William Porterfield in action.
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Canberra: Ireland captain William Porterfield vowed to bounce back at the World Cup after his team crashed to a morale-sapping 201-run defeat by mighty South Africa at the Manuka Oval in Canberra.
Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis hit centuries as the Proteas piled up a massive 411 for four after taking first strike and then bundled Ireland out for 210 with five overs to spare.
It was Ireland's first defeat in three matches in Pool B following wins over the West Indies and the United Arab Emirates. India and South Africa lead the table with six points each.
South Africa's total was the second highest total in World Cup history, just two runs behind India's record 413 for five against Bermuda in 2007. (Amla Fastest to 20 ODI Tons)
It was also the second successive 400-plus total for the Proteas in the current tournament, following their 408 for five against the West Indies in Sydney last week in which skipper AB de Villiers hammered 162 off 66 balls.
Porterfield rued the missed chance off Amla when the batsman was on 10 as Ed Joyce spilled a catch at short mid-wicket off Kevin O'Brien after getting both hands to the ball.
"Yeah, obviously that was a big chance," he said. "We had a chance to take Hashim there and he obviously made us pay. He's a fantastic player and we were not going to get too many chances off him, especially on such a good wicket."
The Irish captain said he would not be surprised at South Africa's big totals in the tournament and warned future rivals of what lay in store for them.
"They're playing very well," he said. "They set up a bit of a platform and Hashim at the top is a massive player for them. To knock him back you're going to have to take wickets because the middle order can come in and strike it pretty quickly." (Elton Chigumbura Out of Ireland Clash)
Porterfield urged his team to focus now on the next game against Zimbabwe in Hobart on Saturday.
"You've got to put it behind you pretty quickly," he said. "The tournament's back-end fixtures come pretty quickly.
"Every game is a two-pointer for us and Hobart is no different. We've got to take what we can from this game (against South Africa) and move forward.
"Two points are up for grabs and they are a pretty big two points for us."
"We're going to prepare for Hobart as we do for every other game. And do everything we need to do to improve and keep doing the good things we're doing well."
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