Now is the time for our sports stars to reach up and challenge our politicians to be better and uphold the social contracts they operate within, writes Daniel Gallan.

Daniel Gallan pays tribute to South Africa's greatest Test bowler and makes a case for Dale Steyn having bowled the Ball of the Century.

Cricket matches, real cricket matches, aren’t supposed to be like this, says Daniel Gallan. They’re not supposed to be this grandiose, this sensational, this hyperbolic.

In a batting lineup containing Jos Buttler and Joe Root, with Eoin Morgan and Ben Stokes lower down, Roy was simply the biffer at the top who did little more than give the ball a good wallop.

Trent Boult gathers and delivers in a fluid motion, releasing gorgeous swingers and spitting seamers that belie the tranquility that came before.

New Zealand’s Kane Williamson won the toss under clouds and batted first because that is what conventional wisdom dictated.

Where are the Proteas? Back at home, contemplating a campaign that oscillated between disappointing and frustrating, writes Daniel Gallan.

Duminy left me slack-jawed. Something didn’t compute. What was this? Who was this? - Daniel Gallan marvels at JP Duminy's capabilities.

South Africa restored some pride with a 10-run win over Australia in their final Cricket World Cup match, thanks to superb batting from captain Faf du Plessis and Rassie van der Dussen.

Leading from the front was captain Faf du Plessis who struck seven fours and two sixes in his swashbuckling 100.

Daniel Gallan says that the Proteas' final World Cup match against Australia is anything but a dead rubber, with a number of narratives coming into play.

Here’s the thing. I don’t believe they do owe us an apology. Unless the Proteas deliberately tried to lose or weren’t bothered with trying their best.

Of the seven five wicket hauls taken at the tournament, five have gone to bowlers with genuine pace. Only the spin of Shakib Al Hasan and the miserly seamers of James Neesham have spoiled the party.

Of course they won. That is what South Africa does when there is not a World Cup on the line.

Dwaine Pretorius, playing in his first game at this World Cup since the opening match against England in May, starred with a miserly performance which yielded 3/25 from his ten overs.

Professional cricketers stay well away from the spooky mansion but it provides a poignant narrative thread for South Africa’s World Cup campaign as the Proteas march into their next match like ghosts, ever restless and with business unfinished.

Lord’s denotes some sense of regality but it is little more than chance that the 18th Century cricketer who developed the site was named Thomas Lord.

This was a hostile chorus of boos that greeted Australia’s Steve Smith as he emerged from the red-bricked pavilion of the self aggrandising Home of Cricket.