Tait given 'big confidence boost'

Shaun Tait believes his successful fightback against South Africa after leaking runs early has set him up well for the remainder of the World Cup. Tait was rested after his first two overs went for 19 but he returned to remove Mark Boucher and Justin Kemp with inswinging yorkers.

He finished with 2 for 61 from his ten overs and said the results had shown him he could be a handful for any opposition. "If you can perform in important stages against teams like South Africa then there is no reason why you can't do it against any other side," Tait told The Age. "It's a big confidence boost."

His ability to find the right length with his yorkers - he had Boucher bowled and Kemp lbw - should have Ricky Ponting smiling ahead of the Super Eights. Tait has five wickets from Australia's three group matches and his economy rate is 5.40.

He appeared not to be in Australia's World Cup plans until late in the CB Series in February, when he was called in and tested against England and New Zealand. Tait hoped he had justified the selectors' decision to take a chance on him.

"You find out a bit about yourself playing for Australia in conditions like this, and being able to fight back was a big learning curve for me," he said. "It was really important for me to come on and take a few wickets for my future in the team."

Tait said even though he was a shade more expensive than he would have liked, that was sometimes inevitable for a bowler like him. "I struggled early, to be honest," he said. "I just couldn't quite find my line and I was a bit erratic. But I fought back.

"I had no choice basically. Playing against South Africa when you're posting 350-type scores, you know you are bound to go for a few, but there is still that air of confidence you've got to have about you to back yourself to knock them over."

Tait will remain a key element of Australia's attack for the next phase in the tournament. They begin their Super Eights campaign when they face West Indies at Antigua on Tuesday.