Smith expects no easy-pickings
South Africa are right on course to leave Georgetown with the perfect record that they desire
Dileep Premachandran in Guyana
06-Apr-2007
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When they arrived in Guyana, South Africa were well aware that nothing
less than six points would suffice as they sought to seal a place in the
last four of the World Cup. Having stumbled on home soil four years ago,
failure is not an option for the team's stalwarts, many of whom won't be
around in four years time.
Ahead of Saturday's game against Bangladesh, South Africa are right on
course to leave Georgetown with the perfect record that they desire,
having held off Sri Lanka in a thrilling finish before outclassing
Ireland. Bangladesh, who upset India in the opening phase, haven't come
close to beating South Africa before, but Graeme Smith was taking nothing for
granted on a slow pitch that may aid the opposition's strengths.
"Bangladesh base a lot of their attack on their three spinners," he said,
no doubt aware of the six wickets that they combined for against India.
"They have a very young batting line-up that has been a bit unpredictable
throughout the tournament. They have played aggressive at times and been
defensive at others. I think they are caught a little in between on how
they should play."
Victory over India increased the expectations back in Bangladesh to
high-rise levels, and subsequent disappointments against Australia and New
Zealand resulted in Habibul Bashar, the captain, being subjected to harsh
criticism. Smith clearly doesn't envy his opposite number, but suggested
that such things might be par for the course now that Bangladesh are no
longer looked upon as a minnow.
"Now that they are in the Super Eight, there is a lot of pressure on them from
back home to still carry on beating top teams," he said. "It's a different
environment for them now, with their nation believing they should be
winning these games more and more often."
South Africa had thumped India 4-0 at home in November, and there's no
doubt that playing Bangladesh in their place represents a bit of a step
into the unknown. "We watched a bit of the India game," said Smith. "They
are a team, that if you give them any chance, they will pounce at it. You
have got to start really well against them, and put them on the back foot
as early as you can. You give them a sniff and they have got players who,
under Dav Whatmore, have learnt how to win games."
Apart from the spin trio, Bangladesh's hopes rest largely with the young
batting line-up that eclipsed India's much-feted one. "They are young and
sometimes don't think about the situation they are in," said Smith, who
himself was pitched into the big time pretty early. "They play with that
sort of freedom.
"Due to their unpredictable nature, they can get off to a fast start, but
can also collapse at times. I think it's about remaining calm against
these sort of teams, who are unpredictable."
South Africa have four games in the next 10 days, and with fatigue bound
to become an issue, there might be a couple of changes against Bangladesh.
Andrè Nel should come into the reckoning, with Charl Langeveldt likely to
make way, and Robin Peterson will also come into the equation if the
think-tank decides that Makhaya Ntini requires a small break before bigger
challenges.
"There are crucial games coming up for us," said Smith. "We have two games
in Grenada against New Zealand and West Indies, and we need to step up
going into the meat of the World Cup. We don't want do-or-die games
against bigger teams."
The winner-take-all game that they'd love is a final against Australia,
but Smith is wary of looking too far into the future. "It's the final most
guys dream of," he admitted. "But the important thing is reaching the
semi-finals."
Bangladesh's priority, as Whatmore said on Wednesday, is to avoid
finishing last in the Super Eights. It makes for a fascinating tussle,
between an ever-improving side with everything to gain and another that
truly believes that they can go all the way after the heartbreaks of 1992
and '99.
Dileep Premachandran is associate editor of Cricinfo