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Rumesh Ratnayake, Sri Lanka’s interim coach, has denied the team’s dire form thus far against Australia is the result of internal discord, but he agrees that greater continuity would be useful for a team that has not won a Test match since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan.Sri Lanka trail Australia by a distant 237 runs with two days to play in Pallekele after losing the first Test by 125 runs, and Ratnayake offered no excuses for the team’s performance. “This sort of form has been a pattern for the last few months,” he said. “You can’t give any excuses. I am a firm believer that they have played at the highest level. The Australians have been without any cricket for the past so many months. If they can adjust why can’t we. The staff changing I don’t think is a reason. If we can have continuity as a player group I am sure things can be better. That’s no excuse for this game.”Central to murmurs about the Sri Lankan dressing room is the injury status of Ajantha Mendis, who complained of back pain and withdrew on the opening morning of the second Test after being left out of the first. Mendis did not bowl in Galle for four days, a fact that had escaped Ratnayake’s attention.”His issue was he had a back injury and he had not bowled for four days in Galle. I came to know only four days after. It mainly because I was involved with other things,” Ratnayake said. “I am involved with the playing group. I take the responsibility of not knowing that.”Ratnayake also said there was no rift in the team. “There’s nothing wrong with the team. The team mechanics are wonderful. If you can ask one of the people who are working with us. The staff who come in and go out its quite normal. Even before I came I heard so many things. But I haven’t seen anything of that nature so far.”As for the team’s batting, which has completely failed to stand up to an inexperienced Australian bowling attack in two first innings, Ratnayake said faults were being addressed.”Everybody is aware of what we have to do and what we need to be doing,” he said. “If you saw the way the Aussies batted it looked a placid wicket from day one. We didn’t capitalise and we are aware of what we did. Rain is not in the mindset at all although every one might think that way. The mindset is playing positive game. We know what they have planned against us. We’ve got a strategy to how to counterattack. We can have strategies but whether that comes off I don’t know.”Ratnayake revealed the team had viewed footage of India’s miraculous victory over Australia at Kolkata in 2001 as a way to keep the dressing room positive about the hefty deficit that confronts them.”We have been watching matches like the one between Australia and India in Kolkata where Australia won the match for the first three days and how they lost in the last two days,” he said. “We have been trying to encourage people. It’s never too late. Everyone might think that it’s all gloomy. But we have been watching what Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman have been doing and hopefully that will inspire.”

ScorecardWest Indies have followed up their 3-1 win in the ODI series by taking the Twenty20 series by the same score line, but they needed a Super Over to get past Pakistan in the 4th T20, in Guyana. After both teams reached 72 in their allotted overs, Stacy-Ann King struck two fours in the Super Over, and got nine runs off the five balls she faced. A wide from Sadia Yousuf made it 10 runs in the over. That was always going to be a difficult target in a match when both sides had scored at 3.60. Pakistan could only get seven and West Indies took the series.Both teams’ innings had followed almost identical paths. Pakistan, put in to bat, lost their first five wickets for 33 runs, while West Indies, chasing, lost their first five for 31. Both teams were 52 for 7 and then 8 for 64. They both had three fours each in their innings, though Pakistan had one six. It was the two fours in the Super Over that made the difference for West Indies though.Anisa Mohammed, who has been West Indies’ best bowler over the ODIs and Twenty20s so far, was actually their most expensive bowler on the day, giving away 24 runs in her four overs, though she did take two wickets. Shanel Daley put in an all-round performance taking 3 for 9 and then top-scoring with 28 off 42 runs.

ScorecardSurrey clinched a nerve-tingling two-wicket County Championship victoryover Gloucestershire despite Mark Ramprakash being given out for obstructing thefield at Cheltenham.The veteran batsman was on 35 when he was judged to have impeded Ian Saxelby asthe Gloucestershire player went to gather Kane Williamson’s throw at thebowler’s end as Jason Roy went for a risky second run.Surrey were cruising at 137 for 4, chasing 184 to win, at the time. WhenZafar Ansari fell lbw to Jon Lewis for a duck two balls later it was 138 for 6with 46 still required. But after Roy (45) and Gareth Batty (eight) had also fallen, Yasir Arafat (five not out) and Tim Linley (six not out) saw the visitors home to end a superbmatch. Surrey took 24 points to Gloucestershire’s five.The hosts had begun the day on 249 for four in their second innings, with alead of 112. They soon lost Alex Gidman, caught in the slips by Zander de Bruynhaving added just nine to his overnight score of 57.Wickets fell steadily as Arafat sent back Richard Coughtrie (16) and WillGidman (20) for a return of two for 76 and match figures of seven for 162. Linley also finished with seven victims in the game for a total of 136 runs as he accounted for Jack Taylor (10) and Gloucestershire were bowled out for 320 shortly after lunch.That made Surrey favourites and they achieved a solid start in the face oftheir modest target as Rory Hamilton-Brown and Steve Davies put on 50 before thelatter was caught behind fending at Will Gidman for 19.It was 60 for two when Hamilton-Brown (39) was taken at first slip by AlexGidman off Lewis and 80 for three when off-spinner Taylor struck in his firstover, having De Bruyn pouched by Hamish Marshall at slip – a sharp catch – for11.Tom Maynard fell lbw to David Payne for two, the ball striking his pad beforethe bat, and at 85 for four the match was in the balance. But Ramprakash was a reassuring presence for Surrey after his first-innings century and he looked in little trouble until his controversial dismissal threatened to change the game.The 41-year-old started to walk off and then returned for a furtherconversation with umpires George Sharp and Nigel Llong before finally making hisway to the pavilion. In doing so Ramprakash joined an obscure list to be dismissed in bizarre ways.After Ansari’s departure, Batty was well taken at first slip above his head byAlex Gidman off brother Will with Surrey still 23 short. Only three had been added when Roy edged Lewis to wicketkeeper Coughtrie, having made his 45 runs off 64 balls, with six fours. Despite several scares, Arafat and Linley survived with the latter hitting the winning runs.

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Lancashire heaped more misery on bottom club Northamptonshire with a 64-run victory in their final North Group fixture at Old Trafford.The home side signed off from the group stages with their sixth successive victory in the competition and they will now prepare for a quarter-final showdown with Sussex.Batsmen Karl Brown and Steven Croft both struck half-centuries for Lightning, who raced to 188 for 5 in their 20-over allocation. The Steelbacks never threatened the total and crawled to just 124 for 7 in reply.Lancashire openers Stephen Moore and Brown laid the perfect platform on which to build a sizable total. Brown crashed five boundaries and one six before perishing to Lee Daggett, however Croft (51 not out) and Sajid Mahmood saw Lancashire to one of their highest totals of the campaign.Northamptonshire’s run chase was stymied by the continuous loss of wickets and only Alex Wakely (28 off 18) and Niall O’Brien (21 off 22) posted any scores of note.

Match facts

Monday, June 6, Port of Spain
Start time 0900 (1300 GMT)Suresh Raina will be leading India in their first ODI after the World Cup victory•Associated Press

Big Picture

It’s their first ODI assignment as world champions, and India are fielding a second-string team. The IPL has won out over West Indies in terms of player priority, but will the hosts be able to make the Indians pay for their decision? When India and West Indies played for the first time after their meeting in the 1983 World Cup final, the Indians were taught a bitter lesson in a 5-0 thrashing by the still pre-eminent team in world cricket then. Replicating that is beyond the present West Indies outfit, but they promise a closely-fought series, boosted by the return of Dwayne Bravo.If the only Twenty20 international was anything to go by, the West Indies batting was vulnerable against spin, a continuation of its problems against the slow bowlers from the Pakistan series. The spin-friendly pitch at the Queen’s Park Oval made it worse for them, and their woes could recur if the surface plays the same.There is much curiosity off the field, though. Chris Gayle made a glitzy appearance in the crowd for the Twenty20, and kept us guessing with his tweets, hinting that things vis-à-vis his return were shaping up for the better. He’s not been picked for the first two ODIs, but there’s no doubting the impact he’ll have if differences with the board are settled, at least in the short term.Second-string or not, India are still world champions, and Suresh Raina will be under pressure to ensure his team delivers a performance worthy of that title and prevent any damage to its pride after a heated build-up to the tour.

Form guide (most recent first)

West Indies: WWLLL
India: WWWWL

The spotlight

R Ashwin has been around the Indian domestic scene for a long time, but rose to prominence during the IPL, capping off another successful season in Chennai Super Kings’ second title win. He’s only played nine ODIs, including two in the World Cup, and hasn’t done too badly. On tracks that have so far favoured spin, his variations, which include the carrom ball, could prove a handful for a West Indies batting line-up. His battles with Gayle in the IPL were memorable, and Ashwin will only be eager to resume that duel.Kieron Pollard, of late, has acquired a reputation to be somewhat of a minnow-basher in ODIs. He’s been a Twenty20 specialist, but an average of 20.37 in the 50-over format is something he’d consider a blot. He faces a familiar set of bowlers this series, and has a chance to address his lack of impact against the more accomplished ODI teams.

Team news

India played two specialist spinners and two seamers in the Twenty20, but didn’t pick Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra or Vinay Kumar. Ishant could get a go in place of either Munaf Patel or Praveen Kumar, while Mishra and Ashwin may swap places as the series goes on. The same is likely for wicketkeepers Parthiv Patel and Wriddhiman Saha.India (possible): 1 Parthiv Patel (wk), 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 S Badrinath, 5 Rohit Sharma, 6 Suresh Raina (capt), 7 Yusuf Pathan, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 R Ashwin, 10 Ishant Sharma/Praveen Kumar, 11 Munaf Patel.Dwayne Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Pollard return to the side, and so does Carlton Baugh, the wicketkeeper, replacing Andre Fletcher.West Indies (possible): 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Kirk Edwards, 3 Darren Bravo, 4 Ramnaresh Sarwan/ Marlon Samuels, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard, 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Carlton Baugh (wk), 9 Ravi Rampaul, 10 Andre Russell, 11 Devendra Bishoo.

Stats and trivia

• When India and West Indies met for the first time in an ODI after the 1983 World Cup final, they played in Srinagar, Kashmir. The match was cut short due to a dust storm and bad light, and West Indies thrashed the hosts by ten wickets.For a comprehensive stats preview to the series, please click here.
  

  Quotes

  “Each individual will have his game plan and the focus should be to rotate the strike. You will have to sweep, use your feet, play with soft hands, all those things come into play.”

Steven Smith, the Australia legspinning allrounder, has called Michael Clarke a “very, very good captain of spin” and believes he stands to benefit from Clarke’s close relationship with Shane Warne. Smith is currently recovering from ankle surgery but hopes to start running next week and bowling within a month. If all goes well, Smith should get his first chance to play Test cricket under Clarke during the away series against Sri Lanka in August and September. The pair has already developed a solid working relationship in the limited-overs formats of the game.”He’s helped me out a lot,” Smith told the . “He’s a big believer in giving a bit of protection when you start off and when you get into your spell bring your men in. Warnie was a big believer in that as well. He thought if you had your men out and brought them in you were attacking. If you had to push men out it felt like you were retreating and the batsmen were on top.”I think that’s something Michael’s got from Shane by being good friends with him and that will help me out a lot with my bowling.”There is expected to be limited competition for the spinner’s spot in the playing XI. Offspinner Nathan Hauritz is still recovering from shoulder surgery, while left-arm spinner Michael Beer and offspinner Jason Krejza will be part of next month’s Australia A tour to Zimbabwe.Smith has also benefitted from the late Terry Jenner’s expertise, if not quite to the same extent that Warne did. “He [Jenner] is an absolute genius at what he does,” Smith said. “The sessions I had with him I learned a lot from and continue to learn a lot. There were a few things like tactics and trying to work out a batsman, looking at them even when you’re not bowling to them.”Looking at the way they’re doing things. See if you can pick up anything. It’s pretty tough coming on to bowl and trying to figure out what they’re doing. He also slowed down my run-up and made sure I was more composed at the crease. He got my bowling shoulder up a little bit higher to allow me to get over the ball a little bit more and help me with drift.”

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Gary Keedy’s six wickets set up Lancashire’s final-hour run chase•Getty Images

Lancashire pulled off one of the more sensational victories in Roses history to climb back to the top of the County Championship after a spectacular finale to a gripping final day.Still 57 behind overnight, Yorkshire’s aim had been to bat throughout the final day and, in spite of some high-calibre bowling from veteran spinner Gary Keedy, who took six wickets for his best figures in matches between these counties, must have thought they had done enough to escape with a draw after tailenders Steve Patterson and Oliver Hannon-Dalby had defied Lancashire’s attempts to claim the final wicket for almost an hour.When it came, only 15 overs remained for Lancashire to chase 121 to win but thanks to the big hitting of Steven Croft and Farveez Maharoof – and equally to the disciplines learned from Twenty20 cricket – they pulled it off with four balls to spare.It meant that, in the end, a vastly improved batting display from Yorkshire was in vain. Joe Sayers defied the pain of a foot injury and an intense duel with England’s Jimmy Anderson to bat for almost four hours for his 75 and there were half-centuries from skipper Andrew Gale, Gary Ballance and Adil Rashid as Yorkshire built up a lead they believed would be enough to insure them against defeat.But Lancashire were just as determined not to waste the opportunity set up by Keedy, whose 6 for 133 included three wickets in the space of seven balls to reduce Yorkshire to 301 for 9.With the quick scoring instincts acquired in Twenty20 cricket, Lancashire saw the target as distinctly within their compass and were always close to the scoring rate required, even though they did not find the boundary rope until the fifth of the 15 overs.Yorkshire, of course, were not handicapped by fielding restrictions but could not bowl with enough control to pin Lancashire down and a small number of expensive overs was all that was needed to take the match away from them.Adil Rashid took two wickets in two balls in his first over but conceded sixes to Croft and Gareth Cross in his next. Ryan Sidebottom conceded 12 in one over, including five wides, and was hit for straight sixes by Croft and Maharoof, who then attacked Rashid with similar gusto, smashing a powerful six over the long on boundary before running two off the next attempted maximum to win the match and take Lancashire five points ahead of Durham and Warwickshire, with a game in hand.It had all seemed unlikely during mid-afternoon, when Yorkshire looked to be achieving their aim of building up a lead and eating up time. Sayers and Gale put on 115 for the third wicket, the former engaging in a titanic struggle with Anderson peppered with verbal exchanges. The England bowler still seemed to be fuming over what he thought was an injustice the evening before, when he felt he had Sayers out for 1, caught off the glove.Gale appeared to chip in with his opinion too at times and Anderson gave him something off a send-off when he took a slip catch off Keedy to break the partnership when the left-armer found the edge. Sayers, who had been the victim off a brilliant catch by Croft in the first innings, was unlucky again, his sweep at Keedy hitting Mark Chilton at short leg and looping up for Paul Horton to catch the ball at leg slip.With Sayers gone, Yorkshire supporters probably feared the worst but the defiant tone set by the opener, who batted for almost four hours for his 75 despite the pain of a foot injury suffered on Friday, was picked up by Ballance and then Rashid.But when Rashid rather recklessly went down the pitch to Croft, bowling off breaks, he lost his wicket to a straightforward stumping by Gareth Cross and the innings began suddenly to unravel. Keedy, finding prodigious turn from the River End, had Simon Guy caught at slip and then bowled Ballance with a ball that the left-hander left alone only to turn so far it took his leg stump.Sidebottom was undone by a similar delivery and when Moin Ashraf was leg before, Keedy had taken three wickets in the space of seven balls and Yorkshire were 301 for 9, which gave them a lead of only 113 with at least 27.5 overs left.Yet it took the hosts 14.2 overs to claim the final wicket, courtesy of Steve Patterson and Oliver Hannon-Dalby, whose defiance meant that by the time Lancashire openers, Horton and Stephen Moore, were able to begin the chase for victory, it seemed there might not be time enough.In the event, the target was never less than accessible.

Bermuda’s performance in the recently-concluded World Cricket League Division Two tournament in Dubai is ‘unacceptable’ for a team that qualified for the 2007 World Cup, former Somerset bowler George Breamer has said. The Bermuda team has come in for much criticism after a poor show resulted in a last-place finish out of six teams, and subsequent relegation to Division Three.”We were way on top of the cricket world but these guys have degraded Bermuda. This is a national disgrace,” Breamer told the . The cricketers have no one else to blame but themselves for coming up short in Dubai, he said. “It’s got to be a lack of concentration, discipline and application. The common sense doesn’t seem to be there.”Former St George’s Club wicketkeeper Dennis Wainwright questioned the players’ commitment. “We don’t have players with the commitment anymore and this is where we are lacking,” he said. “A lot of the players are on the team for the trip and I’m very disappointed because I expected us to win at least two matches.” Bermuda won just one of their six matches in the tournament.”The coach can only do so much. When you get on the pitch this is where you have to use the things you have been taught,” Wainwright said. “You can have the best names on paper but if the players are not prepared to give 100% then we are lost.”Wainwright also criticised the batting approach. “Everybody wants to hit the ball to the boundary but you can only do this on smaller grounds or when the bowling is weak. When the bowling is tight you have to learn how to run between the wickets.”The demise of Bermuda cricket has more to do with an overdose of limited-overs cricket in the country, former fast bowler Lee Raynor said, leaving the players with no chance to learn the game’s fundamentals. “[Limited] Overs cricket seems to have confused everybody,” he said. “This is a very sad day for Bermuda cricket, especially for our youngsters coming through.”

Umar Gul is the man who operates in the shadows of his more colourful companions of the Pakistani bowling pack. Behind his captain Shahid Afridi among Pakistan’s leading wicket-takers at this World Cup – 14 wickets to Afridi’s 21 – Gul has emerged as the searing inquisitor with the new ball en route to Pakistan’s arrival into the semi-final.It will all come to a head in Mohali on Wednesday when Gul opens the bowling against the strongest batting contingent of the event. It is his first spell that could dictate how the rest of his team’s overs go, but Gul has identified what he needs to do. “The first three wickets in the top-order are very crucial for us. They are depending on the top three. I am looking for these three batsmen.” Now these are words tailor-made for screaming headlines, (“Gul targets top three”, “Gul wants to rip through India top order”) but Gul delivered them as if he were saying something routine. Like telling the physio about his ankles or ordering room service.Were Gul to run into India’s top three in their hotel corridor between now and Wednesday afternoon, there would be handshakes, smiles and pleasant chit-chat. It is a fact that most of the fans on both sides find hard to to digest, particularly two days before the World Cup semi-final that once again sets up one of the most over-heated rivalries in sport.Gul said that given the strength of the Indian batting, the World Cup had taken his bowling to the rhythm it needed at the right time. “Our bowling is very good. Afridi is the leading wicket-taker. I am happy with my performance and form. We have a bit of an advantage with our bowling but I am happy with the way the batsmen played in the quarter-final.” He said that the ideal combination for Wednesday would be the Pakistani bowlers being on top of their game on a friendly wicket, and the batting giving the start like it had against the West Indies.The advantages of working with coach Waqar Younis and assistant coach Aaqib Javed, both fast bowlers of skill and nous, had found strong echoes at the World Cup, according to Gul. “I’ve only fully understood in this World Cup how much help I have got from them.” On the tour to New Zealand, Waqar had informed Gul that he would be bowling with the new ball in the World Cup. “For the last one-and-a-half-years, I wasn’t able to deliver with the new ball because of which I lost my form.” In the last two-three months, however, working with both Waqar and Aaqib, had brought it all back, rhythm, confidence and success. “It’s been like I was bowling in the past, I’ve got my new-ball skills back, which is good for the team.”One of the biggest dilemmas facing Pakistan is whether to play Shoaib Akhtar in what could be one of his last matches. Shoaib was dropped following Pakistan’s defeat to New Zealand but Gul dismissed the talk that he had been omitted because of issues within the team about Shoaib’s conduct. “He was rested after the New Zealand match so that he can focus on his fitness. The way he has been practicing for three days, I hope he will do well.”Shoaib’s partnership with medium-pacer Abdul Razzaq and also the spin option of Mohammed Hafeez at the start has worked well enough, but Gul welcomed the idea of sharing the new ball with Shoaib. Asked whether he personally would like to partner Shoaib against India, Gul said, “Of course. He is our most experienced bowler and he has done very well in the past, especially against India. A little bit of pressure will be lifted off me too if he plays because in the last couple of matches, when Shoaib wasn’t there, all the pressure was on me.”Gul was asked whether he agreed with what MS Dhoni had said about the match actually being bigger than a final. He said, “See, I don’t think Dhoni was talking for himself, he was speaking about the expectations of the Indian people. As a player, no one would say this (a semi-final) is bigger than the final, but every cricketer feels the pressure of their people. We also feel the same pressure – our people also feel that we must beat India in each match. You can say that, if we were speaking not for ourselves, but for Pakistan’s people, then yeah, it’s a final and we will try to win.”A semi-final can’t be bigger than a final but it’s a big match, a high-pressure match.” Whether it is a knockout game or a league game, “any match against India is a big match always,” Gul said, and then, for the first time in the press conference, he smiled.The match was “crucial” for the teams but then Gul moved beyond the cricket. “It brings both countries closer, it’s very good not only for the players but also for both countries.” The prime ministers of both nations seem to agree with the fast bowler. “People from both countries want us to play each other often. Both fans enjoy the cricket because the more we play each other, it’s better. I hope it will be a good match and both countries play well.”He also understood what the consequences would be for the losing semi-finalists. “Always, whether you are the Indian or the Pakistani team, there is pressure. The supporters of both teams absolutely cannot bear a defeat. But we’ve done well in the World Cup, we’ve won six of our seven games. The kind of support we have got from Pakistan, we are very happy. Whether we win or lose is not in our hands, we will try and play good cricket.”The team had not heard of Pakistan interior minister Rehman Malik’s comments about how they would be monitored closely following the spot-fixing controversy. “I am not aware of this until now … We don’t focus on the media; we are focussing only on our cricket. The kind of pressure we have had over the last several months and the way we have handled it, this (the Malik statement) is no pressure at all.”Before he walked off to be with his mates and in the shadows again Gul faced a question about whether he sought stardom of the kind enjoyed by Afridi and Shoaib. He could have given the safe answer but chose not to. He spoke like a young man doing the hard yards in a punishing profession. “It is only natural, every player hopes he will get the kind of fame that Sachin (Tendulkar) or Afridi has. It doesn’t work that way though. Players like that are idols, so Afridi and Shoaib, whether they perform or don’t perform, are idols for the people of Pakistan. They will always remain that way. Sometimes in the heart, yes I do wish that I have the same kind of fans that Afridi and Shoaib have, the same fan following.”Then the fast bowler in him returned and he said, “But even then, I am satisfied with the following I have but I am never satisfied with my performance. If I do well in one game I want to perform better in the next … I always want to try to perform better than the previous time.”No better time to perform than in a World Cup semi-final.Which is why in the evening, like Gul had earlier promised, the Pakistanis turned out for a fielding session under lights, spending an hour. It was meant to assess the dew factor in Mohali and to give their skills one final polish. Pakistan are not practicising tomorrow and this session under lights would be their last hour on the field before they walk out into the sun on Wednesday afternoon.

The plain truth about South Africa is that, as a World Cup team, they add up to less than the sum of their parts. You would think a side blessed over the years with players of the calibre of Peter Kirsten, Allan Donald, Jacques Kallis, Jonty Rhodes, Shaun Pollock, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers and Graeme Smith – and a host of only slightly lesser lights – would come up with a trophy between them somehow, somewhere. You would, of course, be wrong.South Africans have grown weary of trying to explain why their mighty team haven’t won a World Cup, or even reached a final. The real answer is; there is no real answer. They have talent in abundance. Their skills are eminently world-class. The country’s cricket infrastructure is acknowledged as the best in the game, and proven to be so by the country’s unofficial status as the default standby hosts for ICC events.It seems the problem lies either between the ears or in the heart, places even the best coaching struggles to penetrate effectively.What of this World Cup? The inclusion in the squad of Pakistani-born legspinner Imran Tahir among three frontline slow bowlers suggests a change in approach. But we’ve seen this movie before – promising form leading up to the tournament, stellar individual performances, the gut feeling that this time it might be different …World Cup pedigreeSemi-finalists in 1992, 1999 and 2007; quarter-finalists in 1996; first-round casualties in 2003. Only once, in the World Cup they hosted no less, have South Africa failed to reach the second round. They have proved hard, competitive and ambitious. Just not hard, competitive and ambitious enough to go all the way.Recent formSince Novemeber 2009, South Africa have played 26 one-day internationals and won 18 of them. However, Zimbabwe and West Indies, who 10 of those games were played against, did not make for very competitive opposition. Against the bigger boys – England, India and Pakistan – they lost half of the other 16. Among South Africa’s victories were three in a five-match series against a Pakistan team desperate to show they took cricket seriously in the wake of the spot-fixing allegations. South Africa also hung tough to win the last two matches in a 3-2 series victory over India. Still, a success rate of 50% against credible opponents is not good enough.Expert eyePat Symcox: “This is the best squad South Africa have ever sent to a World Cup, and the most balanced and experienced one. But our preparation has been predominantly concerned with ensuring the seam bowlers are ready for the tournament, when spin bowling will be more important given the conditions. However, if ever there was a time when South Africa will win the World Cup, this is it.”Where they’re likely to finishIt’s difficult to imagine South Africa not finding their way out of the first round. It’s also difficult to imagine them progressing much further. They’re vulnerable in any knockout situation.WatchabilityTo see fielding, South African style, is worth the price of admission to any match. They are lions and there will be blood. The same goes for South Africa’s fast bowling – aggressive, relentless and disciplined. Their batting will be adventurous and enterprising as long as the pressure remains off. Once it’s on, you would be forgiven for thinking the circus had come to town.Key PlayersThis will be Graeme Smith’s last World Cup as South Africa’s captain, and perhaps his last all told. He is a proud, determined, demonstrative man who readily embraces emotive ideas. The thought that he could go out in glorious fashion, leading the finest team never to have won a World Cup to triumph, is made for him. He will bully most of the seam bowlers he will face on the subcontinent’s slow pitches, and he is much less clumsy against spin than he appears.Unbelievable though it may seem, there was a time when Hashim Amla’s suitability as a one-day batsman was openly questioned. As is his way, Amla didn’t take issue with the doubters. He simply went out and proved them very wrong, scoring runs, runs and more runs. He scored them stylishly and lickety-split like, and he never seemed to fashion a crude or an ungrammatical stroke as he did so. In the process he rose to the top of the ICC’s one-day batting rankings. Besides all that, he possesses that rarest of attributes for a South African: a cold mind.Look into Johan Botha’s eyes and you will see a journey from mediocre seamer to offspinner to chucker to nowhere man to rehabilitated offspinner to respected team man to South Africa’s Twenty20 captain and Smith’s natural successor to the one-day captaincy. South Africans expect their cricketers to be resilient, and Botha is an archetypical example. He will hang tough with the best at the World Cup.Something special is required Colin Ingram – a name that is added to a list that features the likes of Desmond Haynes, Andy Flower and Dennis Amiss. Ingram delivered that specialness when he scored 124 against Zimbabwe in Bloemfontein in October. That made him the sixth player – Haynes, Flower and Amiss are among the first five – to score a century on one-day debut. Left-handed and level-headed despite his love of lusty strokeplay, he could set any innings alight.