The rain that came and washed out the match between South Africa and the West Indies last night, condemning the result to an unsatisfactory draw when it looked as though a terrific contest was at hand, possibly benefitted South Africa more than their opponents despite it now looking as though their chances of making the finals stage are all but over.
Rain was always a chance of having a big say in this World Cup given the country it is being played in, and it will be a curse to some and a benefit to others. South Africa has had a difficult start to their campaign, while the West Indies has found plenty of positives in their first two matches. Given that the former was 2/29 off 7.3 overs to the latter when the rain came and persisted for the rest of the day, there is every chance South Africa will be pleased to have finished the day with one point and not zero.
Having changed their team to accommodate more batting with Aiden Markram and an extra paceman in Hendricks, and knowing a loss would mean the end for them, losing those two early wickets was a worrying sign. The Windies looked on top and despite the absence of Andre Russell would have been confident in closing out their good early start. The rain means both take a point from the game.
For South Africa it probably won't help them. They will still logically need to win all of their remaining five matches to even be a chance of making the semi finals and with matches still to come against New Zealand and Australia that will prove a difficult proposition. For the Windies, a point doesn't do them too much harm at this stage, and with their next engagement against England likely to be just as exciting. They still have their semi final fate in their hands, while South Africa must now not only win every game but hope other results fall their way. Given their luck at previous World Cups this appears like a very unlikely proposition.
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