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A visibly relieved South African side celebrate their one-wicket win over Sri Lanka © Getty Images
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Graeme Smith hadn't even started his first-class career at Gauteng when
South Africa's World Cup dreams ran aground so spectacularly at Edgbaston
in June 1999. Eight years on though, you could see that the experience of
watching that and other defeats wrenched from the clutches of victory had
affected him. The ghost of that English summer day will perhaps haunt
South African dressing rooms for ever, but each win eked out as it was at
the new stadium in Providence will go some way towards exorcising those
demons.
Smith spoke candidly about frayed nerves in the dressing rooms -
modern-day sports teams are not renowned for puffing on the cancer sticks
- but he was also delighted at snatching victory on a surface where the
Sri Lankan should have walked away with the two points. This could so
easily have been the Premadasa in Colombo, albeit with a little extra
bounce, and South Africa deserved their triumph if only for the manner in
which they reined in a Sri Lankan top order that chose cavalier options
when circumspection was needed.
"We dominated the game for 95 overs," said Smith, and Mahela Jayawardene
didn't argue with that assessment. "We did brilliantly to restrict them to
209, and then chase the way we did. We could have been a bit more
clinical, but Sri Lanka will be a tough team to beat in this competition.
We beat them in their home conditions."
When asked whether the late stutter would have a debilitating effect on
dressing-room confidence, Smith was certain that it would have the
opposite effect. "When you win a tight game like that, it spurs you on,"
he said. "In the past, we've lost those games."
Jacques Kallis was one of Shane Warne's four victims at Edgbaston, but he
played his part today with a mature and beautifully paced 86, the perfect
foil to Smith's buccaneering ways. The savaging that he received after the
59-ball 48 against Australia was way over the top, but until Malinga
caught the outer edge with a lightning-fast delivery, Kallis had done more
than anyone to take his side within a stride of the finish line. "It was a
superb knock under pressure," said Smith. "He took a lot of criticism
after the last game, and this showed the quality of the man."
The only one to play an even bigger part than Mr Dependable was Charl
Langeveldt. In the five-and-a-half years since he made his debut, the
32-year-old Langeveldt has played just 42 one-day games. In the last home
season, he played twice against the Indians before being dropped, and his
three wickets in four matches against Pakistan didn't exactly make him
first name on the team-sheet for the Caribbean.
But with Andrè Nel going off the boil, he got his chance in St Kitts.
After the game against Australia, he might have been wishing that he
hadn't, clouted for 82 in 10 overs as Matthew Hayden and friends
illustrated just why the ICC rankings count for nothing in the big
tournaments. "There was swing for Langers today, and he bowled superbly,"
said Smith. "At St Kitts, it wasn't swinging ... the ball was bouncing off
the stadium walls instead [laughs]."
Langeveldt's performance was all the more impressive given that the Sri
Lankans had taken a leaf out of the Hayden manual against Shaun Pollock.
Once he went for 32 from his first four, the pressure was on, but
Langeveldt eased it with some controlled swing that was abetted by poor
strokeplay.
It's impossible to overstate the importance of this win. With Australia
looking increasingly likely to run away with first place, there's likely
to be a traffic jam for the remaining three places. With matches against
Ireland and Bangladesh to come, South Africa have moved a few yards closer
to the green light
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The best though came last. Sri Lanka were well poised for a late
onslaught, with five wickets in hand and 26 balls remaining, when
Tillakaratne Dilshan miscued one to third man. It must have been tempting
then to keep Ntini on, with two overs left of his quota, but Smith plumped
instead for the variations and subtle movement offered by Langeveldt and
Andrew Hall. "This was a slightly bigger field than St Kitts," said Smith,
contrasting the death-overs bowling here to the pasting received at
Australian hands. "Langers and Hally did a superb job."
In normal circumstances, conceding a run a ball is considered more than
acceptable in the late stages of a one-day innings. Langeveldt went some
way beyond that by taking three wickets and not conceding a run in his
final over. Russel Arnold, Farveez Maharoof and Chaminda Vaas all fell
while going for glory, but Langeveldt had done his bit by varying his line
and length cleverly and anticipating the charge.
It's impossible to overstate the importance of this win. With Australia
looking increasingly likely to run away with first place, there's likely
to be a traffic jam for the remaining three places. With matches against
Ireland and Bangladesh to come, South Africa have moved a few yards closer
to the green light. And if they can hold their nerve as they did today,
even ghosts of failures past won't be able to stop them.
Dileep Premachandran is features editor of Cricinfo