South Africa better prepared this time - Graeme Smith

A

Graeme Smith expects performance in the batting Powerplay to have a major say during the World Cup © Associated Press Enlarge

South Africa captain Graeme Smith has said that his team is better prepared for the 2011 World Cup, than the side he led to the tournament's 2007 edition. This World Cup will be Smith's third as a player, and second as a captain, following the semi-final exit last time around.

"In 2007 we went there with the expectation of winning the tournament, and put ourselves under so much pressure," Smith told the IOL Sport website. "Yes, you have to want to win the World Cup and that has to be your mindset, otherwise, what's the point of going there. But we are much more relaxed in terms of the way we want to do things, and we want to take it step by step. Reaching the final is the goal, obviously, but we won't be approaching every game and every day looking too far ahead. We are certainly more relaxed about it than we have been in the past.

Smith also believed his team was better prepared in terms of the personnel at his disposal, than the more experienced 2007 side. "When I look back on the 2007 team, I think we were a little bit too rigid in terms of players and the squad. We are a lot more open-minded now, we have a lot more options. We had a lot of the same type of players in 2007. We had a lot of experience back then. We don't have a lot of World Cup experience in this team, but we have a lot of variety, a lot of energy. We have got pace, we have got spin and we have a lot of options, which is what I think we maybe lacked in 2007.

"We stuck to a similar style of play in 2007, and now we can change the way we play. We can be more innovative and more off the cuff, and be a lot more unpredictable, while still having that solid base."

South Africa have geared up for the World Cup with a hard-fought 3-2 win against India, in a series where both teams were without some top players. On more than one occasion in that series, South Africa lost steam in the batting Powerplay, an area that Smith said could be crucial in the World Cup.

"For me, Powerplay three is not so much about when you take it, but how you play it, the execution of it," Smith said. "I personally would like to take it when guys are in and there's a good partnership going, rather than when guys are just starting out at the crease. We have tried a few things through some of the games and we have decided to make a gut decision on the day. What the guys in the middle need to discuss is their execution; what they need to do to get eight or nine runs an over.

"From a bowling point of view, an aggressive mindset is always crucial. So often when you're bowling in the Powerplay, you back off because you think the team is going to be attacking you. So we want to be aggressive and look to pick up wickets, which is one way of using it to your advantage. That's something Australia did very well in 2007, they attacked that Powerplay whereas everyone else stood back."

South Africa play the first of their two warm-up games on February 12, before kicking off their tournament on the 24, against West Indies in Delhi.