South Africa smashed their way into the semi-finals with as impressive a win as any seen in this World Cup. It was as if the Proteas were trying to show that their earlier loss was an error that should not have happened. Graeme Smith led the way with an explosive innings where he treated the English new-ball bowlers like spinners, stepping down the pitch and hammering them high and wide to all corners of the field. To Panesar, the genuine spinner, he used his feet brilliantly to hit him out of the attack. The start with A.D. de Villiers was electrifying and South Africa got to their target in 19.2 overs, which did help their net run-rate, but still had them finishing fourth in the Super 8. That means they will most probably play Australia, unless of course the New Zealanders beat them by a huge margin and steal or march to the number one position.

England simply had no clue as to the South African bowling, with the out-of-form captain Vaughan stubbornly batting at the top of the order when it should have been someone in form and who could play shots. The slow start meant that the batsmen to follow were under tremendous pressure and just could not cope.

Andrew Hall picked up five wickets with clever changes of pace, but even he would agree that he has bowled to better batsmen. His haul makes him the Man of the Match because he strangled the English line-up and did not allow the tail to wag at all.