“We don't mind carrying the tag of being World Cup favorites. In the World Cup environment, it doesn't make you a better team than Australia. You've still got to perform on every given day that you play. But to be the number one team in the world is a huge feather in our caps” says SA Captain Graeme Smith.
Mickey Arthur, the SA Coach, said: “The squad going to the Caribbean has proven their ability to take on the best and our performance at the ICC Champions Trophy and our recent victories against India and Pakistan in the MTN ODI Series are an indication of the work put in by everyone.”
Although South Africa will be sending their most experienced team ever to a Cricket World Cup tournament, there will be six rookies.
Smith explained some of their tactics to local reporters in South Africa: “Those (World Cup matches) are big games, the keys are remaining mentally fresh, emotionally fresh, making sure you're up and ready for each game and that it doesn't take 10-15 overs to get into the game and to allow a team to get a start against you.”
South Africa, never known as a country of spinners seem to have selected a mostly seam attack. Smith explains that the variety of seamers in this team makes up for the lack of spinners. He believes the only spinner who will make a significant difference at the tournament is super spinner Muthia Muralitharan.
Paceman Makhaya Ntini will not travel to the Caribbean with the Proteas on the 28 February 2007. He will join the team in Trinidad after the birth of his second child, in time for the second warm up match against Pakistan on 9 March 2007.
South Africa, who only played in the World Cup in 1992 have came close to winning cricket’s greatest prize a few times now, but this time the Proteas are determined to make their current form count, and appear to have what it takes to win the World Cup 2007.
Captain Graeme Smith gives five reasons why SA will win the World Cup:
- Hopefully luck is going to be on our side this time
- Maybe because we're going to play well enough to deserve it
- We’re going to enjoy the World Cup
- Hopefully it will be two months that will become the experience of a life time
- The SA public deserves it.
The 15-man Proteas squad for the ICC Cricket World Cup West Indies 2007 is:
1. Graeme Smith (Captain)
2. Jacques Kallis (Vice-Captain)
3. Loots Bosman
4. Mark Boucher
5. AB de Villiers
6. Herschelle Gibbs
7. Andrew Hall
8. Justin Kemp
9. Charl Langeveldt
10. André Nel
11. Makhaya Ntini
12. Robin Peterson
13. Shaun Pollock
14. Ashwell Prince
15. Roger Telemachus
Ayaz Memon has covered cricket for 30 years. He is one of India's most respected writers on the subject. Catch his weekly podcast at Thursdays 7 am GMT.
