South Africa led by Captain Graeme Smith is the team to beat at the ICC World Cup 2011
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 has never been crowned as the World Champions of cricket even though it has been rated as one of the best teams in all the formats of the game for the past few decades. The Proteas has never even reached the final of the most illustrious tournament
of the cricketing world, as they came close in the 1999 World Cup held in England. However Graeme Smith and company have different plans this time round.
The Proteas are rated amongst the favourites of the ICC World Cup 2011, along with http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 due to their all-round strength. Although South Africa has historically struggled on the slow tracks of the sub-continent, as the situation is not the same now, as they
have some batsmen in their ranks who can dominate the spinners even on turning tracks. India is considered as the favourite team because of its strong batting line-up, but South Africa has an edge due it is all around balance in all departments of the game.
This is going to be the last assignment for Graeme Smith as the captain of South Africa in the limited overs squad, as he has announced to step back after the mega event. This is a huge motivational factor for the South African captain, as he would like
to end his leadership tenure on a high.
The South African batsmen manage to compliment each other as Smith, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JP-Duminy-c1742 like to play their shots, whereas Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis are considered more technically sound players. Amla and Kallis are equally effective in both
Test cricket and the limited overs format of the game.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dale-c52110 Steyn are without doubt one of the best bowling pair, as they have the ability to tear apart any batting line-up of the world. Recently, Lonwabo Tsotsobe has also emerged as a very impressive bowler in One Day International cricket.
Tsotsobe bowled quite well in the ODI series against Pakistan in the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/United-Arab-Emirates-c3033 and then against India at home. Wayne Parnell might turn out to be the weak link in South African bowling, as he gives away too many scoring opportunities to the opposing
batsmen.
Spin has never been the strength of the Proteas, but this is not the case anymore, as Graeme http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Johan-Botha-c67173 is a permanent fixture of South African limited overs setup for the past last three years, as Robin
Petersen and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Imran-c64193 Tahir, as he managed to get South African citizenship last month. He is a genuine wicket-taker and has proved his worth
in the domestic cricket of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, England and South Africa. Duminy also has the ability to role his arm over during the limited overs matches, making him an extremely effective wicket taker.
Apart from batting and bowling, South Africa is rated as one of the best fielding teams in the world and no one can rule out a couple of run outs when the Proteas are in the field. This is the team which made the other international sides realise the importance
of fielding during the 1992 World Cup.
South Africa would love to remove of the tag of ‘chokers’ from their cricket during this World Cup and they have a wonderful opportunity to do so with a very balanced and competitive team.
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