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Proteas switch to patient mode

Cape Town - The Proteas’ Standard Bank limited overs squad has just completed a hectic MTN ODI series against India in which they played 5 matches in the space of 12 days.

This is not unusual for this type of bilateral series but the Proteas will have to get into a very different and more patient mode when the ICC World Cup 2011 starts on the Asian sub-continent later this month.

The Proteas have 6 pool matches (they are in group B) spread over more than 4 weeks against the West Indies (February 24, Delhi), the Netherlands (March 3, Mohali), England (March 6, Chennai), India (March 12, Nagpur), Ireland (March 15, Kolkata) and Bangladesh (March 19, Dhaka).

In addition, they have two warm-up matches against Zimbabwe (February 12, Chennai) and Australia (February 15, Bangalore). This means that they effectively have 8 matches in 5 weeks before the business end of the tournament starts on March 23 with the first of the four quarter-finals.

To qualify for the quarter-finals the Proteas will need to beat both the associate members in their group, Ireland and the Netherlands, as well as at least one of the five more fancied full member countries.

They will, in fact, want to finish as close to the top as possible so that they both get into the habit of winning regularly and they also theoretically at least have an easier passage through the knock-out phase.

The other key issue for the Proteas is to make sure that their entire squad has reasonable match practice. It was a critical mistake made in 1999 when the Proteas played their perceived strongest side throughout the tournament, even against a much weaker side such as Kenya, and then found themselves with a Nicky Boje, who had only played one game in the tournament, seriously short of match practice when he had to replace an injured Jacques Kallis for the final Group Six match against Australia.

The ring-wise Australians duly targeted Boje, came out on top in a make-or-break game for them and went on to win the tournament.

The World Cup will also be Graeme Smith’s last series or tournament as captain of the Proteas’ ODI squad. Provided he stays clear of injury and the Proteas reach the semi-final, he will join the elite list of those who have captained their country 150 times.

He will no doubt have his mind on a much bigger team prize than any individual landmarks. He turns 30 today and, if he can add the World Cup to his away Test series wins in England and Australia (in the space of 6 months) and the holding of the No. 1 ranking in both Test and ODI cricket at various times, he will have packed a lot into what is still a young career.

Having shed the burden of captaincy in two of the three formats South Africa may yet still to see the best of him as a player which says a lot for a cricketer who averages 50 in Test cricket and 40 in the ODI format.
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