At the halfway stage, New Zealand were 148 for one wicket, with Fleming on 86 not out and playing a similar sort of role to that played by Herschelle Gibbs for South Africa. Nathan Astle, who once again batted at No 3, was 21 not out.

New Zealand had reached the stage, with rain having forced them from the field once, and the prospect of more rain, that they were safely ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis requirements.

Fleming did have a life on 53 when a straight forward catch off Allan Donald was dropped by Mark Boucher.

New Zealand found a similar vein of runs at the top of the innings, despite the potential break in their concentration they may have suffered during a 20-minute power cut at the ground which prevented a sightscreen with advertising on it changing. Lights that were on at the ground also cut out.

Craig McMillan opened with Fleming and played his best international innings of the summer in seeing 89 runs scored for the first wicket and while he scored on 25 off 32 balls, he played a fine support role.

At that stage, New Zealand were 59 without loss after 11 runs after Fleming had been gaining great profit in the area of third man where he hit boundary after boundary.

He was also strong off his legs with one ball falling just short of the square leg boundary.

After the break, Fleming showed no ill effects at all. Jacques Kallis had been introduced but he conceded four fours in succession and brought up his half-century off 47 balls and after 12 overs New Zealand were 76 without loss.

In a double change, Allan Donald came on from the other end and seven runs were taken from his first over. But he also had Fleming dropped by Mark Boucher when he was on 53.

Nathan Astle had a big bonus from the first ball he faced. He ran through for a single then a throw from the field hit his bat and went for four overthrows. But, initially, umpire Steve Bucknor ruled a dead ball.

Fleming protested and eventually five runs were awarded. After 15 overs, New Zealand were 97 for one wicket in comparison to South Africa's 92 for one.

New Zealand will have to score more runs than they have ever managed before in chasing and winning with their target of 307.

Gibbs was unstoppable and while he had some moments in the late 90s, once he had passed his 12th One-Day International century, and his first against New Zealand, he upped the ante in brilliant fashion with his last 43 runs coming off 20 balls.

His century was scored off 121 balls and along the way he achieved 500 runs in World Cup play and 4000 runs in ODIs.

When he was finally dismissed, caught on the mid-wicket boundary by Craig McMillan from Jacob Oram's bowling, South Africa were 260 for five in the 46th over.

Lance Klusener, New Zealand's perpetual nemesis, picked up where Gibbs left off to his 33 off 21 balls.

While Shaun Pollock was caught by Oram for 10 from Andre Adams' bowling, Klusener and Gary Kirsten were able to post the 300 with two balls of the innings left.

Making life interesting for New Zealand is the prospect of thunderstorms in the Johannesburg area which could make life very difficult for New Zealand under the Duckworth/Lewis mechanism.

Daniel Vettori and Scott Styris did a fine job in curtailing the South African express train. The scoring rate slowed noticeably and at one stage nine runs were scored in four overs and between the 20th and 30th overs, South Africa could add only 34 runs.

The pace of Gibbs' scoring did fall off a little as Jacques Kallis took time to play himself in and Gibbs had a reasonable wait in the late 90s.

But off the first ball of the last over bowled by Styris, he swept a single to bring up his 100 off 121 balls, and it included 13 fours and one six.

It was a case of one over too many for Styris as Gibbs put the foot down blasting a six over mid-wicket and then cover driving a boundary next ball. Eighteen runs came from it and he finished with one for 44 from his 10, but he didn't fare as badly as Vettori in his last.

Gibbs went into overdrive with a straight driven boundary which he followed three balls later with a huge six away over mid-wicket. Another straight boundary, although lofted, and an extra cover drive for four meant that 20 runs came off the over.

After doing such a fine job, Vettori ended with one for 58 from his 10.

Jacob Oram's first ball of the 44th over saw Mark Boucher launch into a big shot but it fell to a sprawling Chris Cairns at long on and he held the catch to dismiss him for 10 off 14 balls. South Africa were 243 for four wickets.

At the end, however, the New Zealand bowling was in tatters. Shane Bond went for 73 off 10 overs, Adams for 57 off nine, Oram for 52 off eight.

Some long-serving members of the "Profit from New Zealand bowling club" chimed in again. Herschelle Gibbs went on a one-man wrecking mission while Nicky Boje, who before the game had a batting average of 91.75 against New Zealand, came in at the fall of the first wicket and took up where he left off from the last time they met, in Australia last summer.

He and Gibbs added 66 runs, after the openers had put on 60, before Scott Styris got one through Boje to bowl him for 29 scored off 37 balls. In the 24th over, South Africa were 126 for two wickets.

By the 25th over, with Scott Styris and left-arm spinner Daniel Vettori in action, the New Zealanders had got themselves somewhat back in the game. But Gibbs was unbeaten on 65 off 80 balls and Jacques Kallis was just in and on three.

It had been a tough morning for the New Zealanders who were asked to bowl first after South African captain Shaun Pollock won the toss.

There was immediate frustration for New Zealand in the first over when Shane Bond had opener Graeme Smith sparring at a ball wide of off-stump and it was edged high to Nathan Astle's right and he leapt high to pull in the catch one-handed. But on landing he found Bond had over-stepped and it was a no ball.

Then when Bond dropped the last ball of the over short, Smith was quickly into position to pull the ball for four.

In his second over Bond conceded two off-driven boundaries, either side of a square driven four, off three successive balls. Bond was replaced after only two overs by Jacob Oram.

Off the last ball of Andre Adams' second over, the wicket-keeper Brendon McCullum and the slips cordon went up for an appeal after the ball passed under Herschelle Gibbs' bat. However, umpire Steve Bucknor heard nothing.

The pair continued to attack as the New Zealanders struggled for line and length and the 50 came up in the ninth over after Gibbs had played a superb pull shot for six runs from Oram's bowling.

Fleming brought back Bond for the 10th over. Gibbs despatched a boundary from a full toss with a powerful cover drive, but in the same over, Smith attempted a hook shot but mis-timed the ball and it flew high behind the stumps. McCullum sprinted back and lined up the ball swirling in the breeze to hold a good catch to give New Zealand their first good news of the innings.

Smith scored 23 off 28 balls.

South Africa called up Boje, a clever ploy after the carnage he has achieved against New Zealand, especially in South Africa in the past. It wasn't too long before he was giving Oram the charge for four over extra cover.

Without having looked in complete touch, Gibbs still managed to achieve his 17th half century in ODIs off 51 balls, including eight fours and one six. When he passed 48, Gibbs achieved 500 runs in World Cup cricket. And the 100 came up after 16.3 overs of 102 balls when Boje off-drove a ball from Adams for four runs.

Gibbs and Boje maintained the excellent pace of the innings and brought up their 50-runs for their second-wicket stand off 54 balls.

Another milestone for Gibbs came when he scored his 60th run with a sweep for four from Scott Styris' bowling to bring up 4000 runs in ODIs.

Then when he scored 63, he achieved 500 runs against New Zealand in ODIs.

Most of the New Zealand bowlers had a hard time. Bond went for 34 runs off five overs, Andre Adams for 27 off six, Oram for 34 off five. Vettori had none for 16 off four while Styris had one for 17 off five.

The match is being regarded as a knockout match for New Zealand who confirmed today that they would not be going to Kenya, meaning they could have to forfeit those points if New Zealand's request to have the game transferred to South Africa is not met.

South African captain Shaun Pollock won the toss and decided to bat.

He said his side was up for this match, which is also important for them if they are to gain a suitable position in the Super Six. A loss could make things tricky for the hosts after their first-up loss to the West Indies.

New Zealand have taken a gamble and brought the out-of-form Craig McMillan into their side, along with pace bowler Kyle Mills. However, Mills has been named 12th man for the match.

McMillan's selection was a surprise and New Zealand commentator Martin Crowe today described the move as, "an unbelievable gamble."

Dropping out from the side which beat the West Indies is Chris Harris.

Immediate interest will centre on whether Daniel Vettori is used as an opening batsman again, and where McMillan will bat in the side.

Graeme Smith has come into the South African side as the replacement for the injured Jonty Rhodes.

There was very little grass on the pitch and it is expected to be on the slower side. The weather is fine, although there is the prospect of some storms later in the day.

The teams are:

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Andre Adams, Nathan Astle, Shane Bond, Chris Cairns, Craig McMillan, Brendon McCullum, Jacob Oram, Scott Styris, Daniel Vettori, Lou Vincent. (12th man - Kyle Mills).

South Africa: Shaun Pollock (captain), Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Graeme Smith, Boeta Dippenaar, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Makhaya Ntini, Allan Donald. (12th man - Andrew Hall).

The umpires are: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Peter Willey (England).