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• Brathwaite grateful for maiden century, despite crushing loss for Windies

  Windies all-rounder Carlos Brathwaite admitted he was grateful for a maiden One Day International (ODI) century, despite a gut-wrenching loss against New Zealand on Saturday.

  A controversial selection ahead of the ICC World Cup, Brathwaite had struggled to make any real impression at the tournament.  In three prior matches, his best scores were 16 against Australia and 14 against England.  He was dropped for Bangladesh and possibly only selected for New Zealand because of the injury to Andre Russell.

  His sensational knock against New Zealand, however, resembled the player who promised so much after taking the West Indies over the line against England at the 2016 T20 World Cup.  With the Windies on the ropes, Brathwaite finally showed up and earned plenty of plaudits despite his efforts falling just short.

  "It is a cliché to say that it doesn't matter if you don't win, but for me personally, for my confidence, it is a result of all the hard work that I put in," Brathwaite told Espncricinfo.

  "It is finally good that it has come to fruition. I continue to work hard. Obviously heartbreaking to not get over the line but I give thanks for the performance and being able to get the team in the position that I was able to,” he added.

• South Africa suffering confidence crisis - Du Plessis

  Faf du Plessis believes South Africa have failed to do themselves justice at the Cricket World Cup, after a 49-run defeat to Pakistan extinguished their semi-final hopes.

  Defeats to England, Bangladesh, India and New Zealand had left South Africa needing a victory at Lord's on Sunday to stand any chance of securing progression to the last four.

  But they never looked likely to threaten Pakistan's haul of 308-7, and the Proteas ultimately finished on 259-9.

  Without the injured Dale Steyn, South Africa have failed to impress, and captain Du Plessis suggested a crisis in confidence is the reason for their meek displays.

  "We're not playing well, not playing good cricket," Du Plessis, who scored 63, said at the post-match presentation.

  "We're not doing ourselves justice as a team, with the skill that's in that dressing room.

  "We started poorly with the ball and gave them a good start. And once again we made the same mistakes with the bat, guys getting in and then getting out.

  "We need to have a good start but we haven't had that. We're losing a wicket early almost all of the time. That's been the nature through the tournament, the timing of the wickets.

  "We're struggling with confidence, especially in our batting line-up. Confidence in sport is an amazing thing.

  "When you're playing well, the ball just falls more for you. Our confidence is low after a few games and everything becomes a little bit more challenging, especially playing against a quality team like Pakistan."

  One player who has impressed for South Africa is Imran Tahir, who became the Proteas' leading wicket-taker in World Cup history when he sent Iman-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman back to the pavilion.

  "He has been amazing," Du Plessis said of Tahir. "He has been exceptional throughout this tournament, he's played with a lot of heart and he's led our bowling attack.

  "He has been consistent in every game. But there hasn't been enough guys standing up like him and that's why we find ourselves in this position."

  While South Africa will be heading home once the group stage is complete, Pakistan – who have games against New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to come – have a glimmer of hope of making the semi-finals, though captain Sarfraz Ahmed concedes his side, who dropped several catches during the Proteas' innings, must improve in the field.

  "We have to work hard on our fielding," Sarfraz said. "Again we dropped so many catches today, so we have to sort these things out to win against top teams."

• World Cup hopes all over for South Africa after heavy Lord's defeat to Pakistan

  South Africa were put out of their Cricket World Cup misery at Lord's, where the team's shortcomings at this tournament were exposed by Pakistan.

  Pakistan may soon follow Sunday's opponents out of semi-final contention yet they eased to a 49-run victory, their 308-7 never under threat. South Africa finished on 259-9.

  Defeats to England, Bangladesh, India and New Zealand put South Africa in a perilous position before this game. They have fixtures against Sri Lanka and Australia to come, but surely cannot get home soon enough now mathematical hopes of advancing from the group stage are over.

  The South Africans edged Pakistan 3-2 in a home ODI series in January but their bowling - without the injured Dale Steyn - has failed to impress at the World Cup.

  Pakistan chose to bat and openers Imam-ul-Haq and Fakhar Zaman both made 44 before falling to Imran Tahir, who in the process became South Africa's leading wicket-taker in World Cup history. His 39 victims nudge Tahir ahead of Allan Donald.

  Babar Azam scored 69 before Haris Sohail pummelled 89 from 59 balls, falling to the penultimate delivery of the innings when he slogged at Lungi Ngidi.

  In reply, South Africa lost Hashim Amla to a duck at the start of the second over, Mohammad Amir given the lbw verdict after Pakistan went to a review.

  And although Quinton de Kock and captain Faf du Plessis put on 87 for the second wicket, it was often slow going. De Kock went for 47 and Du Plessis for 63.

  The scoreboard kept ticking over, the run rate kept climbing. South Africa were never at the races, typical of them in this ill-fated campaign.

  
  PAKISTAN MUST KEEP BELIEVING

  With matches against New Zealand, Afghanistan and Bangladesh to come, Pakistan could still squeeze into the semi-finals. Their batting performance was solid enough in this match, albeit against a largely impotent attack, and if Amir can put the brakes on Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and Co. at Edgbaston on Wednesday, then New Zealand's unbeaten start could be under threat. They have a glimmer of hope now.

  PROTEAS PAIN

  Questions will be asked about where it all went wrong for South Africa. Dale Steyn's absence was a major blow to their hopes, but they began the tournament badly and lacked the guile to set the team back on a sure course. Will Du Plessis stay on as skipper? That is sure to come in for scrutiny, with Aiden Markram having been tipped in some quarters as a suitable replacement despite his struggles with the bat. The inquest can begin now.