http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013 – Cricket News Update
Graeme http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AJ-Strauss-c964 and company.
The all-important series will commence from July 19th with a Test at the Oval. The next two matches will be played at Leeds and the Lord’s respectively, followed by five One Day Internationals and three T20s.
England gained the top Test ranking last year after whitewashing http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in a four-match series. However, in case of a South African victory, the Proteas will replace the Poms at the top.
The South African skipper expressed that the whole team is geared up for the battle, wanting to make the most of this opportunity to prove themselves.
The Proteas are yet to fulfill their potential at the world stage despite boasting a host of world class players throughout.
"I don't think we need much more motivation to beat England. We've come close to the top of the rankings for a period of time. We're hoping this will be the year that we can take ourselves to the next level," Smith expressed.
The left-handed opening batsman admitted that the British will not be easy to beat, especially at home, because they are a settled unit since the last five years and have been performing consistently well in all departments of the game.
The skipper is also impressed by the English team’s think-tank, which is led by http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-Flower-c44362, and feels that they do a lot of homework before the start of any series.
The Proteas’ captain added, "They've proven over time that they are a methodical, well-drilled team. They'll be battle hardened. They play the game hard and no-one wants to give an inch. You can feel how much that means to the fans. We go there with the
priority to perform well."
The visitors are scheduled to play a couple of side matches against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Kent-c802 before the first Test.
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