By Mickey Arthur
The only downside to this tournament, as far as I can see, is that there is no time to enjoy your successes! Im just joking we had at least 20 minutes to savour our opening Super Eight victory against England at Trent Bridge on Thursday.
There was a lot to be pleased about. Graeme and I have spoken repeatedly about the need to start T20 matches with maximum intensity rather than build towards a peak as you do in other forms of the game, and thats exactly what we did against the host nation.
Dale Steyn took a wicket in the first over and Wayne Parnell claimed another in the second over and England were suddenly 4-2. But with Kevin Pietersen at the crease, we knew we didnt have control of the game.
It took a brilliant catch by Roelof van der Merwe to get rid of him and, from that moment on, Graeme knew that he could take control of the game and dominate. We were ruthless with the ball and equally unforgiving in the field. Graeme kept the in-fielders saving one rather than saving boundaries, as is often the case at the beginning and end of an innings, and England had no answer.
We talk often about maintaing South Africas traditional skill in the field and ability to suffocate batsmen by starving them of runs and forcing them to take risks and make mistakes, and Englands innings was a great example of that.
Enough of that. Its time to move forward and focus on Saturdays game against the West Indies. If we win, we qualify for the semi finals before our final game against India on Tuesday. If we lose, we could face the prospect of having to beat India to reach the last four. I have no doubt that we would rise to that challenge, but I would prefer to take the easier route.
The players have been fantastic at focussing on the next game, taking the tournament one step at a time, but as coach its my job to look ahead and plan. I see Sri Lanka as a very dangerous team because of their bowling strength and New Zealand, despite their injury problems, are a tremendous threat.
But if India and South Africa qualify for the semi finals, then we will not face each other and would only meet again in the final. But there is much to do before that even becomes a possibility. As well as both teams are playing, a stumble can happen at any time. India have already suffered a setback with the loss of Viru but there are plenty more match-winners to take his place.
Finally, a word about 19-year-old Wayne Parnell. Ever since he joined the squad he has grown incredibly quickly as a cricketer and a person and he has the potential to become a world force. Wonderful as he has been with the new ball and at the death of the innings, most people probably dont realise that he is, in fact, a genuine all rounder. Maybe he is the ace up our sleeve to make a difference at some stage.
The excitement builds. What a tournament.
HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS
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