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October 23 - Ahead of the Proteas' Champions Trophy league match tomorrow
in Sri Lanka, critics of the South African national cricket team are wondering
if the Graeme Smith-led team can fend off the Sri Lankans after they unable to
do so recently against New Zealand.
The Proteas went down to New Zealand by 87 runs in Mumbai, India during their
opening Group B match recently. However, it has to be said, on at cricket pitch
widely criticized for 'disintegrating' in the second half of the match.
The Proteas will be hoping for better pitch conditions if they stand any chance of
countering Sri Lanka's barrage of spin bowlers. Graeme Smith was quoted as telling the
press that he thought the Sri Lankan pitch looked much better than the
Mumbai pitch and hoped it would deliver a high quality game.
Said Smith, 'The key for South Africa is to adapt quickly to the pitch
conditions, whether we bat first or bowl first. The Sri Lankans have
traditionally relied on their slower bowlers to get them through the middle
overs.
'From about the 20 to 50 overs mark they rely heavily on slowing down
the balls, a strategy that has worked well for them over the years,' he
explained.
The Proteas Captain was confident that his team had the batsmen needed to
deliver a match victory and allow South Africa to stay alive in the competition.
Currently New Zealand and Sri Lanka each have one win from two matches, while
Pakistan has one from one.
'We have some pretty big-hitters down the batting order and some firm strikers
at the top, so I think our batting unit is well prepared to put some serious
runs on the board and deliver us a match victory, said Smith.
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