Minnows Afghanistan no pushovers

It’s crunch time for South Africa — five consecutive knockout matches and, even if they win them all, they aren’t assured of a place in the semifinals. But that is for us to speculate about, not Faf or his players.

Like a marathon runner a third of the way into the race, Faf cannot afford to think too far ahead — never mind the finish line. One match at a time, one over at a time, even one ball at a time.

I played many ‘minnow’ games in my career and I never found them particularly easy. In truth, I’m not even sure that Afghanistan should be called ‘minnows’. In a ten-team World Cup you don’t find too many easy games, and that is just the way it should be.

Afghanistan haven’t played their best cricket so far and I’m sure they will improve. I tipped them for a couple of wins before the tournament started and I still think that could happen, especially if it ever stops raining and their three world-class spinners come into play on drier pitches! I just hope they don’t come good against the Proteas.

The South African camp also had to deal with the off-field distraction caused by the news that AB de Villiers had offered

to return to international cricket before the World Cup. My sense is that it was a much, much bigger story for the media and the fans than it was for the captain and the squad. They had spoken about the situation before they left South Africa and had discussed the possibility that the news might ‘break’ during the tournament. They were prepared.

It would have been nice to have AB in the team for the World Cup but not at such late notice when the squad had already been selected.

I’m even more confident that my three ‘firm’ predictions for semifinal places will get there. England and India are looking ominously good and the Australians will have benefitted greatly from winning two closely contested matches against the West Indies and Pakistan.

The fourth semifinal spot would appear to be a race between New Zealand and the West Indies at this stage with the Black Caps enjoying a significant advantage.

I’d love to think the Proteas can get there, I will never write them off, but I suspect it will be a bridge too far now. And besides, the bridge might get washed away in this weather! —