SA appear formidable !

SA crushed Australia in a warm up game by 9 wickets.

We have warned all teams about SA. They have five world class batsmen in Amla, Smith, Kalli, Duminy and De Villiers. They have two world class fast bowlers in M Morkel and Styen. All teams beware !

Smith was confident when he said that he will lift the Cup ! On paper, they appear to be formidable with the form of their batsmen and fast bowlers.

Imran Tahir is their secret weapon. In both warm up matches, they have won.

Clarke, the Aussie skipper, said the warm up games do not count. His opinion was seconded by Amla.

"Obviously the result did not go the way we would have liked but again we all understand that they are practice games. It's more about giving boys an opportunity than about winning." said Clarke.

"A practice game is a practice game. So it's important to maximize the chance to give everybody the opportunity to bat and bowl, and more importantly, to get used to the conditions."

"We play Zimbabwe in a week's time. Everybody had a bit of a run around and seen the conditions. So it's about preparing well for the next six days to be in right shape before the game against Zimbabwe."

"Spinners probably gonna play a big part in the tournament. All the players have their plans against spin bowling and we have good players of spin bowling."

"But there are obviously areas we need to improve."

"I think we know enough about both India and South Africa. They are very good one-day teams and we have played good amount of cricket against them."

Amla said that warm up games are merely warm up games. "It is a warm-up game, you don't play 15 all the time.

They are a very good team and certainly beating them gives a lot of confidence but, as I said, it's a warm-up game."

The master SA batsman said Aussies cannot be written off. "Australia are a very good team. They are just coming off from a series win against England. As I said both teams were experimenting and trying to find the right combination. Once the competition starts you will see everybody giving their 100 per cent."

"I don't think we have too many concerns about unprepared pitches. I think the pitches will be fine. Coming to the sub-continent you got to expect to play lot of spinners. We are kind of expecting the wickets to turn.Fortunately, we been here quite a number of times in the last 2-3 years."

Cricket matches are won in the Mind !

Imran supported Dhoni's statement that warm up matches are actually unnecessary, as the Indian team is already fatigued.

Dhoni said that the Indian team was not motivated enough, when that side could only score 214. Extolled as a formidable batting line up, some batsmen were all at sea against the Aussie fast bowlers !

Imran said that the statement about fatigue is not true. When you come to know that this is the Cup, all fatigue walks away. Cricket is 50% physical and 50% mental. The whole world is watching you, your countrymen are scrutinising you. ( Dhoni later on clarified that he did not mention fatigue. All he said was that there was too much cricket and warm up matches were not the need of the hour ).

All wars are won in the Mind ! Sport is surrogate war, said Orwell. War is a biological necessity, an outlet for the human desire to compete and excel.

Determination, sang-froid, Will Power - all these are necessary qualities for a team to win. The mentally tough triumph ultimately.

Steve Waugh's determination was responsible for Australia lifting the Cup in 1999. From a miserable position, Steve Waugh catapulted Aussies to dizzying heights. When Gibbsy dropped him, he is reported to have said "You have just dropped the World Cup, my son" ! Not only did Waugh score a century in that match, but went on to claim the cup. Kapil's Dev determination in 1983 was legendary. Kapil knew that on such a track, 183 was a fighting total. The breakthrough came when Sandhu clean bowled Greenidge with a superb off cutter. Clive Lloyd was on injured on the right foot and Kapil Dev told Madan Lal to make him play from the front foot! The ploy worked as Lloyd was out, at 66/5 ! The match was almost over !