World Cup Has Not Started But Smith Is Worried

South Africa has all the talent in the world to win the upcoming world cup but their mindset is horrific to say the least. They just don’t know how to handle pressure. More importantly, South Africa don’t like slow and low conditions of subcontinent. After playing just one practice match against minnow Zimbabwe yesterday, captain Graeme Smith publicly blasted the Chennai pitch.

Mr Smith have to realize that the beauty of cricket is that it is played on a varying condition. If every pitch react in the same way, will cricket be that entertaining. Rather than showing courage that playing in slow and low condition is a wonderful experience, Smith has given the likes of Dhoni and Ponting a clear sign of their weakness. If they same mindset continue, I will not be surprised if they lose in the quarter final or semi finals.

To win in places like India and Srilanka, you need to have a clear-cut strategy in mind. Rather than worrying about your weaknesses, focus should be on playing at your strengths. In my opinion, South Africa can play decent cricket in these conditions especially with spinners like Botha and Tahir in the team. Don’t know about others but I think Botha is a very clever one day bowler and can be an asset to the Proteas. In previous world cups, South Africa lacks quality spinners but this time around they have the resources, implementation is the key for them.

If Smith wants to get rid of the ‘choker’ tag that is associated with South Africa, he needs to remain positive and start showing some desperation otherwise expect a same old South Africa in the upcoming world cup.

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Editorial Score : Pts 6/10

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