Veteran South African bowler Shaun Pollock, who has just joined the ranks of the all-time great all-rounders, said on Tuesday that a victory in the fifth MTN one-day international (ODI) against Pakistan at the Wanderers on Wednesday will be a huge confidence booster for the team ahead of the Cricket World Cup, which begins in the West Indies in March.
”We have to make sure we win. It’s such an important match — it’s like a final,” said Pollock.
”We have shown some inconsistency at times, but we have done well in the pressure games. Tomorrow [Wednesday] will be a pressure game, because we really want to win the series. We just have to make sure the right South African team turns up on the day.
”But Cape Town was also a pressure game — if we didn’t win there, we couldn’t win the series,” he said. ”But pressure games are good for us ahead of the World Cup.”
South Africa won the fourth ODI in Cape Town by 10 wickets, after dismissing Pakistan for 107 runs.
Pollock said the South Africa team is looking good at present.
”It’s a well-balance, settled unit,” he said. ”The same 15 or 16 players have been used throughout the summer, and everyone knows their roles.
”We have the talent and ability to do well, whether chasing down a target of 430, or needing to bowl a side out cheaply,” he said.
”Recently, we’ve been particularly good at chasing down targets, but we have the ability to do whatever we are called on to do.”
Pollock downplayed the fact that if South Africa win the series against Pakistan, and Australia lose the three-match Chappell-Hadlee series in New Zealand, South Africa will take over the top spot on the world ODI rankings.
”At the end of the day, the team that wins the World Cup will be the best team in the world,” he said.
He said he was pleased to have joined the ranks of the all-time greats.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) website revealed earlier that Pollock — who is currently ranked the top ODI all-rounder — is now ranked fourth on the ICC list of all-time great bowlers, behind Joel Garner of the West Indies, Sir Richard Hadlee of New Zealand and Muttiah Muralitharan of Sri Lanka.
”I’ve had a good summer, and I’ve bowled nicely. I’ve worked hard, but I haven’t done anything different. I have a simple game plan, and most of the time it works, although sometimes it comes unstuck.
”It will be nice to go to the World Cup with confidence in my game,” he added. ”It’s my fourth World Cup, so I know how to prepare for it.”
Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said Pakistan will have to play simple, good cricket on Wednesday to level the series against South Africa.
”We’ll need to work hard,” he said. ”There could be two or three changes in our team for the final match. We want to do well so that we can take that confidence into the world cup.”
The final match starts at 2.30pm. About 5 000 tickets are still available for the game. — Sapa