OWN CORRESPONDENT, Amstelveen | Wednesday 6.00pm.
5.30pm:
SOUTH Africa’s relaxed approach to the Kenya match did not fail them as they comfortably won in 34 overs, reaching the 153 total with ease. The Proteas gave up only three wickets during their innings.
South Africa needed batting only from Gibbs, Kirsten, Boucher, Kllis and Cullinan to finish it off, and the tailenders could be seen relaxing off the pitch early on in the innings.
The Kenyans bowled and fielded reasonably well, and will take a lot of experience away from this World Cup. The young side played with spirit to the end.
5.00pm:
DARRYL Cullinan and Jacques Kallis are taking a relaxed attitude toward batting, although South Africa stand at 111 for 3 in the 33rd over.
While not going for the big shots, the partnership is not racking up the singles, either. The run rate has come down under 4, but remains above 3, which will give SA a comfortable victory.
4.30pm:
MAURICE Odombe, who just joined the attack for Kenya, bowled Gary Kirsten clean for Kenya’s third wicket after 23 overs. Kirsten was dismissed for 27.
South Africa are more than halfway to victory in their Kenya match, despite the loss of three wickets and a relaxed attitude on the part of the early order. The score stands at 86/3 after 21 overs.
The run rate of over 4 per over will be more than sufficient, as a 2,97 rate was needed to win. 153 is the target in the match.
3.40pm:
THOMAS Odoyo took Kenya’s first wicket against South Africa catching Herschelle Gibbs lbw after 38. The score is 60 for 2 after 13 overs, and SA’s opening batsmen have been taking it relatively easy.
Mark Boucher fell to Joseph Angara as he went for a boundary and popped up to Mohammed Sheikh for the second wicket. The current partnership is Kirsten and Kallis.
The run rate of better than 4 per over is well above the 2,97 required rate, and the game looks to be in hand despite the early loss of Gibbs.
2.00pm
LANCE Klusener got five wickets for 21 runs as South Africa bowled Kenya out for 152 in just three hours. Kenya got off to a strong 67 for no loss, but their innings fell apart at the hands of Steve Elworth and Lance Klusener.
Despite missing a runout chance on the 9th wicket, Klusener came back and clean bowled his last two wickets, first Mohammed Sheikh, and then Angara to end the Kenyan innings at 152. This is the first time the Kenyans have scored under 200 in this World Cup, and South African have a ridiculously easy 153 to reach to win.
Ravindu Shah did all the damage for Kenya, getting a 50 not out before Donald took his wicket.
1.45pm:
HANSIE Cronje dismissed Kenyan captain Asif Karim for 22, bowling him lbw in his first over. Karim didn’t make much of an impact, despite standing at the crease for 40 deliveries. Klusener then bowled Mohammed Sheikh for 8 on his second delivery of the over.
The score stands at 140 for 9, and the Kenyan innings are all but over.
1.15pm
LANCE Klusener took three fast wickets in two overs, dismissing Steve Tikolo for 10, Thomas Odoyo for a duck, and Alpesh Vadher for 2. Cronje caught Tikolo in the slips off an outside edge, while Klusener bowled Odoyo lbw on his first delivery, and then bowled and caught Vadher off a slow delivery.
The score stands at 122 for 7 after 36 overs, and South Africa are decidedly in command of this game after a shaky start. The Kenyan order has fallen apart, and Klusener has done as much damage with the ball as he usually does with the bat to bring South Africa home.
The Kenyans need to take risks to score, but having only three wickets in hand they cannot afford those risks. The current partnership, Sheikh and Karim, have ony 12 runs.
12.15pm
STEVE Elworthy and Allan Donald struck in quick succession, claiming two more Kenyan wickets to put the underdogs on the back foot. Donald took Ravindu Shah’s wicket, putting him away off an inside edge after he bothered the South Africans with a 50 not out off 63 deliveries.
Kenya are currently 82 for 3 after 20 overs, which is a long way from the 63 without loss they had at 11.30.
SOUTH AFRICA claimed their first Kenyan wicket, dismissing Otieno for 26 off a Steve Ellworthy lbw.
Kenya are 66/1 after 15 overs.
11.25am:
KENYA made a strong start in their Group A World Cup match against South Africa on Wednesday reaching 57 without loss after 13 overs.
Opening batsmen Kennedy Otieno (23) and Ravindu Shah (31) have remained confident against the SA pace bowling attack.
The run rate is 4.38 an over.
10.35am:
CAPTAIN Hansie Cronje won his first toss of the World Cup and sent Kenya in to bat at the Amstelveen ground in Holland.
South Africa have not rested their top players as expected and Shaun Pollock has started the bowling.
10.30am:
WORLD Cup favourites South Africa take on minnows Kenya on Dutch soil on Wednesday hoping to brush up the only weak link in their game – the top-order batting.
Hansie Cronje’s men, though unbeaten, have had a few hiccups with the bat, making 225 for seven against England and 199 for nine against Sri Lanka.
The South Africans plan to field most of their first-choice top order against the Kenyans, while resting fast bowlers Allan Donald and Steve Elworthy.
Cronje said he wanted to make sure all the squad were in form before the second round, rectifying a mistake they made at the last World Cup.
Then, they breezed through five league matches only to be knocked out by Brian Lara’s West Indies in the quarter-finals.
“Maybe we slipped up because not all the batters had a chance in the early games,” Cronje said.
“Then suddenly there was pressure in the quarter-final and we had batters going to the wicket who had not had a knock.”
Although South Africa have won their first three matches this time, the top six batsmen have yet to hit consistent form.
All-rounder Shaun Pollock has not been among the runs and seems certain to play, as will reserve spinners Nicky Boje and Derek Crookes, all-rounder Alan Dawson and Natal batsman Dale Benkenstein.
The match at the VRA ground in Amstelveen, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, will be the first official international played in Holland. It is also the only World Cup match being played outside Britain.
South Africa played at the ground during their tour of England in 1998 when they beat Holland by 83 runs.
On that occasion the South Africans found the turf pitch, only the second to be laid in Holland, to be true but slow and low.
A win will give the South Africans eight points from four matches, well-placed to top group A.
Kenya, who stunned the West Indies in the last World Cup, are still recovering from the thashing handed out by India’s Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid on Sunday. The pair put a World Cup record patnership of 237.
Kenyan captain Asif Karim said: “We will give it our best shot. It will be quite an experience playing against the best one-day team in the world.”
Holland, where cricket is a minority sport, were hoping to qualify for their second successive World Cup, but have had to settle for staging a match. — AFP