When Faf du Plessis assembled his Proteas team in May, he knew that he had collected a unit that was the weakest of any that had gone before them.

South Africa’s 2019 Cricket World Cup campaign has plumbed to a new depth after a chastening 49 run defeat to Pakistan that leaves them with just one victory from seven matches.

Fakhar Zaman (44 off 50) and Imam-ul-Haq (44 off 58) put on 98 for the opening partnership as they cashed in on lengths that were far too full from Kagiso Rabada (0/65 from 10 overs) and Lungisani Ngidi (3/65 from 9 overs).

Daddy Hundreds is an endearing term for triple-figure scores that are bigger than most. Rohit Sharma’s unbeaten 124 against South Africa is not quite a daddy hundred. David Warner’s 166 against Bangladesh fits the bill.

Momentum is a strange thing. In 2023 we may look back on Wednesday's result as a turning point in South Africa's cricket history. Which way that momentum turns remains to be seen.

The New Zealand skipper played a masterfully paced innings that included nine fours and one six as he dragged his team beyond the Proteas score of 241/6.

Hashim Amla also registered a milestone, scoring a pedestrian 55 off 83 and became the fourth South African to register 8,000 ODI runs after Jacques Kallis, Herschelle Gibbs and AB de Villiers before him.

History would seem to be on the Black Caps side but that depends through which prism you look through.

Like the overgrown forests of Verdun, where a half a million German and French soldiers wasted their lives in the Great War’s meat-grinder, the scars of trauma are buried beneath the surface, remembered only by those who cannot forget.

Morris and Phehlukwayo are evidently not the embodiment of a renaissance that harks back to a golden age of South African all-rounders.

It took 28.4 overs for Quinton de Kock (68 off 72 balls), Hashim Amla (41 not-out off 83 balls) and Andile Phehlukwayo (17 not-out off 17 balls) to reach their score of 131/1.

South Africa finally have a notch in the win column after a comprehensive 9 wicket demolition of Afghanistan, chasing down their target of 127 inside 29 overs.

Afghanistan lost their final nine wickets for 69 runs. South Africa need just 127-run to win (adjusted for the lost overs).

'When preparing for a World Cup, you try and make it just another game of cricket. Unfortunately, there is more expectation and that is the same for you as a captain.'

Daniel Gallan says the thrill of watching a game-changing moment play out in real time allows the viewer to feel like they are a part of history.

Another calamitous show with the bat in Cardiff on Saturday and South Africa’s Cricket World Cup campaign will be over.

Faf du Plessis and South Africa are on the board with a gifted point but will know that the five remaining games must be treated as cup finals.

Before the persistent rain settled, Quinton de Kock was not-out on 17 and Faf du Plessis on 0 after just seven balls faced.