but, by the innings end, they were serenading a man who has always seen himself as an entertainer first.
Read the full story here.
