Amla and Smith put South Africa in top gear

http://gallery.bizhat.com/data/865/Amla_Smith_Big.jpg

MOHALI: Netherland's skipper Peter Borren won the toss and after a slight hesitation decided to bowl first in the overcast conditions against South Africa at the PCA Stadium here. Skipper Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla gave a solid opening to South Africa.

However, after the sensational win of Ireland over England, South Africa must be cautious against Netherlands in this game.

The Dutch decided to field the same side that was thrashed by the West Indies in their second game at the Feroz Shah Kotla.

On the other hand, Graeme Smith, who too would have bowled first had he won the toss, made one change to the side.

The Proteas included Morne van Wyk instead of Johan Botha in the playing eleven.

South Africa, who beat the West Indies comfortably in their first outing at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, will look to top the points table if they beat the Dutch in Thursday's game.

Meanwhile, Netherlands would like to forget their outing against the Caribbean side where Kemar Roach took a brilliant hat-trick.

The Peter Borren-led side may also be excited after they see Ireland stun England on Wednesday.

Teams:

South Africa: G Smith (Capt), H Amla, J Kallis, AB de Villiers(WK), J Duminy, F du Plessis, M van Wyk, R Peterson, M Morkel, D Steyn, Imran Tahir

Netherlands: A Kervezee, W Barresi(WK), T Cooper, R ten Doeschate, B Zuiderent, T de Grooth, P Borren (Capt), Mudassar Bukhari, P Seelaar, B Loots, B Westdijk

Toss

Netherlands won and chose to field

Umpires

EAR de Silva (Sri Lanka)

RA Kettleborough (England)

TV umpire

SJA Taufel (Australia)

Match referee

JJ Crowe (New Zealand)

Reserve umpire

AM Saheba

Graeme Smith's Proteas will be playing only their second World Cup match after thrashing West Indies in their lung-opener.

The Netherlands, on the other hand, have already lost two games -- one after giving a spirited fight to England and the other after meekly surrendering to the West Indies.

Given the huge gap in talent and experience between the two sides, the South Africans would be looking to experiment with their line-up.

The Proteas have the luxury to leave out one of the three spinners -- Imran Tahir, Johan Botha or Robin Peterson -- who wrecked havoc against the West Indies and have a look at their pace options.



Keywords: Latest sports news, indian cricket, tennis, chess, football, world cup,