IN THE RUNS

How teammate inspired 'sick' AB

in Brisbane PROTEAS skipper AB de Villiers drew inspiration from World Cup rookie Riley Rossouw during his blistering heroics against the West Indies at the Sydney Cricket ground on Friday.

De Villiers revealed that it was Rossouw’s positive play that helped him shrug off the effect of a bout of gastro.

“I didn’t feel too good when I was walking out to bat, really flat, and he had a lot of energy about him, a lot of intensity,” said De Villiers.

“He was getting into really good positions and making the pitch look flat out there, which wasn’t the case the previous 10 to 15 overs.”

This was a game South Africa just had to win — and win big after their disastrous outing against India last Sunday.

So, for all the talking SA did after their anaemic performance against India in Melbourne, it was what they would

CAPTAIN OF INDUSTRY: New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum on his way to a swashbuckling 21-ball 50 at the top of the innings NEW Zealand captain Brendon McCullum hailed the perfect finish to his side’s thrilling one-wicket World Cup win over Australia in Auckland yesterday, saying the game had finished so early a capacity crowd would have plenty of time for a drink.

The Black Caps, making a mockery of prematch predictions of a high-scoring encounter at the compact Eden Park ground, dismissed Australia for just 151, with left-arm paceman Trent Boult taking a career-best five for 27.

New Zealand were well on course for victory at 131 for four, featuring a typically dashing fifty from opener McCullum, before Mitchell Starc, like Boult a left-arm seamer, sparked a dramatic collapse that reduced the home side to 146 for nine as he returned a career best 6/28.

That SA could go from woeful to wonderful was due in no small part to De Villiers’ genius