Key players gave the impression of being well past their sell-by date, most notably the likes of Allan Donald and Lance Klusener who looked geriatric.

You can add Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis to that list as well.

Herschelle Gibbs batted superbly and Makhaya Ntini bowled with some real nip, but those plus points were outnumbered by the negatives.

You've got to put their creaking performance down to the pressure of playing at home in a sports mad country, and unfortunately meeting the likes of Nelson Mandela only added to that pressure.

It's a huge shame for the tournament because South Africa as a country really embraced this World Cup and worked hard.