CANBERRA — South Africa's impressive depth was underlined in their emphatic World Cup win over West Indies Friday and with paceman Vernon Philander and JP Duminy out injured, the Proteas will again rely on their “bench” to shine against Ireland. Captain AB de Villiers may have grabbed the headlines with his sparkling 162 off 66 balls against the Caribbean side but South Africa's reserves gave the team a big boost after their confidence was rocked by the 130-run thrashing by India. Rookie batsman Rilee Roussow scored 61 off 39 balls after replacing Duminy in the middle order, while Kyle Abbott, in for seamer Philander, took two wickets, including the prized scalp of West Indies talisman Chris Gayle for three runs. All-rounder Farhaan Behardien said building a strong bench had been an “emphasis” for South Africa for some six months leading into the World Cup. “We played against the West Indies in South Africa, and... our bench was so strong,” Behardien told reporters at Canberra's Manuka Oval, where they play Ireland Tuesday. “Rilee, what a wonderful player. He came in and scored two hundreds in South Africa against the West Indies when he was on the bench. “(All-rounder Wayne) Parnell was on the bench against West Indies, picked up four wickets in the last ODI, and similarly (left-arm spinner) Aaron Phangiso is waiting in the wings, and when he steps up to the plate, he'll be asked to do a job. “The squad of 15 is vitally important to our cause, and going forward, you never know there might be an injury or somebody might pick up a stomach bug or whatever. The emphasis is on the 15 instead of 11.” Two players, paceman Dale Steyn and batsman Faf du Plessis, have been worried about events back home however, tweeting pictures of a bush-fire near family homes south of Cape Town. Family members have traveled with the South Africa camp to Canberra and Behardien said a good support structure was in place to help Du Plessis and Steyn, who will play his 100th One-Day International against Ireland. “We'll try and celebrate his 100th game with a win and we'll be fighting tooth and nail come tomorrow.” Ireland captain William Porterfield is confident his team will not be overawed by the mighty South Africans, saying they had made good plans to contain the favorite. The Proteas, who have won all their three one-dayers against the Irish so far, are overwhelming favorite to win the encounter. Ireland's hopes will rest largely on how it keeps the rival batsmen quiet, especially de Villiers, who smashed an audacious 162 off 66 balls against the West Indies in Sydney last week. Porterfield admitted it will be a challenge to bowl to the South African captain and other batsmen like Hashim Amla and du Plessis, but added the task to contain them was not impossible. “You can sit all day and talk about him and different theories and plans and whatever, but you've got to stick with your best ball and how you go about things,” he said. “The bowlers have got to back themselves and back the field that's been set. We have individual plans for each of their batters, and hopefully we'll see the back of them early.” Ireland has won both matches so far in the tournament, chasing down the West Indies' 304-7 with four wickets and 25 balls to spare before edging past the United Arab Emirates in a final-over thriller. If other results go its way, even one win from its four remaining games against South Africa, India, Pakistan and Zimbabwe could see Ireland qualify for the quarterfinals. Porterfield said his team will take the confidence of those two wins into Tuesday's game. “South Africa are a great side and we have to be on the money again,” he said. “We're taking each game as it comes and it's not going to be any different for tomorrow's game. Porterfield said he was not surprised by the support the associate nations like his have got after the International Cricket Council announced tentative plans to reduce the next World Cup from 14 to 10 teams. “I think it was always going to be a talking point coming into this tournament,” the captain said. “You've got to grow the game and I don't see why it (the World Cup) has to be cut down. “We are improving, every nation out here is improving. We've just got to go out there and play well to make a statement.” — Agencies
