Basseterre

South Africa captain Graeme Smith said his team remained confident of World Cup success despite their loss to Australia in their Group A match on Saturday. ”A victory would have been terrific, but there’s still so much cricket to be played in the tournament,” Smith told a news conference.

Two group-A teams within three days have described South Africa’s bowling attack as lacking variety and it appears captain Graeme Smith might be starting to listen. After Scotland on Tuesday recorded their best World Cup score of 186, captain Ryan Watson hinted South Africa might hold an edge over Australia — but not due to their bowling.

Captain Graeme Smith just missed out his first World Cup century but still led South Africa to a seven-wicket win over Scotland and into the World Cup Super Eights on Tuesday. Left-handed opener Smith smashed an attractive 65-ball 91 as the world number-one team made short shrift of Scotland.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith insists he won’t be rattled by the Australian verbal barrage which will surely come his way when the two bitter rivals meet on Saturday. The winner will not only take a vital two extra points into the Super Eights but also a huge psychological edge over a fellow favourite for the title.

Herschelle Gibbs became the first man to hit six sixes in an over in a one-day international and Jacques Kallis smashed an unbeaten century as South Africa inflicted a 221-run World Cup defeat on The Netherlands in St Kitts and Nevis on Friday. Gibbs hit a robust 40-ball 72 coupled with Kallis’s unbeaten 128.

South Africa batsman Herschelle Gibbs hit six sixes in one over against The Netherlands at the World Cup on Friday, setting an international record. The 33-year-old Gibbs smashed the first three balls from legspinner Daan van Bunge over the short boundary straight down the ground at Warner Park in the 30th over.

South Africa wicketkeeper Mark Boucher on Thursday said he was ready to stand up on the slow West Indian pitches during the World Cup. ”I think standing up is something that all keepers expect when they come to the West Indies because these are like the subcontinent conditions when you have to do that sort of thing,” Boucher said.

South African coach Mickey Arthur on Tuesday warned his team not to slip up in their matches against minnows The Netherlands and Scotland before they take on the Australia in the World Cup. ”I have always described the games against The Netherlands and Scotland as two scary games and we don’t want any slip-ups in these games,” Arthur said on Tuesday.

After an emergency hotel evacuation and a dispute over unsafe pitches, South Africa cricket coach Mickey Arthur must be wondering what else can go wrong. Helped by Australia’s five-match losing streak, South Africa became the top-ranked limited-overs team by routing Pakistan 4-0 last month.

If sport is a metaphor for life, then the passion and pain of the struggling West Indies cricket team is an apt reflection of the region that will welcome the 2007 ICC World Cup. Long gone are glory days when the islands in the sun churned out terrorising fast bowlers like the late Malcolm Marshall and master blasters like Viv Richards.

Ramnaresh Sarwan stroked an unbeaten 115 on Tuesday to spur the West Indies to a four-wicket win over India with one ball to spare in the third one-day cricket international at Warner Park. The 25-year-old celebrated his 100th match with a match-winning innings that led the home team to their winning target of 248 for six off 49,5 overs.