JOHANNESBURG - Apart from an announcer who enjoyed the sound of his voice, man of the match Derek Crookes was one of a couple of star turns in Gauteng's victory show at the Wanderers last night.

How it boosted his World Cup prospects only Peter Pollock and his panel will decide, but had one of them been at the bullring last night they could not have been impressed by the all-round ability of a man who could be breathing down Pat Symcox's uncovered neck for a place in the 15 man squad for the seven week festival in England later this year.

Gauteng's innings of 210 for eight was 43 runs too many for Border, who need to lift their game to beat Western Province if they are to get a favourable draw for the quarter-finals.

As Ken Rutherford, the Gauteng captain, whose planning was undone by Northerns last Friday, rotated the bowling attack as quickly as Border did their run scoring while tumbling to a humiliating defeat of 43 runs when they were bowled out for 167, Crookes put together a domestic limited-overs career best of four for 29, and an accolade performance in terms of the Standard Bank accolade conditions.

Supported by his innings of 48 off 56 balls, which helped rescue Gauteng from a precarious 63 for four, Crookes was by far the most impressive of the five players involved in the game who were on the ``add-on'' World Cup list. Adam Bacher, who has a habit of falling lbw, did so again, and Nic Pothas was average as a batsman, but should Mark Boucher injure himself, well ... there is nothing to suggest that Pothas is not out of the reckoning.

Border's World Cup hopefuls of Makhaya Ntini and Tyrone Henderson were useful without being penetrative, although Henderson was enterprising as a bowler and as a batsman about as useful as a pastry chef in a tandori kitchen. He looked out of sorts, but no doubt the national selectors had to include the odd wild card selection.

Crookes was a class act, a special event man on an evening when Free State were blown apart by Eastern Province in a scramble for that valued quarter-final spot and rain helped North West to a Duckworth/Lewis system victory over Easterns in Fochville.

Grant Elliott, in his first outing for Gauteng, scored a workmanlike half-century in which he showed much promise and rarely looked flustered in a performance which deserved more credit than it received acknowledgment. His score of 53 off 74 balls at least gave Gauteng a target which to set the visitors.