KEY POINTS:
The pitch and Shane Bond were the main factors behind New Zealand beating South Africa by five wickets and securing a World Cup semifinal berth yesterday, according to media reports.
On a slow Grenada pitch and in overcast conditions the Black Caps' attack restricted South Africa to a miserly 192 for seven after Stephen Fleming won the toss and made no hesitation in bowling first.
Despite New Zealand producing a quality all-round performance and South Africa making uncharacteristic, crucial errors in the field Krish Srikkanth of the Times of India thought the toss influenced the match so much that he described it as a poor advertisement for one-day cricket.
"Gunmetal skies and Shane Bond were the ingredients that undid the Proteas and it was a pity such a high profile game had to be decided by the spin of the coin," he said.
Stephen Brenkley, cricket writer for Britain's The Independent newspaper, agreed the result of the toss had a huge bearing on the game and described the ball as "bending like a limbo dancer" during South Africa's innings.
However, he made special mention of Bond's performance, despite part-timer Craig McMillan putting in game-best figures of three for 23 off five overs.
"In Bond [New Zealand] possess a bowler at the top of his game, officially second in the International Cricket Council rankings, but obviously first to anybody outside the rankings office," he said.
"The rest of the New Zealand attack feeds off him."
Meanwhile, Cricinfo's Andrew Miller focused on the performance of the South Africans, who are now in danger of losing out on a semifinal place to England.
"No-one ever imagined that South Africa could top the traumas they have inflicted upon themselves in their four previous World Cups," he said.
"But if they somehow allow England to nick the semi-final berth that they believed was theirs by right, there'll be no end to the navel-gazing."
- NZ HERALD STAFF
