South Africa set sights on No. 1 spot

South Africa's cricketers have arrived in Colombo for their five-week tour of Sri Lanka, although their arrival was largely overshadowed by the Asia Cup clash against India that was taking place down the road at the Premadasa stadium. Furthermore, Shaun Pollock and Lance Klusener will have to survive without several items of clothing, after their cases went missing en route.

The players checked in the luxurious Taj Samudra Hotel on the seafront, where they were reunited with their former coach, Bob Woolmer, who these days is in charge of Pakistan's fortunes. They will have a light work out on Wednesday morning, before heading off to the Colombo Cricket Club in the afternoon, where they are to take part in a three-day warm-up game from Friday.

South Africa are regarding this tour as a launchpad for a season in which they ultimately hope to challenge Australia's status as the No. 1 Test nation in the world. "We haven't been playing as good cricket as we are used to, and that is reflected in the ranking," said their coach, Eric Simons. "Our focus will be to take each game and series as it comes and our bigger concern has been the big gap between us and Australia -- we need to close that gap."

"A good tour here would give us a lot of confidence going forward," said Graeme Smith, South Africa's captain. "It is a very tough place for us to come and play but we are certainly looking forward to the challenge. We know we are talented cricketers, who can do a lot with the ball and the bat, but our confidence and mental strength needs to match our ability."

South Africa, who have been on a two-month break from internationals, have just one week in which to adapt to the sapping heat and humidity of Sri Lanka. "Obviously, being winter in South Africa it is not that easy to work in similar conditions," said Smith, "so our preparation before the first Test is going to be very important