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Proteas, Sri Lanka enter new territory in Guyana

South Africa and Sri Lanka will be entering new territory when they meet in a World Cup Super Eight match at the Guyana National Stadium today.

The match is the first of any consequence to be played at a new stadium, outside the capital Georgetown, where workers are still battling to get everything ready.

Rain prevented both teams from practising on Monday and the pitch remained under cover, so the players could not make any assessment of it.

South African coach Mickey Arthur said he hoped the pitch would have more pace and bounce than Guyana's old international ground, the Bourda in Georgetown, which was notoriously low and slow.

"We have been told by [International Cricket Council pitch consultant] Andy Atkinson that it should have reasonable bounce," Arthur said.

More rain was predicted yesterday, but it is expected to clear today, although there may be scattered thundershowers.

It is a crucial match for South Africa, who were beaten by Australia in their group decider in St. Kitts on Saturday, whereas 1996 World Cup champions Sri Lanka carried two points through to the Super Eight phase after defeating fellow qualifiers Bangladesh.

The previous World Cup meeting between the two sides was dramatic. When rain ended play in Durban in 2003 the scores were tied on the Duckworth-Lewis method. South Africa needed to win and for the second time in successive World Cups were eliminated after a tied match. It was an ignominious ending for the Proteas, who failed to reach the second round in their own country.

South African captain Graeme Smith said his team would not be haunted by the memories of 2003.

"It has not been a major issue in the team since I have taken over the captaincy," he said.

Although South Africa have dominated home matches against Sri Lanka, they have won only one out of 11 matches in Sri Lanka, with their batsmen often getting tied down by the spinners.

The overall record shows both teams have won 21 times against each other, which gives Sri Lanka a better record against South Africa than any team other than Australia.
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