# South Africa at the 1998 Commonwealth Games

South Africa competed at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from 11 to 21 September 1998. It was South Africa's 8th appearance at the Commonwealth Games.

## Medalists

The following South African competitors won medals at the games. In the discipline sections below, the medalists' names are bolded.
| Medal | Name | Sport | Event |
| Gold | Riaan Botha | Athletics | Men's pole vault |
| Gold | Burger Lambrechts | Athletics | Men's shot put |
| Gold | Marius Corbett | Athletics | Men's javelin throw |
| Gold | Hestrie Storbeck | Athletics | Women's high jump |
| Gold | South Africa men's national cricket teamShaun PollockPaul AdamsDale BenkensteinNicky BojeMark BoucherDerek CrookesAlan DawsonSteve ElworthyHerschelle GibbsAndrew HudsonJacques KallisMakhaya NtiniMichael RindelHenry Williams | Cricket | Men's tournament |
| Gold | Simon Hutcheon | Gymnastics | Men's vault |
| Gold | Lesley Hartwell | Lawn bowls | Women's singles |
| Gold | Hester Bekker Loraine Victor Lorna Trigwell Trish Steyn | Lawn bowls | Women's fours |
| Gold | Gavin van Rhyn Michael Thiele | Shooting | Men's 50 metre rifle prone pairs |
| Silver | Hezekiél Sepeng | Athletics | Men's 800 metres |
| Silver | Frantz Kruger | Athletics | Men's discus throw |
| Silver | Elmarie Gerryts | Athletics | Women's pole vault |
| Silver | Christian Brezeanu | Gymnastics | Men's floor |
| Silver | Christian Brezeanu | Gymnastics | Men's vault |
| Silver | Allan McDonald | Shooting | Men's 25 metre centre-fire pistol individual |
| Silver | Francois Van Tonder | Shooting | Men's 50 metre pistol individual |
| Silver | Allan McDonald | Shooting | Men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol individual |
| Silver | Val Martin Donna Potgieter | Shooting | Women's 50 metre rifle three positions pairs |
| Silver | Brendon Dedekind | Swimming | Men's 50 metre freestyle |
| Silver | Ryk Neethling | Swimming | Men's 1500 metre freestyle |
| Bronze | Johan Botha | Athletics | Men's 800 metres |
| Bronze | Shaun Bownes | Athletics | Men's 110 metres hurdles |
| Bronze | Chris Harmse | Athletics | Men's hammer throw |
| Bronze | Veronica Abrahamse | Athletics | Women's shot put |
| Bronze | Phumzile Matyhila | Boxing | Flyweight |
| Bronze | David George | Cycling | Men's road time trial |
| Bronze | Athol Myhill | Gymnastics | Men's rings |
| Bronze | Gerald Baker | Lawn bowls | Men's singles |
| Bronze | Theuns Fraser Rudi Jacobs | Lawn bowls | Men's pairs |
| Bronze | Bruce Makkink Mike Redshaw Neil Burkett Robert Rayfield | Lawn bowls | Men's fours |
| Bronze | Allan McDonald André van Emmenis | Shooting | Men's 25 metre rapid fire pistol pairs |
| Bronze | Gavin van Rhyn André van Emmenis | Shooting | Men's 50 metre rifle prone individual |
| Bronze | Natalie Grainger Claire Nitch | Squash | Women's doubles |
| Bronze | Rodney Durbach Natalie Grainger | Squash | Mixed doubles |

## Cricket

South Africa named the below squad for the tournament.

### Roster

* Shaun Pollock (c)
* Paul Adams
* Adam Bacher
* Dale Benkenstein
* Nicky Boje
* Mark Boucher (wk)
* Derek Crookes
* Alan Dawson
* Steve Elworthy
* Herschelle Gibbs
* Andrew Hudson
* Jacques Kallis
* Lance Klusener
* Makhaya Ntini
* Michael Rindel
* Henry Williams
Lance Klusener withdrew from the South African squad after sustaining an ankle injury during the third Test of South Africa's tour of England in July. Adam Bacher was also unavailable for the Games, suffering an injury to his shoulder. They were replaced by Alan Dawson and Andrew Hudson, respectively.

### Summary

| Team | Event | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Group stage | Semifinal | Final / BM | Final / BM |
| Team | Event | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank | Opposition Result | Opposition Result | Rank |
| South Africa men | Men's tournament | Northern Ireland W by 4 wickets (D/L) | Bangladesh W by 5 wickets | Barbados W by 4 wickets | 1 Q | Sri Lanka W by 1 wicket | Australia W by 4 wickets | |

### Group stage

Group C :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | South Africa | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1.143 |
| 2 | Barbados | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1.330 |
| 3 | Northern Ireland | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −0.643 |
| 4 | Bangladesh | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1.547 |
* 10 September 1998 10:00 Scorecard
| Northern Ireland 89/5 (38.1 overs) | v | South Africa 133/6 (31.4 overs) |
| Neil Carson 22* (54) Jacques Kallis 1/3 (4 overs) | | Dale Benkenstein 44* (64) Ryan Eagleson 3/28 (7.4 overs) |
* South Africa won by 4 wickets (D/L method) Kelab Aman, Kuala Lumpur Umpires: Eddie Nicholls (Guy) and Subhash Modi (Ken)
* South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
* Rain halted play after 38.1 overs in the Northern Ireland innings. South Africa's target was 131 runs from 38 overs.
* Neil Carson (NI) made his List A debut.
* Paul McCrum (NI) played his final List A match.
* Points: South Africa 2, Northern Ireland 0.
* 13 September 1998 10:00 Scorecard
| Bangladesh 79 (38.4 overs) | v | South Africa 80/5 (24.3 overs) |
| Faruque Ahmed 20 (48) Jacques Kallis 3/13 (7 overs) | | Herschelle Gibbs 26* (51) Mohammad Rafique 2/16 (7.3 overs) |
* South Africa won by 5 wickets Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor Sports Complex, Petaling Jaya Umpires: Eddie Nicholls (Guy) and Subhash Modi (Ken)
* South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
* Points: South Africa 2, Bangladesh 0.
* Bangladesh were eliminated as a result of this match.
* 15 September 1998 10:00 Scorecard
| Barbados 254/6 (50 overs) | v | South Africa 257/6 (48.2 overs) |
| Philo Wallace 74 (73) Alan Dawson 2/47 (8 overs) | | Jacques Kallis 71 (96) Ottis Gibson 3/38 (9 overs) |
* South Africa won by 4 wickets Kelab Aman, Kuala Lumpur Umpires: K. T. Francis (SL) and V. K. Ramaswamy (Ind)
* Barbados won the toss and elected to bat.
* Points: South Africa 2, Barbados 0.
* South Africa qualified for the semi-finals and Barbados were eliminated as a result of this match.

### Semi-final

* 16 September 1998 10:00 Scorecard
| Sri Lanka 130 (44 overs) | v | South Africa 131/9 (47 overs) |
| Avishka Gunawardene 53 (87) Nicky Boje 4/16 (9 overs) | | Michael Rindel 25 (28) Thilan Samaraweera 2/13 (10 overs) |
* South Africa won by 1 wicket Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor Sports Complex, Petaling Jaya Umpires: Darrell Hair (Aus) and Russell Tiffin (Zim)
* South Africa won the toss and elected to field.

### Gold medal match

* 19 September 1998 10:00 Scorecard
| Australia 183 (49.3 overs) | v | South Africa 184/6 (46 overs) |
| Steve Waugh 90* (109) Shaun Pollock 4/19 (9 overs) | | Michael Rindel 67 (106) Darren Lehmann 3/14 (4 overs) |
* South Africa won by 4 wickets Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor Sports Complex, Petaling Jaya Umpires: K. T. Francis (SL) and Steve Bucknor (Jam)
* South Africa won the toss and elected to field.
* The crowd of 7,532 was the largest recorded crowd for a cricket match in Malaysia.
* This marked the first championship for South Africa at an ICC global event or a global multi-sport event. However, the matches did not have ODI status.