The South African is the best fielder in the world. Pakistan's Inzamam is one of the most lethargic runners between the wickets ever seen. His calling is so bad that people cheer him for it.

On the face of it, it should be a no contest.

The two met in the 1992 World Cup and, predictably, Rhodes ran his opponent out. The tortoise of the fable, however, made up for his lack of speed with cunning.

Inzamam is not so stupid either. True, he often gets caught in dreadful mix-ups with his batting partners which inevitably lead to a wicket falling. But it is rarely Inzamam who has to head back to the pavilion. Normally, he simply refuses to budge from his crease while his team-mates hurtle towards oblivion.

And in between the run-outs, he cracks enough boundaries to keep his captain happy. Wasim Akram won't hear of criticism. "He is a great batsman and in great form," he says. "We can'task more from him, except he should continue batting like this for the rest of the World Cup."

Pakistan have lost more players to run-outs - nine in five matches - than any side at the World Cup. There were three during their last match, a shock defeat to Bangladesh. South Africa, in contrast, have lost three during the whole tournament.

Rhodes will be relishing the chance of a few shies at the stumps at Trent Bridge tomorrow. The odds are he will run at least one batsman out.

But it's unlikely to be Inzamam. The tortoise, in all likelihood, will be safely sheltering in his hutch.