JOHANNESBURG, Feb 15: New Zealand will be playing for survival when they take on South Africa in their World Cup Group ‘B’ match at the Wanderers here on Sunday.

Defeat would almost certainly mean elimination for the Kiwis, who have already lost against Sri Lanka, unless they change their minds about playing a match against Kenya in Nairobi on Feb 21.

It’s a crucial game, too, for South Africa, who also have lost a match, against the West Indies.

A win would keep alive the hosts’ hopes of finishing top of the pool, following the West Indies’ defeat against New Zealand on Thursday, while defeat would mean they would have to beat Sri Lanka in Durban on March 3 to make sure of qualifying for the Super Six stage.

There is a third possibility — that rain could prevent a result. There is a 40 percent chance of thundershowers on Sunday.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said after the West Indies match that it had been a relief to achieve the first victory in 14 matches in South Africa, going back to the 1994-95 season.

He said the players had felt a lot of pressure.

“Anxiety levels were high,” he said.

Fleming said that although his team lost five matches out of six against South Africa in a triangular series in Australia last season, following a 5-0 series loss in South Africa in 2000-01, they were confident of putting up a good performance.

“We’ve got a lot of information on South Africa, but it’s going to come down to competing for long periods of time,” he said.

South Africa’s preparations were disrupted by a broken hand which put star fielder and middle order batsman Jonty Rhodes out of the tournament.

There is also concern over the form of veteran fast bowler Allan Donald, who with Rhodes was the only man to have played in all of South Africa’s four World Cup campaigns.

Donald is likely to be recalled on Sunday after being dropped for Wednesday’s match against Kenya in Potchefstroom but the loss of Rhodes will mean a reshuffled batting order.

Graeme Smith, who replaced Rhodes, is likely to open the batting with Herschelle Gibbs, which will mean Gary Kirsten dropping to number three, with Boeta Dippenaar moving from three to fill Rhodes’ position at five.

Gibbs will move into Rhodes’ fielding position at backward point.

“Herschelle is a supreme fielder in his own right,” said Rhodes.

“He has been fielding in that position in the Test team for the past two years.”

Gibbs is not as not as vocal as Rhodes, whose constant encouragement of his teammates has been a big factor for South Africa.

Rhodes said the cajoling role would probably fall to Smith.

“He’s got a big voice,” said Rhodes. Smith is likely to field at slip in the early overs before moving to the outfield.”

Likely teams:

South Africa: Shaun Pollock (captain), Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten, Jacques Kallis, Boeta Dippenaar, Mark Boucher, Lance Klusener, Nicky Boje, Allan Donald, Makhaya Ntini.

New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Nathan Astle, Scott Styris, Chris Cairns, Lou Vincent, Chris Harris, Brendon McCullum, Andre Adams, Daniel Vettori, Jacob Oram, Shane Bond.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Peter Willey (England).

TV umpire: Daryl Harper (Australia).

Match referee: Wasim Raja (Pakistan).—AFP