I still havent quite accepted that we are now definitely in the semi finals!

By Mickey Arthur

We have taken nothing for granted at any stage of the tournament and perhaps the habit has become difficult to shake because I still havent quite accepted that we are now definitely in the semi finals!

I thought we were, but I have been informed that there is a 100-1 chance that a series of highly unlikely events could still see us eliminated. If we lose very heavily in the final Super Eight match against India on Tuesday, and all the other fixtures work out, then it seems it is possible that we could still fail.

It doesnt matter. The team will be motivated to beat India for one very good reason. Two years ago, when India eliminated us from the first ICC World Twenty20 on our home turf, we werent only hurt by the result but by the celebrations we encountered from the opposition.

It can be easy to allow the triumphant moment to get the better of you, but we felt that India may have deliberately rubbed our noses in the result. Good grace in victory is as important as accepting defeat with pride intact, but we felt on that occasion that India could have done more to celebrate with some respect for the vanquished.

We spoke about it afterwards and, in the pain of defeat, we reminded ourselves that sport has a habit of turning full circle. Tuesday might, possibly, give us the opportunity to repay the compliment. If that happens, there wont be any outrageous euphoria from us. Certainly not in public, anyway, and not within sight of the Indian players.

Purely practically, of course, there is an even greater reason for wanting victory against India. If we can eliminate them at this stage of the tournament then we significantly increase our chances of winning the tournament because they remain one of the most potent forces in T20 cricket!

There has been so much talk about the element of chance in T20 cricket. Many players still say that anything can happen, but South Africa has now won six T20 Internationals in a row which suggests it is not a lottery as some people still believe.

All I have said is that a single, brilliant performance from an individual can swing a match but the skill is to stop that performance from happening, or at least limit the damage. I subscribe to the theory that anything can happen in T20 cricket and that anything is more likely in T20 cricket than other forms of the game. But I also believe that good preparation and planning can reduce the odds of an upset.

HAWKEYE COMMUNICATIONS