MATCH ABANDONED

What a shame. 45 balls is all we could see today. It’s a point each for both sides and South Africa are in danger of missing out on a spot in the semi-finals. On the bright side, they have earned their first point. Forecast at Bristol isn’t looking good either.

8.13 pm: It has started to rain again, just when the outfield was drying up. No luck for the players. Our wait continues.

8:02 pm: Some good news. The rain has stopped but the pitch is still covered. The umpires have had a look at the outfield as well. For the time being, some of the umbrellas at the stadium have been kept aside.

7:52 pm: The covers are slowly coming off. The players need some help from the skies. Still no word on the number of overs lost.

7.46 pm: The ground staff were excellent and the umpires came out for an inspection. The outfield looks a little dry. These are encouraging signs.

7.30 pm: Briefly, just briefly, the covers had come off but it starts to drizzle again and the pitch is covered again. The umbrellas are out too. There was an inspection that was scheduled for 7.45 IST. Looks like that is ruled out then. Follow our coverage for more updates.

6:40 pm: The rain has stopped but it looks gloomy at the moment. The groundsmen are draining out the water from the outfield.

6:05 pm: The intensity has reduced but it still continues to hurl down from the skies. The wait continues.

5:30 pm: As you can see in our cover photo, it’s not looking good at the Rose Bowl. The umbrellas are still out and the pitch is covered. The lights are on and there is a heavy drizzle.

5:20 pm: Still no updates from from the ground. The agonising wait continues. The man of the moment is Yuvraj Singh, who just called time on his international career. What is your favourite Yuvraj moment? Write to us at the thefield@scroll.in.

4:55 pm: It’s still raining heavily at Southampton. South Africa were 29/2 in 7.3 Overs when the players walked off the field. Still no update from the ground and the long wait continues. The pitch and the outfield is covered with sheets at the moment.

4.30 pm: ‘One of the greatest match-winners’ - Twitter pays tribute to Yuvraj Singh as he announces retirement

4.11 pm: Meanwhile, there is no good news yet from Southampton. We have live telecast back in the studios but no news yet officially. One can see still covers in the background, and not just on the pitch. Looks very gloomy.

4.03 pm: As we are forced to take a break from the cricket, here’s something to read on the brilliant Rafa Nadal. Can the King get any better on clay? Zenia D’Cunha has more here.

3.55 pm: Here’s some reading for you on *THAT* Virat Kohli gesture at The Oval.

3.44 pm: Play stopped after 7.3 overs due to light drizzle. If the rain is persistent, we might be in for a long delay says Isa Guha on air. Stay tuned for updates.

After 7.3 overs, South Africa 29/2: (du Plessis 0, d Kock 16) - rain stops play

It’s light rain but the umpires deem its enough to take the players off the pitch. Going to be that sort of the day, isn’t it?

After 7 overs, South Africa 28/2: (du Plessis 0, d Kock 16)

It’s a wicket maiden for Cottrell. West Indies are on fire and there are no freebies on offer for the South Africans. The Proteas are under pressure yet again. None more than captain du Plessis.

Time for more heat from the Winidies, as Oshane Thomas comes on.

After 6.1 overs, South Africa 28/2 - MARKRAM GONE!

WICKET! And Cottrell salutes once again! Markram gloves one to Shai Hope down the leg side. More brilliant use of the short ball by West Indies in this tournament. SA in trouble once again...

After 6 overs, South Africa 28/1: (de Kock 16, Markram 5)

Good few overs for SA since the Amla dismissal, they have done well to not lose two in quick succession. Three singles in that Roach over.

After 5 overs, South Africa 25/1: (de Kock 14, Markram 4)

QdK starts the Cottrell over with a pull shot for a double and then the bowler comes back with a ripping bouncer! QdK plays all over it and has a bemused look on his face as the ball lands just outside the pitch. QdK then plays an elegant cut shot but just for a couple, thanks to a superb fielding effort by Roach. He finishes the over with a cut in front of point, that goes for four. QdK needed that.

After 4 overs, South Africa 17/1: (de Kock 6, Markram 4)

The new man in Markram finishes the over with a superb off drive for four. His first boundary. Overpitched by Roach, Markram eases into the drive. Good forward stride there and well-timed.

After 3 overs, South Africa 11/1: AMLA GONE!

WICKET! There’s the SALUTE. Sheldon Cottrell has struck in his second over. Amla edges the ball to Gayle at wide first slip. Early blow for South Africa... the ball landed on a good length and then bounces more than it did in the first over. That catches Amla by surprise. Gayle fumbles a bit but holds on and celebrates as if he has taken a five-for but holding the ball up.

After 2 overs, South Africa 4/0: (de Kock 2, Amla 2)

Roach has the umpire raising his finger off the first ball. But QdK reviews the decision right away and the batsman is right. There was no edge. Another poor decision from an on-field umpire at this World Cup. That was not even close to the bat. Great first over from Roach though, troubling both the openers. The ball coming back in has trouble Amla, and Roach managed that in that over. Meanwhile, the lights are on at Hampshire Bowl.

3.05 pm: Kemar Roach for the first time in this World Cup.

After 1 over, South Africa 3/0: (de Kock 1, Amla 2)

Not much carry on the pitch just yet. Cottrell starts off with four dot balls, keeping his length full for QdK. A single down to square leg gets QdK off the mark. Amla gets going with a two off the last ball.

3.00 pm: Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock are out in the middle. Amla, especially, will play a crucial role in these conditions. If he can find his touch, Proteas will believe. Cottrell has the ball in his hand. No Dre Russ today, in case you missed the team news. Here we go.

2.56 pm: The National Anthems are done. It’s very overcast and chilly in Southampton. A serious test awaits the South Africa batsmen.

2.49 pm: What must the West Indies do to bounce back from their defeat against Australia (a match they should have really won)? Clive Lloyd writes about that here.

2.46 pm: Not quite 360: ABD’s latest retirement U-turn threatens to tarnish his much-celebrated legacy

One of the stories that has taken over the discussion around South Africa at the world Cup has been about the man who has won many a match single-handedly against the Windies. Read more here.

2.42 pm:

West Indies: Jason Holder(Captain), Shai Hope(Wicketkeeper), Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Darren Bravo, Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach.

South Africa: Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock (wk), Faf du Plessis (c), Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, David Miller, Andile Phehlukwayo, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, Imran Tahir, Beuran Hendricks

2.37 pm: More news from the toss...no #DreRuss!

The conditions are overcast and there is possibility of rain later in the day. Faf du Plessis wanted to bowl first too, of course. NO ANDRE RUSSELL For the West Indians today. Kemar Roach and Darren Bravo are back. South Africa, Aiden Markram and Beuran Hendricks are the changes from the previous match.

2.33 pm: Jason Holder has won the toss and West Indies will field first.

2.27 pm: There was some big news for Indian cricket fans earlier. Thank you, Yuvraj Singh for all the entertainment.

2.15 pm: Hello all and welcome to the live blog of the World Cup match between South Africa and West Indies at The Hampshire Bowl. Both teams are coming into the match after defeats in their previous games, both teams know this is a must-win encounter (more so for the Proteas) for their qualification hopes.

Kagiso Rabada believes South Africa must put their off-field problems to one side as they look to revive their World Cup campaign against the West Indies at Southampton on Monday.

A tough opening week in the round-robin group phase has left the Proteas with little margin for error after three straight defeats by England, Bangladesh and India left their semi-final hopes hanging by a thread.

South Africa also saw senior fast bowler Dale Steyn ruled out of the World Cup through injury without bowling a ball.

Meanwhile, a row has broken out over whether South Africa’s selectors were right to reject star AB de Villiers’s offer to come out of international retirement for the World Cup, with some arguing the star batsman had simply left it too late to make himself available.

“There’s just been a lot happening off the field and we are just looking to clear that out of our heads,” said Rabada, the leader of the Proteas’ attack in Steyn’s absence.

“But it has been enjoyable,” added Rabada, whose fellow quick Lungi Ngidi is an injury doubt for Monday’s match.

“It’s exciting. This is what you want. It has been enjoyable but it has come with its challenges in terms of our team.”

For his part, two-time trophy-winning captain Clive Lloyd had some strong advice for his compatriots:

The players have to realise that this is not Twenty20. The batsmen need to turn those scores of 30 and 40 into bigger scores and they must be aware that all these teams have world class bowlers at their disposal. I was very impressed with their fielding and the catching was very good. Sheldon Cottrell’s catch, in particular, was outstanding and has to be up there in the Top 10 with the Ben Stokes catch.

(With AFP inputs)