South Africa, a dangerous side !

South Africa appears to be a formidable side, and Steve Waugh favours South Africa, after India.

SA may be the 5/1 favourites, but this team has immense potential.

With Hashim Amla, rated as No 1 in ICC Rankings, leading the charge and with G Smith,Duminy and Bram Villiers as other batsmen, SA's batting appears to be great. Their fast bowling combination of Steyn and Morkel can be a threat to any opposition.

Any team which underestimates SA will do so at their on risk. They may not have broken the semi final jinx and the majority of their players may be short of WC experience. But when it comes to talent, they are second to none.

Greaeme Smith, the SA captain, says that this team is more prepared than the previous SA teams. "In 2007 we went there with the expectation of winning the tournament, and put ourselves under so much pressure. Yes, you have to want to win the World Cup and that has to be your mindset, otherwise, what's the point of going there. But we are much more relaxed in terms of the way we want to do things, and we want to take it step by step. Reaching the final is the goal, obviously, but we won't be approaching every game and every day looking too far ahead. We are certainly more relaxed about it than we have been in the past."

He believes that the current team is far more talented than the experienced 2007 side.

When I look back on the 2007 team, I think we were a little bit too rigid in terms of players and the squad. We are a lot more open-minded now, we have a lot more
options. We had a lot of the same type of players in 2007. We had a lot of
experience back then. We don't have a lot of World Cup experience in this
team, but we have a lot of variety, a lot of energy. We have got pace, we
have got spin and we have a lot of options, which is what I think we maybe
lacked in 2007.

"We stuck to a similar style of play in 2007, and now we can change the way
we play. We can be more innovative and more off the cuff, and be a lot more
unpredictable, while still having that solid base."

Smith had noted that SA lost steam in the Powerplay in the last series against India. This Powerplay will be crucial in the WC.

"For me, Powerplay three is not so much about when you take it, but how you
play it, the execution of it," Smith said. "I personally would like to take
it when guys are in and there's a good partnership going, rather than when
guys are just starting out at the crease. We have tried a few things through
some of the games and we have decided to make a gut decision on the day.
What the guys in the middle need to discuss is their execution; what they
need to do to get eight or nine runs an over.

"From a bowling point of view, an aggressive mindset is always crucial. So
often when you're bowling in the Powerplay, you back off because you think
the team is going to be attacking you. So we want to be aggressive and look
to pick up wickets, which is one way of using it to your advantage. That's
something Australia did very well in 2007, they attacked that Powerplay
whereas everyone else stood back."

Astrologically, SA is undergoing the favourable Jupiterian second Transit. But Saturn is adverse and the 12th lord, the Moon's reign, is also adverse !