World Cup Preparations now Begin for Real

The Wanderers
By Saj Sadiq
December 2 2002

The Zimbabweans were clinically dispatched 5 nil in a very one-sided series, by an efficient Pakistani team. But now a much sterner test awaits our heroes. This series will prove whether we are good enough to win the World Cup.

It would take a genius to predict correctly which way this one-day series will go. Both teams are very closely matched and it will probably take inspired individual performances to win each of the matches.

Looking closely at the teams it's clearly evident that the South African team isn't as formidable as it has been in the past, such as in World Cup 1999. White Lightning isn't the force he was and nowadays has more of a containing role bowling first change. The South Africans rely heavily on Ntini to do most of the attacking with the new ball and although he tends to go for a few runs, he has recently been picking up top order wickets frequently.

The skipper Shaun Pollock is as steady as ever and difficult to get away in the early overs. My opinion is that Pollock should be played with caution and Ntini is the man who our top order can unsettle. The back-up bowling of Kallis, Klusener, Hall, Boje and Elworthy isn't anything special and if Pakistan have wickets in hand some competitive totals could be possible.

The key men against the South African bowling will undoubtedly be the middle-order trio of Inzamam, Yousuf and Younis. I expect most of the runs to come from these three. If top order collapses can be averted and Pakistan have wickets in hand in the latter stages, the South African batting could be chasing under quite a bit of pressure.

The Pakistan squad is packed with pacers and the bowling will have to have the right blend of attack and containment. If the Pakistani bowlers try to overdo the attacking, players of the calibre of Gibbs and Kallis will benefit. I think the key batsman for South Africa is Kallis. This should be the player the Pakistani's target. The South African lower order seems to score runs just when the team needs them most and once can expect Boucher, Pollock and Klusener to score runs down the order.

The key battles will be Shoaib versus Kallis and Pollock versus Youhana. Whoever comes out top in these match-ups could hold the key for the outcome of this 5 match series.

Expect some tough, entertaining and uncompromising cricket, with some closely fought matches.

In summary, if the Pakistani batsman can put enough runs on the board, then the Pakistani bowling firepower could be too hot to handle for the Africans.