The West Indies and South Africa go into their World Cup Super Eights match at the Grenada National Stadium on Tuesday, both knowing that a defeat could end their chances of reaching the semifinals.
South Africa’s shock 67-run defeat against Bangladesh in Guyana on Saturday transformed them from one of the sides most likely to reach the last four to a team hanging on to a slim hope of going through.
The West Indies, meanwhile, are by captain Brian Lara’s admission, ”in a crisis situation”.
To be sure of reaching the semifinals, both teams need to win all three of their remaining matches, although it is possible that two wins and a healthy run rate could be enough.
Both South Africa and the West Indies have negative run rates, so would need some big wins to get through in the event of a tie.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith admitted the defeat against Bangladesh had meant the loss of two points on which his team were banking. ”It’s a big loss for us,” he said.
But he said his team had the ability to bounce back. ”It’s still in our control and the next three games are important. We don’t want to be relying on other people to get us through.”
Smith said South Africa had failed in the basics against Bangladesh. ”We put ourselves under pressure by not doing the simple things right. We’ve got the players, we’ve got the team and we have to show a bit of character.”
Adding to the uncertainty ahead of the first match of the World Cup to be played in Grenada is that a new pitch has been laid at the National Stadium, rebuilt after the original Queen’s Park ground was devastated by the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005.
Lara said after his team’s 113-run defeat by Sri Lanka in Guyana last Sunday that his team were physically drained by having four games on sandy outfields in 10 days.
They will play South Africa after a break of nine days between matches.
Some of the players took time off before reassembling in Grenada and the team have been heavily criticised, with Lara’s captaincy singled out for derision.
But they will be buoyed by their record against South Africa in big tournaments, although in all matches between the two teams South Africa have a big lead.
The West Indies knocked out South Africa in the quarterfinals of the 1996 World Cup after their opponents had been unbeaten in group matches.
Then they won the opening game of the 2003 tournament in South Africa at the start of a sequence of events that saw the hosts eliminated in the first round.
The West Indies beat South Africa on the way to winning the 2004 Champions Trophy in England and in their most recent clash won a Champions Trophy semifinal in India last November when Chris Gayle hammered an unbeaten century.
Gayle is one of the players who has yet to find form for the West Indies in the World Cup.
South Africa have injury concerns over batsman Herschelle Gibbs, who had to leave the field because of a calf strain during the Bangladesh match, and all-rounder Andrew Hall, who was rested because of what was described as a minor thigh strain.
The South Africans will have a selection dilemma if Hall recovers.
Andre Nel, who replaced him on Saturday, took a career-best five for 45 and was the only South African to perform to his best ability. Among the disappointments were opening bowlers Shaun Pollock and Makhaya Ntini.
No more top dogs
Meanwhile, South Africa suffered another blow to their morale on Sunday when they lost their world number-one ranking following their defeat to Bangladesh.
The defeat means also that Ricky Ponting’s Australia will regain their place at the top of the new rankings when the official figures are released later this week.
According to the International Cricket Council (ICC) one-day international predictor, South Africa lost one point after their defeat against Bangladesh and have now moved down to 125, while Australia moved on to 127.
South Africa topped the ICC one-day international rankings at its annual cut-off date on April 1 2007 for the first time since the rankings were introduced five years ago.
That earned them a handsome cash award of $175 000, while Australia pocketed $75 000 for being runners-up.
South Africa’s promotion to the top spot was a reward for their good showing in one-day internationals over the past 12 months. — Sapa-AFP, Sapa-dpa