England get an Irish pointer for crunch match

"In what has already proved a bizarre tournament the real possibility exists that by tonight England, having played consistently poor cricket since they arrived in the Caribbean, will have secured a place in the semi-finals of the World Cup," writes Mike Selvey in The Guardian. "To do so they have to beat South Africa, a team that veers from sublime to ridiculous on a match-by-match basis, on the paciest pitch in the competition."

"When Fred [Flintoff] is on form, just about anything is possible. When he isn't England are insipid. With England's vital match against South Africa on the horizon this observation may pile the pressure on Flintoff's once broad shoulders, but it's the stark reality," says Vic Marks in The Guardian.

In the The Independent, Angus Fraser writes that "England are dangerous, as they proved in Australia during the Commonwealth Bank Series when they produced a remarkable victory, but they will struggle to live with the South Africans at their best. In Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and Paul Collingwood, England possess potential match-winners, but Smith's side have twice as many."