South African cricket captain Shaun Pollock has described the lifeline thrown to his side courtesy of a no result in Benoni as an opportunity to mould their own destiny.
The West Indies were denied the full four points after their Cricket World Cup match at Benoni’s Willowmoore Park was washed out. Both sides were awarded two points, a boon for both Bangladesh and South Africa.
Having lost two of their three matches, South Africa not only had to win all three of their remaining matches to qualify for the Super Sixes, but hope that the West Indies beat Sri Lanka in Cape Town next Friday.
With the Windies dropping those two points, the result at Newlands is no longer of paramount importance, as long as South Africa wins and wins well to boost their net run rate.
”It’s a much nicer situation to be in now than it was 24 hours ago,” said Pollock after enduring two days where their world cup campaign was hanging by a thread.
”It certainly lifts our spirits and puts a new perspective on the next three games.
”Ultimately we have to keep on winning but it is great to have our world cup destiny in our own hands and not have to depend on other results.”
Ironically, Willowmoore Park featured most often as the ground that the players disliked most in a questionnaire prior to the World Cup.
Tuesday’s result may change that perception. South Africa takes on Bangladesh in Bloemfontein and then Canada in East London before locking horns with Sri Lanka in Durban in what will be the crunch match of the pool. – Sapa