South Africa have qualified for the World Cup semi-finals after rain washed out their match against West Indies in Wellington. Only 10.5 overs were possible after a delay of more than four hours that saw play get underway after 3pm local time and South Africa were in trouble at 61 for 4. But persistent rain meant no further play was possible.
West Indies’ hopes of advancing are hanging by a thread after three losses, three wins and a no-result. If either India or England lose a match, West Indies could still advance to the knockouts, but their tournament future is now out of their control. Irrespective of the outcome of their final match against India, South Africa will qualify in second place and have avoided facing table-topping Australia in the final four.
South Africa may consider themselves lucky to have got away with the point they needed to break away from the chasing pack after they teetered on 22 for 4 in the sixth over of their rain-reduced encounter.
In a match that was cut down to 26 overs a side, South Africa were on the back foot after West Indies' opening bowlers made good use of extra bounce in the surface to dismiss their top four without any of them getting into double figures.