THE OVAL (England won toss): South Africa beat England by 122 runs

SOUTH AFRICA'S bowling and fielding, with some crucial early assistance from the umpires, was so disciplined and demanding at the Oval on Saturday that England's aspirations of glory were utterly crushed.

The two points gained by South Africa will be carried through to the next round should England still qualify, so the win by 122 runs not only virtually guarantees their place in the Super Six but also considerably enhances their chances of reaching at least the semi-final.

The improvement in the rules for this World Cup are only now becoming plain. By beating Zimbabwe on Saturday the holders, Sri Lanka, have both resurrected their own hopes and made England's last two matches against Zimbabwe and India (starting with Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge tomorrow) even more important and intriguing.

Nothing in this group is resolved except South Africa's present supremacy, but it was chastening indeed for England that, after doing well with the ball at the Oval they were eventually beaten even more easily than Sri Lanka had been, and much more easily than India.

The winning margin was greater even than South Africa's opening partnership of 111, which gave the match a wholly deceptive start on a pitch which looked wonderfully true in the early stages (it was, too, if even bounce is the criterion) but which turned out to lack pace.

Nevertheless, the essential difference was that whereas South Africa were 111 for no wicket at the start of the 25th over, England were 60 for six. The home side recovered well from their first setback, thanks initially to Mark Ealham, but they were quite unable to overcome the shock of seeing Alec Stewart falling leg-before to his first ball, the sixth of the innings.

Stewart had been quite confident that England would make 226 to win, but only because he had feared at one stage that South Africa would score 280. Not for the first time he underestimated the quality of South Africa's bowling.

Neil Fairbrother, England's shrewdest pacer of an innings, batted an hour and 46 minutes for his 21, starved of the strike, unable to dictate and biding for a time which never came. Allan Donald and Shaun Pollock both bowled fast and straight, Jacques Kallis swung it dangerously and Lance Klusener and Steve Elworthy gave nothing away. Nor, unlike England's from time to time, did the South African fielders.

The England innings was, therefore, an anticlimax after a heartening comeback in the field. There were some fumbles under pressure, but the only serious blemish, when Fairbrother dropped Herschelle Gibbs at extra cover off Ealham, proved inexpensive. Gibbs fell at deep mid-wicket in Ealham's next over, frustrated that he had not been able to score so freely as he had in the first 15 overs. Twice he had thumped Fraser over the top for four and six, but it will not be so easy against Fraser on other pitches.

The resilience of Stewart's captaincy under pressure from Gibbs and Kirsten, who drove repeatedly through extra cover, was encouraging. He rested Fraser, switched Mullally to the Pavilion End and found in Ealham and Mullally the means of a breakthrough. Mullally's pearler to beat Kallis between bat and pad on the back foot signalled a mini-collapse for South Africa which Darren Gough accelerated by means of two wickets in two balls.

But Klusener sailed to the rescue like a galleon on the wind. He hit the ball very hard into the Oval's wide open spaces and spoiled Ealham's figures with a six over long-on and 13 off his last over. He alone managed to score at better than a run a ball.

Whether Stewart could have done so too was never discovered, umpire Venkat ruled him out to a breakback which must have had a good chance of rising over the stumps and then sent Hussain on his way as he tried to waft a ball wholly undeserving of a wicket to long leg. Wicketkeeper and umpire heard the thinnest of touches.

For England, just a slow death remained. A pull and a cover drive by Hick off Elworthy were the only sign that the shackles might be cast off. Instead, he pulled a catch to mid-wicket and the memorable moments belonged to Donald, who removed both the left-handers with fast inswingers, and to Rhodes, who leapt at backward point to catch Croft with a left-handed parry and an unerring two-handed grasp at the rebound.

If that was like a domestic cat with a ball of wool, South Africa as a team hunted like a big cat: ruthlessly.

May 24, 1999