CWC Super Eight's bowls off in Guyana today
• Plenty of excitement anticipated as Sri Lanka battle South Africa
By Sean Devers
Kaieteur News
March 28, 2007
After two days of heavy rain, the sun was out in all of its brilliance yesterday and workers at the Guyana National Stadium at Providence were in a last minute rush to ensure everything is in place for Guyana 's opening Super-Eight game.
When number-one ranked One-Day International team South Africa and 1996 champions Sri Lanka face off from 09:30hrs today on South American soil, plenty of excitement is anticipated.
Top of a competitive zone ‘B' in Trinidad, which also included ‘commercial favorites' India, Sri Lanka should be at home in Guyana's climatic conditions which are similar to theirs and should provide the South Africans with the sternest test of their three matches in Guyana.
Left-arm pacer Chaminda Vass became the only bowler to ever capture a hattrick with the first three balls of an International match during the last World Cup against Bangladesh in South Africa . He leads a formidable Sri Lanka bowling attack complemented by the genuinely quick Lasith Malinga, Farveez Maharoof, spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and experienced left-arm spinner Sanath Jayasuriya on a brand new pitch, expected to be on the slow side with assistance for the spinners.
The Sri Lanka batting will center round 37-year-old Jayasuriya, Chamara Silva, who has scored a fifty in each of his three games in the 2007 tournament, Kumar Sangakara, skipper Mahela Jayawardene, Upal Tharanga and Tillakaratne Dilshan.
And with the ability of the top order to go over the top during the initial power-plays (10 overs field restrictions) the South African bowlers could endure another tough day at the office after the trashing they got from pre-tournament favorites Australia in their last encounter on the small Warner Park ground in St Kitts when a world record ODI match run aggregate of 671 were scored.
Efficient, if at time mechanical, South Africa will be out for revenge following their 2003 CWC exit to Sri Lanka on home soil when their game finished in a tie on the Duckworth/Lewis system. A lot will depend on the batting of their in-form captain Graham Smith, their leading batsman with 232 runs including three consecutive half-centuries. Support is expected from Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Herschelle Gibbs and Shaun Pollock.
The straight boundary at Guyana 's spanking new Stadium is much larger than the one at Warner Park and fans might be hoping for another explosion from Gibbs who hit a world record six consecutive sixes against Daan van Bunge, the Netherlands ' leg-spinner in St Kitts.
In their final preliminary round clash with Australia , Smith seemed on course for a brilliant ton but once he started cramping up, the tempo dipped and the vital ‘carry-over' two points were lost. “Obviously, you'd love to start with two points,” Smith said yesterday. “It makes things simpler. Not having those two points, you know what you need to do, which games you need to win.”
The presence of two unfancied teams has certainly changed the situation. It does make things more difficult,” he said. “The big question on most of the other teams' minds will be whether Ireland or Bangladesh can upset anyone else. You can't take anyone for granted.
“What we've learnt from these tournaments is that nothing seems to go according to plan. We're just trying to keep our focus on this part of the tournament. If we can have a successful time in Guyana , it takes a lot of pressure off us heading to Grenada and Barbados .” The South African skipper disclosed.
Conditions in Guyana could be humid and Smith will be careful to ensure he is fully hydrated following his cramps in St Kitts. “It was an unusual thing for myself,” he said when asked about the injury. “I've scored hundreds in these conditions and never been through that. It came as a surprise to me and the medical team. They've got me on a hydration process to make sure it doesn't happen again.”
If South Africa lose today and Australia win their next two matches the two times defending champions will overtake South Africa as the number one ODI team.
On a type of track similar to many on the Island of the Sri Lanka , the Proteas could be in for a huge fight today.
Rain prevented both teams from practicing on Monday while South Africa cut short their session at the Stadium yesterday claiming that the practice pitch was not dry enough to facilitate a proper session. Sri Lanka did fielding drills at Providence .
The drainage at Providence is excellent and even with the recent rains the outfield should be in a good condition, if a bit slow. With so much rain in the past week, there's also the possibility of several interruptions today. “It's something we have discussed. It's about getting 40 overs in over two days if the weather's going to carry on like this. It's pretty much out of your control,” Smith pointed out.
Meanwhile, with the improved weather yesterday, local fans were rushing in large numbers for tickets.
“This is not totally surprising noted Chateram Ramdihal, Finance and Ticketing Manager of the Guyana LOC. “Our culture is last minute…the ticketing centre in Georgetown was flooded with people today (yesterday) and sales have gone up tremendously. There are still tickets available but they are now going fast with the teams actually here and the world cup fever now really catching on after the first round,” Singh said.
He said that already three categories of tickets have been sold out for the April 1 encounter between hosts West Indies and Sri Lanka and informed that tickets will also be sold on every match day.
“On match days we will be selling tickets from three locations. At our city office tickets are being sold for all of the matches in Guyana while fans can purchase tickets on game day for that match at the entrance of the Stadium. Tickets for future matches can be bought at the actual turn stiles at the stadium,” said Singh who added that some sponsors are no longer attending the event and have returned their tickets, increasing the number of available tickets to the public.
Fingers are crossed that there is no more rain and fans are being constantly reminded of items restricted and prohibited from the venue via the electronic media.
A pulsating day is anticipated as Guyana makes history today by hosting its first World Cup match at its newest cricket venue. With Guyana 's image at stake, the entire nation should no doubt be hoping for a successful opening day.