South Africa made a meal of chasing a modest Kenyan total at the Amstelveen ground but in the end recorded a comfortable victory by 7 wickets. Polished in the field as ever and impressive with the ball, South Africa were rarely troubled. Pick of the bowlers Klusener returned 5 wickets for 21 runs, but all the South African bowlers, with the possible exception of Kallis, had a good day with the ball. Despite a bright start with the bat, Kenya were never really in the match.

Continental Europe's first World Cup cricket match will not have left much of an impression on the locals, and the locals certainly had no had no chance to leave an impression of their own on the match. It was a thoroughly English day. The crowd were directed by English signs, surrounded by English advertisement hoardings , informed about incoming and outgoing batsmen by an English announcer and paid for their tickets in English pounds. But for the local beer and the glorious weather this match could have been played at any (small) county ground in England.

Some locals may not have understood the point of the contest going on in their backyard, but for most of the spectators the purpose of the exercise was very clear. How quickly could South Africa nullify Kenya and how much drinking time would that leave the crowd to prepare for the real match of the day, the European Cup final between Manchester United and Bayern Munich? South Africa's win was never in doubt, merely the manner in which it was achieved.

Kenya did at least try to make a match of it, reminiscent in the first 15 overs of the Sri Lanka of World Cup 96: defiant, cocky and utterly self-confident. Shah was the most positive of the opening pair and in the sixth over struck Kallis for two successive fours through the covers. He stroked him for another four in his fourth over past a worried looking Cronje and then smashed the last ball of the over for an ugly but effective cross-batted four through long on.

Otieno was as willing to swing the bat. Beaten by a Pollock outswinger in the 9th over he flailed at a Kallis delivery in the next, slicing an attempted drive, and managed to neatly bisect Cronje and Rhodes in the offside field. Once his nerves had settled, he dispatched the last ball of the 11th over for a glorious lofted one bounce four.

Donald came on for Pollock in the 13th at the Mulders end, but couldn't staunch Kenya's flow. A slower ball completely fooled Otieno but was still dispatched back past the bowler for four as Otieno had already committed to the shot. Otieno was riding his luck and after a wild swing at new bowler Elworthy that caught a top edge and ran behind the keeper, he was trapped leg before for 26 off 42 balls.

Shah continued to plunder the attack, pulling Donald through midwicket in the 17th over for four and then steering him for another four over third man two balls later. Donald conceded 11 off that over and a total of 24 off his first three overs. The last time he bowled against Kenya he returned 6 for 23 in Nairobi.

But at the other end Elworthy signaled the beginning of the end bowling Gupta with the last ball of the 18th over, a peach of a ball coming in from outside off. Shah struck the first ball of the 19th, Donald's fourth, for two to bring up his fifty, but edged the next ball but one into Boucher's gloves.

After the dismissal of Shah, South Africa took a firm grip of the game. First Elworthy then Donald bowled maidens. Donald, with two slips in, was fired up and had Tikolo struggling to put bat to ball. Kenya had added a mere 9 snatched runs before Donald struck again, clean bowling Odumbe for 7. He closed out his opening spell conceding only 6 runs for two wickets in the last three overs, and with three slips in, it seemed a case of normal service resumed.

Vadher could make little of Elworthy and new bowler Klusener, on for Donald at the Mulder end. Tikolo, so free flowing against England, was also tied down and seemed little inclined to play his shots. Cronje brought Kallis back on for Elworthy, who had bowled a creditable 8 overs for 19 runs and wickets. Only a further nine runs had been added to the total since the last wicket when Tikolo scooped Klusener to Cronje at mid off. The next ball trapped Odoyo leg before. A double wicket maiden for Klusener and more was to come. Off the first ball of his next over he tricked Vadher with the slower ball and caught him on the return. At the end of the over, another wicket maiden, Klusener's figures were 5 overs, 3 maidens, 3 wickets for 3 runs.

Karim tried to revive memories of the early overs by lofting Klusener over mid off but the shot lacked conviction and was only good for a single. He repeated the shot in the following over off Pollock , a better contact this time and four runs over the bowler's head the result. Donald returned from the Mulder end and immediately had Sheikh in trouble edging the first ball through the slips. Karim, looking increasingly capable, kept his head against the pace turning Donald square for two and then glancing deftly for four.

Klusener, with figures of 6-3-6-3 returned from the Mulder end and Karim clearly decided it was time to take the game to the bowlers as far as he could. He lobbed Klusener just out of Pollock's reach at mid on and then lobbed him again over the covers. Trying the cross batted shot he was trapped by Cronje attempting to sweep in the next over, Cronje's first. Sheikh took the signal to let rip and was bowled swinging the bat by Klusener. Klusener completed the job bowling Angara to complete the first five wicket haul of the tournament.

Captain Karim decided to bring himself on to partner opening bowler Suji. If the ploy was meant to contain the South Africans it failed as Kirsten and Gibbs had no difficulty in finding easy runs around the wicket. Gibbs hit the first ball of the 8th over, Karim's fourth, for a big six over long on. Kirsten followed suit in the next over hitting Suji through the covers for four. Karim whose first four overs cost 19 runs, gave way to Angara. But there was no let off for Kenya. Gibbs got stuck into him straight away, belting his second ball through the covers for four and his sixth over the top for another boundary.

There was a brief respite for the Kenyans when Odoyo caught Gibbs on the pad trying to hit through midwicket, and three overs later Angara frustrated Boucher who holed out to Sheikh at mid on. But South Africa plodded on, scoring slowly with the odd swing of the bat for the crowd's entertainment. Cullinan and Kallis were left to finish the job when Kirsten, in a rare moment of impatience, came down th track to Odumbe and was bowled. The score continued to plod on until the 36th over when Kallis struck a cracing four through the covers and Cullinan repeated the shot off Angara, brought back on for Odumbe, in the next. Karim, returning at the City End then got the full Cullinan treatment - two consecutive big sixes over long on. When he sent Angara to the square leg boundary in the next over the victory was nigh. It took two more overs before Cullinan finally hit the ball through midwicket to win the game for South Africa.