Graeme Smith pins hopes on spin attack ahead of quarter-final clash with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 at Mirpur
South African captain Graeme Smith is pinning his hopes on his spin attack as he eyes a place in the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup with a win over New Zealand in the third quarter final match, set to be played at the Sher-e-Bangal stadium in Mirpur.
The Proteas have never progressed beyond the semi-final stage in either the 50 overs World Cup or the T20 World Championships; they would however start the match against the Black Caps as firm favourites.
The wicket at Mirpur is set to test both teams who have little exposure of turning tracks which offer bounce and turn to the spinners. In the first match of the knock-out stage the West Indians found the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482, Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez too hot to handle as they crumbled to a total of 112 runs only.
Smith reckons that the wicket is going to take turn and even the grass on the pitch is not going to help the seamers much with grass expected to be shaved off the track on the eve of the big encounter.
“It looks very green, probably because we are not used to seeing grass here so it might be more even paced than the wickets we have played on previously,” Smith said. “I expect it to turn a bit, because it's still very dry.”
The South African spin attack has been performing very well in the tournament, they have been led by the leg spin of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir who made a real impact in the first few games of the event before going down with a finger injury. Tahir is set to recover in time and take the field against the Black Caps.
Smith thinks that his wicket taking ability with the guiles of Robin Peterson who has been performing brilliantly is set to compliment strike force of seamers.
“It's been a process for Robbie. He has been around the team for a long time and in the last six to eight months people have been showing confidence in him and that has helped his self-belief,” Smith said.
He added that the slower bowlers can take wickets as they have an attacking mindset which is what is needed to win matches in big events against the best teams in the world.
The match is going to be a battle of wits especially if it goes down to the wire. For the Proteas the challenge is to keep their momentum going in the knock-out stage of an ICC event; something that they have not managed since winning the 1998 Champions trophy in Dhaka.
The composition of the South African team is set to revolve around the spin bowlers. Leading batsmen like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 and Jacques Kallis will be expected to play a pivotal role with Smith who has thus far struggled to make an impact in the coveted tournament.
Smith has the belief that his team can finish the title drought with a win, and he certainly has the ammunition to do that.
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