Standard Bank International One-Day Series, 1997-98

South Africa deservedly won another limited-overs tournament, having dominated it from start to finish. They were undoubtedly the best all-round side, fielding superbly, bowling magnificently and batting sensibly to outplay Pakistan and World Cup holders Sri Lanka. Though they started the competition without their first-choice attack of Shaun Pollock, who was injured, and Allan Donald, attending the birth of his second child, understudies Roger Telemachus and Lance Klusener were more than adequate to their task, collecting 23 wickets between them, while Jacques Kallis and Jonty Rhodes both topped 200 runs.

Their only defeat was at the hands of Sri Lanka, who recovered from a disastrous start - three straight defeats - to fall just short of winning a place in the final. Arjuna Ranatunga and Marvan Atapattu played some excellent innings, though Sanath Jayasuriya and Aravinda de Silva failed to strike form. Muttiah Muralitharan took 14 wickets, second only to Wasim Akram, with 15, who played a key role in Pakistan's two victories over Sri Lanka. Pakistan were weakened by the loss of several players to injury during their recent visit to Zimbabwe. But thanks to Wasim and occasional flashes of brilliance from the batsmen, they outplayed Sri Lanka long enough to reach the final - only to collapse when they got there.

Note: Matches in this section were not first-class.

Match reports for

1st Match: South Africa v Pakistan at Durban, Apr 3, 1998
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2nd Match: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Johannesburg, Apr 5, 1998
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3rd Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Kimberley, Apr 7, 1998
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4th Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Paarl, Apr 9, 1998
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5th Match: South Africa v Pakistan at East London, Apr 11, 1998
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6th Match: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Gqeberha, Apr 13, 1998
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7th Match: Pakistan v Sri Lanka at Benoni, Apr 15, 1998
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8th Match: South Africa v Pakistan at Centurion, Apr 17, 1998
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9th Match: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Bloemfontein, Apr 19, 1998
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Final: South Africa v Pakistan at Cape Town, Apr 23, 1998
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