Cricket:A ninth-wicket partnership of 85 between Andrew Hall and Robin Peterson carried South Africa to a respectable 192 in their World Cup warm-up match against Ireland in Trinidad.
South Africa had been struggling on 91 for eight midway through their innings before Hall (67 not out) and Peterson (29) lifted their team out of trouble at the Sir Frank Worrell Memorial Ground in St Augustine.
Hall came to the wicket with the score on 66 for seven and shared a partnership of 25 with Mark Boucher for the eighth wicket.
When Boucher fell at 91 with 25 overs remaining, the top-ranked team in the world were in danger of being bowled out for less than 100 by a team preparing for their World Cup debut.
But Hall and Peterson batted sensibly to lift their team to respectability.
The early part of the South African innings was undermined by some superb bowling from Irish skipper Trent Johnston and Dave Langford-Smith.
Johnston took four for 40 from his 10 overs but it was Langford-Smith, who removed the first three batsmen in an eight-over spell that cost 30 runs, who put South Africa in trouble.
After Graeme Smith won the toss and opted to bat on a wicket that held no real terrors, Langford-Smith removed Smith, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis cheaply to leave South Africa struggling at 42 for three.
The 6ft 1in Langford-Smith removed the South African captain in his second over with a delivery that left him and took the outside edge on the way to wicket-keeper Niall O'Brien.
Langford-Smith struck again in his fourth over when he bowled De Villiers and followed up with a clever slower delivery to account for Kallis.
Herschelle Gibbs (21) brought up the South Africa half-century with a superb drive through the covers and repeated the shot in Johnston's first over. But the Irish captain had his revenge in the next over when Gibbs drove loosely outside the off stump and was bowled with the score on 57 in the 14th over.
Johnston then bowled Ashwell Prince, had Shaun Pollock caught at the wicket and bowled Loots Bosman as South Africa plunged to 66 for seven. Boucher made 14 before John Mooney, who replaced Johnston, had him caught in the covers by Kevin O'Brien with the final ball of the 25th over.
With possible embarrassment facing their team, Hall and Petersen applied themselves in a 133-ball stand before Peterson's 66-ball innings — in which he struck one boundary — ended as he swung wildly and was bowled attempting to step up the pace.
Botha then removed to Telemachus to finish the innings and end with two for 24 from nine overs.