This season will define South African cricket: Majola

Gerald Majola, the South African board's chief executive, has labeled the coming international season as one that will define South African cricket. According to Majola, the calendar year would highlight the value of the decision to cut the number of teams in the top domestic competition from 11 to six.

"It will be a long and challenging season, starting with the tour to Sri Lanka," Majola told The Pretoria News. "After that, it just doesn't stop until the World Cup in the West Indies next year. We believe we have the capability to win the World Cup and we will do everything to prepare the team for the ultimate test. The high performance programme, under Vince van der Bijl, is aimed at ensuring that players are able to take the step up to international level.

"With a long season such as the one ahead, we won't just be using 13 or 14 players - we will be using many more, and we need to make sure that everyone is ready for the challenge," Majola added. "If we are beaten by a better team, then so be it, but we want to make sure that we have done everything possible to prepare the players as well as we can."

South Africa begin their two-Test series against Sri Lanka without Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, out with injuries, and Shaun Pollock, who has excused himself from the first Test so that he can be present at the birth of his second child.

Mickey Arthur, South Africa's coach, felt that their absence provided other players with the opportunity to prove their worth. "We know that it's going to be tough," he said. "Sri Lanka are always hard to beat on their home ground, and they have just come off a successful tour of England, but we are motivated and well-prepared and we are going there to win."