Cricket World Cup: Do the sums - answer could be 400 for South Africa

AB de Villiers, South Africa cricket captain. Photo / AP

A tantalising cricketing equation awaits today: South African captain AB de Villiers + no Eden Park boundary greater than 65m - the prospective loss of Pakistan bowling dignity = the potential for another 400-plus innings.

Such a calculation depends on several catalysts.

• De Villiers maintains the chutzpah which has brought him 409 runs at 81.8 and a strike rate of 188 since he set the fastest ODI century world record in 31 balls against the West Indies in Johannesburg on January 18.

• Pakistan fail to find their mojo and the South Africans conquer the bounce of 2.16m Mohammad Irfan, the hostility of Wahab Riaz and the cunning of Shahid Afridi.

• Bad weather is delayed by a few hours. Last night, rain was forecast at the mid-innings break - about 6pm.

South African pace bowler Dale Steyn and de Villiers made their first-class debuts for Northerns against Western Province in October 2003 when the then-opener made 58 and 61. "I remember him walking back [to the dressing room] and realising it wasn't that difficult. There's no roof on how good he can be," Steyn said.

De Villiers' 162 off 66 balls to ensure a World Cup pool victory against the West Indies means he owns the fastest 50, 100 and 150 in ODIs.

"He's seeing the ball like no player's seen a cricket ball before," Steyn said.

"I don't think the dimensions of the ground [Eden Park] matter, he'll find a way to score runs. Really good players don't rely on conditions.

"It's like watching The Matrix movie, there's Neo for you right there. He doesn't understand how good he is.

"There are only two games I fear all year - the IPL games I play against him."

Steyn has eased rather than blasted into the tournament as the world's best-ranked ODI pace bowler, taking five wickets at an average of 36.40 and an economy rate of 5.35.

He delivered his most convincing performance in their last match against Ireland with two for 39 from eight overs.

Steyn said he and other South African bowlers had considered ways to reduce the tournament run rate which, after 26 matches, was 5.66.

"The yorker is difficult to bowl but more difficult now with two new balls. They swing early but when only one was used, after 40 overs it became softer and not as easy to get away," he said.

"Now a ball only ever becomes 20-odd overs old, so it's still quite hard and new. If you miss the right length it travels further. With straight boundaries of 40-odd metres [behind the batsman at Eden Park], that's a chip for six.

"It makes bowlers nervous."

Pakistan will consider replacing opener Nasir Jamshed with Sarfraz Ahmed.

Jamshed has scored five runs from three innings; in three ODIs against Australia in October, Ahmed averaged 43.66 with a strike rate of 86.

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