South Africa grapple with unknown ahead of Sri Lanka clash by AFP

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Event:

ICC World Cup 2006/07

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DateLine: 27th March 2007

 

South African all-rounder Andrew Hall hopes his team will soon come to grips with the new pitch in their opening World Cup Super Eights clash against Sri Lanka here on Wednesday.

 

The new Providence stadium, which is being used instead of the old Bourda, is hosting its first one-day international, with the rival teams still unsure about the nature of the track.

 

"It's difficut to say how the pitch will play here. It's new and it'll be interesting to see. We will know more about it after a couple of overs," said the South Africa all-rounder.

 

"When we come for the game we have to be ready and adapt ourselves to the conditions quickly."

 

Sri Lanka qualified for the second round with an all-win record as they whipped former champions India, Bangladesh and debutants Bermuda, carrying forward two crucial points in the process.

 

South Africa made it to the next round without any points, having lost to defending champions Australia in their last group match.

 

"Obviously, it's an important game for us on Wednesday and it's important for us to win as many games as possible in Super Eights," said Hall, who has scored 851 runs and grabbed 85 wickets in 79 one-day internationals.

 

"Sri Lanka have played really well to qualify for the Super Eights. It's always a tough challenge facing them, especially in conditions here which seem to suit them a bit. We have our plans and we have to execute them well."

 

Hall said South Africa were plagued with fitness problems when they last clashed with Sri Lanka, but they were at full-strength now and keen to do well in their opening game.

 

He did not believe that it would be easy for any team despite the early elimination of former champions India and Pakistan.

 

"Of course, it has made slightly easier because two big teams are missing, but still it's going to be a difficult road ahead," said Hall.

 

"There are still six big teams who can easily win the World Cup, but only four will make it to the semi-finals."

 

India and Pakistan bowed out of the tournament after winning just one of their three group matches, paving the way for Bangladesh and debutants Ireland to advance into the next round.

 

Hall said the batsmen had been in form despite South Africa's defeat while chasing a challenging target of 378 against Ricky Ponting's Australians in a group game.

 

"The way we have played so far the batters looked in great form," said Hall.

 

"Against Australia, we let the things slip a bit and then we had the run-rate climbing. The pressure was on us and that's when the players tried to do differently but unfortunately it did not work for us."

 

Hall said they had the bowling to restrict the opposition on the new pitch.

 

"One-dayers are not only about getting teams out. It's also about restricting runs. We work on plans to keep runs down and that has been our ploy for a while in this tournament," he said.

 

"Bowling out the teams helps, but it's also about keeping runs down as the bastmen are going to make mistakes in the long run."

(Article: Copyright © 2007 AFP)