The Hindu : Sport : South Africa will give us a good fight

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Wednesday, Apr 25, 2007
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South Africa will give us a good fight

I have always enjoyed the success of my co-bowlers, writes GLENN MCGRATH

This is why we play the World Cup. It's not about the earlier games, for me, the World Cup is about the last two rounds of the event, when the winner takes all.

In 1999 and 2003, it was the semifinals that were the tougher encounters. In 1999, we tied with South Africa and got through to the finals on the basis of our win against them earlier in the tournament.

In 2003, we had a tough semifinal against Sri Lanka at Port Elizabeth, in conditions that suited the Lankans. We were tested on both occasions, and both times the finals turned out to be totally one-sided. We are in what is being seen as the semifinal from which the champion will emerge.

I agree with that view because South Africa and Australia have the right kind of ammunition to do well at the Kensington Oval next Saturday.

Tomorrow's game will be fiercely fought and I expect South Africa to give us a really good fight.

Flawless cricket

We have been playing almost flawless cricket so far, and are aware that all that will count for nothing if we have our first off day tomorrow. However, we are all very positive, and our batting has been outstanding so far, and we have enough big-game players to ensure that the next two games are also looked after.

Matthew Hayden has been the mainstay of our batting so far, but the likes of Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting are also in superb form.

I am even happier with the way the bowling has improved with every game.

I have always enjoyed the success of my co-bowlers, but the success of Shaun Tait and Nathan Bracken is particularly heartening.

I have enjoyed passing on the odd tip to them, and do feel proud to have had a little hand in their success.

There was a great deal of concern at the start of the tournament that we would lack firepower in the absence of Brett Lee. He is a very special bowler, and was missed, but Tait and Bracken have been superb and ensured that Brett's absence did not affect our attack at all.

The South Africans have a very good one-day side, and have been winning pretty consistently in the recent past. They have a pretty straight gameplan of attacking at the start, and they tend to attack me in my first few overs, which are within the power play. This has been the trend in the last few encounters, and it's a contest I really enjoy.

Plans for Smith, Kallis

I have a couple of plans for Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis, and am pretty confident that I am up for the challenge.

The South African team has no real key player, and they bat real deep. This is why they prefer to chase against us, particularly after the game in which they chased down 434.

The one area of concern for Smith would be the monotony in their bowling, something which has resulted in their bowlers getting hit towards the end of the innings. They would miss a spinner, should they bowl second.

Any semifinal clash with South Africa would bring back memories of the 1999 Edgbaston semifinal. It was an unforgettable last over, and we certainly will not let the South Africans forget it tomorrow.

It's really wonderful to get one last chance against South Africa, against whom we have had some superb contests right through my career. I hope tomorrow will not be my last game, in fact I'm confident it won't be.

Gameplan

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