South Africa's Jiveshan Pillay was given out for obstructing the field after he handled the ball when giving it back to the West Indies wicketkeeper during the match at Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

Pillay picked up the ball and handed it back to Emmanuel Stewart, the wicketkeeper and captain, after edging an attempted cover drive onto his pads.

Stewart was then seen talking to the umpires, who subsequently dismissed Pillay for obstructing the field.

The incident has led to questions about the spirit of the game, which many say this incident betrays.

Writing on Twitter, South African Test team captain Faf du Plessis said: "This is an absolute joke...not in the spirit of the game.

"I have done this almost a 100 times."

However, some were less sympathetic.

British commentator Simon Mann commented: "Your wicket is precious, don't jeopardise it unnecessarily and know the laws.

"Then you won't give the opposition a chance to do something you fundamentally disagree with."

South Africa eventually scored 282 runs for the dismissal of five wickets in their 50 overs and bowled the West Indies out for 206 in 45.3 overs in the second innings, giving them the win by 76 runs.

This result puts them second in Group A behind hosts New Zealand.

Earlier in the day, the hosts kept up their 100 per cent record in the competition with a comprehensive 243-run win over Kenya at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch.

Wellington native Jakob Bhula put in a fantastic performance for his side in the first innings, scoring 180 runs in just 144 balls.

Tomorrow sees Canada take on Namibia in Lincoln before Bangladesh go up against England in Queenstown.