You've guessed it. I'm talking Strauss. This is coming from someone who doesn't even like Graeme Smith and who has nothing against the England team. Let me say one thing, if their roles were reversed I would be posting the exact same thing on Biff...I am very dissapointed.

It wasn't a very smart thing to do either. You are still in the country, staying at the Sandton Hotel, right? If I were you, I'd think twice about eating the breakfast that the proudly South African waiter will bring you.

Will you accept the fact that Pakistan could have lost the match, if Suresh Raina and Rahul Dravid would have played a bit longer?  

There was little threat. But we knew they would get caught. They tried very hard but we knew our bowlers could have broken the partnership. Actually it is our partnership which made the difference between the two teams. 

Is it your best hundred? 

It would be a memorable one. The team won and I have played a small role which is really very very satisfying. 

What would be your target for this tournament?

I want to carry on the current form in the remaining matches of ICC Champions trophy.

Why did you start slowly?

I wanted to consolidate the situation by being cautious, not losing any wicket. Actually that is my game. After I settle down I normally try to accelerate later. 

That’s what it had happened on Friday against India. You took 70 balls to score 36 runs. But the next 70 run came in 40 balls? 

Team needed that blocking. We did not want to invite any pressure by losing wickets early. 

Were you surprised when Virat Kohli came into bowl? 

Yes, I was. I think Harbhajan would have been brought then. Dhoni then wanted to finish the quota of the fifth bowler by bringing Kohli and Yousuf.  

You got maximum runs by putting the ball in the backward point area? 

Do you think the loss in the first match would create a major problem in the ICC CT?

It doesn't make a lot of difference to us. We know we still have to turn up and play pretty well to beat a strong South Africa side. Sri Lanka played exceptionally well in the first match. We're under no illusions about how hard it is going to be.

What would be your impression about the wicket here in SA?

The wicket is a lot better than we expected it to be. Not sure we're going to play on the same one or we've got a new block. It was a slow deck and suited the Sri Lanka more than the South Africans and it brings the question whether we play two spinners and what's the best tactic on a wicket like that.

Will you support of keeping 2 spinners in the side?

In the past if you look at how balanced South Africa line-up, is that they play two spinners. I think they will adapt pretty quickly to the conditions and they know them pretty well. It won't hurt us coming out of Sri Lanka for last six weeks. We've played on wickets like this and hopefully we're ready for that. But it'll be a tough ask.

What is your impression about the ODI cricket?

I think it's great. The format of the ICC Champions Trophy is also nice. It feels like every game is relevant. In the past ICC Champions Trophy there's probably been a few almost warm-up like games you've been able to get yourself into the tournament. You have to turn up here ready to play and ready to win, otherwise you can get knocked out quickly. For me personally, the relevance of the ODI game, the easiest solution is to play less games. I don't think we need to tinker around with the format. I think we've played so much people get a bit sick of seeing it so if you reduce the amount of games that is a quick fix solution.

Lot of talk about tinkering...

So much talk about tinkering and there has been in the past, for me personally, it is a good format and it has produced an array of good cricketers and different styles as well. With the ODI format you can still get a number of different cricketers who can succeed. If we take that away and keep tinkering with it we'll lose those styles of cricketers. We're lucky in cricket that we have three formats and people can enjoy all three. If we keep changing we might lose some of the fanbase. As long as we don't overload the public we can get a nice balance between the three.

Tell us something about the preparation for the ICC CT.

We know coming here that we have to beat quality teams. England has come off a tough series against Australia. But all teams in the group will be wary of each other. We had mixed results in the warm-ups. We lost to a first-class team and then played really well against India. Hopefully we can take the confidence of the India game into our first game. Particularly it's our batting department where we've struggled a lot. But a couple of guys stepped up. To make 300 against an Indian side is always something that makes me happy as captain and pleases the team as well. Challenge is to put a score on that board and defend it as a bowling unit.

South Africa will have to beat England today at Centurion to make it through to the semi-finals.



"The most important thing for us tomorrow is to win, to focus on our basics and to carry out our game plan well...We can't be worrying about run-rates. The important thing for us is to win and to get to four points on the log. If we get to 40 overs and we are close to winning the game, then we will definitely up the tempo a bit. It is a massive game for us. We normally come off when the pressure is there and we need to win. The same thing happened at the 2007 World Cup when we had a 'must win' game against England and we managed to do it then and pull through.The Wanderers wicket suited them (England). In addition they have just come out of a tough series at home and managed to win the last one there where they had similar conditions. But they (England) played extremely well against a very strong Sri Lankan side and deserved their win. It is going to be a tough group for us and I think it is going to come down to net run-rate.  " -AB de Villiers

 

I went prowling in Purna's mind and just realised that England winning has caused South Africa to fall to 3rd place on their Group B log. This means that the Proteas & the Black Caps will need to murder England. Oh shit! Come on Dan, Baz & Taylor, don't let us down.