South Africa means business
Nairobi, Oct 9: Defending champions South Africa face a stiff opener in their ICC Knockout Trophy campaign when they meet England in the fourth and final quarterfinal of the one million dollar tournament at the Nairobi Gymkhana grounds here tomorrow.
England beat Bangladesh in the opening round here four days ago. Captain Nasser Hussain narrowly missed out on his maiden one-day century and man of the match Alec Stewart made 87.
South Africa recently tied a three-match indoor series against Australia last month.
Another team short of match practice, Pakistan thrashed Sri Lanka by a nine-wicket margin on Sunday. The islanders had earlier beaten the West Indies.
Shaun Pollock’s men have shown, since the Hansie Cronje confession, that they are a side that cannot be taken lightly.
There was an evidence of this when they travelled to Sri Lanka and drew the Test series before reaching the final of the Singer Cup, only to lose to the hosts eventually.
Thereafter, they were off to Australia and came up with another stunning fightback in the series at the covered Colonial Stadium in Melbourne, which ended in a 1-1 draw with one tied game.
Pollock has a committed and gutsy team under his command. Peter Kirsten must rank as one of the world’s best openers and he is backed by a talented middle order.
Jacques Kallis has not been in the best of form lately, but with his bowling and elegant batting he can never be discounted.
Lance Klusener is possibly the hottest international cricketer at the moment, while the electrifying Jonty Rhodes can make his presence felt both in the field as well as with the bat.
Allan Donald is back and he is bound to enjoy the fast and bouncy tracks that here.
Nicky Boje, in excellent form with bat and ball, won the most valuable player award at the Singer Cup in Sri Lanka in July.
England’s resourcefulness will be stretched to the limit. Andrew Caddick has been their most impressive bowler, though Mark Ealham has picked up a few wickets as well.
England will have to perform at their very best if they want to beat the South Africans.
The toss will be a major factor on the fast outfield here, and most teams have opted to chase.
