The man who kept Dippenaar company for the best part of his innings was opener Graeme Smith. Brought into the side in place of Lance Klusener, who was rested, Smith, after a watchful beginning, went on to make 63 off 79 balls, a knock that included six fours. The efforts of Smith and Dippenaar provided South Africa the platform from which they were able to launch their attack towards the end. In the last three overs, Shaun Pollock, Andrew Hall and Makhaya Ntini waded into the Canadian bowling, plundering 46 runs and propelling South Africa to a daunting 254/9.