The cameras capture De Villiers blinking repeatedly. Is he struggling to stay awake? O'Brien tries to stimulate the senses by crashing a full toss through the covers.

Graeme Swann
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"You know the game has lost its edge when the height of entertainment is a Mexican Wave. We still see it in England at the end of the summer Test matches at places like the Oval or at Headingley when the drinks are flowing."

Tahir continues to probe without reward. Mooney dabs him for a couple. This game is morbidly moribund.

Al in Cambs: I take Stephan Shemilt's point re short boundaries but haven't most of Afridi's shots gone straight to hand for the last 10 years? WC average of 12!

Graeme Swann
Ex-England spinner on BBC Test Match Special

"It's very slow going now. When the result is not in doubt it can be a tedious afternoon for everyone involved.

"I'm sure Ireland are thinking about their run rate, but if they were to attack the South Africans it would convince their own players they can score well and that will stand them in good stead for when they have to play Pakistan."

John Mooney is the new man, nicknamed "mad Mooney" by Graeme Swann because of his angry reaction to getting out earlier in the tournament. It doesn't take him long to take a risk, ramping du Plessis over the keeper's head. But there's no pace on the ball so he only gets a single for his efforts.

Balbirnie is right on the attack. Four through the off side, but a pull shot doesn't have the legs and he picks out Rossouw on the deep square leg boundary.

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Stephan Shemilt
BBC Sport in Napier

"Before tomorrow's game between Pakistan and the UAE in Napier, I went along to McLean Park, which is another of New Zealand's rugby grounds that is used for cricket. The dimensions of the playing surface mean that one of the square boundaries is very, very short - a rough measurement of about 53m. A Shahid Afridi forward defence carries further than that."

Time for O'Brien to open his shoulders. In some style. He launches Faf du Plessis for a big six wide of long-on. Is the spirit of Bangalore still burning somewhere under that ginger barnet?

Back to frontliners now as Morkel returns. Balbirnie gets a thick edge that flies past slip for four then cuts the next ball to the fence to bring up a plucky old half-century off 66 balls.

Simon Clarke re 07:31: "Comments like Broad's infuriate me. Accept that you're not good enough and accept that work needs to be done. The supporters at least deserve that.

"The mentality needs to change, we need to put our confidence in some of the proven limited-over batsmen we know we have and lose the likes of Bell and Ballance, who just aren't right for ODIs, especially with teams pushing 400 more frequently. We're nowhere near that."

Faf du Plessis's part-time leg-spin is being introduced. Ooh. Ugly start as he drags one down the leg side and gives away five wides. If South Africa do have a weakness, it is in the fifth bowler department so looks like AB wants to size up some of his options.

There is not much riding on this game now, but Andrew Balbirnie is closing in on a little bit of personal glory as he moves into his 40s, approaching his half-century. Part-time off-spinner Rilee Rossouw concedes eight off the over.

Ireland continue to plod along, doing their best to make this respectable and stay in for as long as they can.

Ireland 87-5 (20 overs) - target 412

Batsmen: Balbirnie 36*, K O'Brien 15*

Fall of wickets: 17-1 (Stirling 9), 21-2 (Porterfield 12), 21-3 (Joyce 0), 42-4 (N O'Brien 14), 48-5 (Wilson 0)

Bowling figures: Steyn 5-0-31-2, Abbott 5-0-13-3, Morkel 4-0-10-0, Tahir 3-0-14-0, Berhardien 2-013-0, Rossouw 1-0-5-0

South Africa 411-4: Amla 159, Du Plessis 109, Rossouw 61*

Full scorecard, external

Three for Kevin O'Brien and a single for Balbirnie from that over.

Only one single off Imran Tahir's over. A drive from Balbirnie in the direction of long-off.

The Cricket Wolf:, external Clever move from England getting trounced by Sri Lanka. Now they'll likely avoid a rampant South Africa in the quarter-finals.

The only problem is that if England avoid South Africa, they will probably face India, who thrashed South Africa by 130 runs. Assuming Eoin Morgan's side qualify of course.

A desperate dive from Morne Morkel at the end of the 18th over is unsuccessful as the ball picked up pace on a quick outfield and went into the rope. That takes the partnership up to 33, Ireland's best of the match so far.

Well, it started so brightly for Ireland. They claimed the wicket of Quinton de Kock in only the third over, but two dropped catches cost Ireland dearly.

Hashim Amla was dropped by Ed Joyce on 10 and went on to make 159 and Kevin O'Brien missed an opportunity to dismiss Faf du Plessis on 19. He was eventually out for 109.

A rapid 61 off 30 balls from Rilee Rossouw and 46 from 23 deliveries from David Miller saw South Africa reach 411-4, their second successive score of more than 400.

Chasing a highly-improbable 412 to win, Ireland have lost five wickets cheaply, with three for Kyle Abbott and two for Dale Steyn.

Image source, Getty Images