Smith Ready For Explosive Clash

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Graeme Smith - ready for crunch clash.

By Richard Gibson, PA Sport, Barbados

South Africa captain Graeme Smith is expecting an explosive encounter with England at Kensington Oval as the World Cup hots up.

Today's contest is effectively a quarter-final, as South Africa will progress to the final four with victory while England will be in the box seat for the semi-final should they win.

Previous failures at World Cups when the pressure is on has led to the Proteas being tagged 'chokers', something Smith laughed off when his team arrived in the Caribbean as the number one-ranked one-day side.

Having exited the previous two World Cups via tied matches, South African supporters will no doubt be braced for another nerve-shredder.

"I guess it's another big pressure day, as most of the last few games have been," said Smith.

"If we win we can put a lot of things behind us.

"But winning does not mean we win the World Cup, it would just be a good start as we haven't played to our potential yet.

"If we win the next three games we win the World Cup, so we have to move forward and if we perform at our levels we can turn it around.

"There is a lot of heat going into this, a lot of pressure on both sides and I am pretty sure it's going to be an explosive game."

The extra pace and bounce the Bridgetown pitch offers should encourage South Africa's battery of fast bowlers and strokemaking batsmen, although England have the advantage of playing once here already.

Like England, Smith's team have been poor during the tournament, losing by large margins to Australia, New Zealand and Bangladesh, which suggests this contest will be more even than the 4-1 series margin between the countries two years ago.

"Consistently our one-day form has been better over the last couple of years," said Smith.

"They've won some big games recently but both of us have had ups and downs coming into this tournament.

"Both teams know each other pretty well and there are some big players on each side."

England's biggest, Kevin Pietersen, has had major differences with Smith since turning his back on South African cricket to pursue a career with the land of his mother's birth.

Smith once said he was patriotic about South Africa and that is why he did not like Pietersen.

"We've had our run-ins, this is an important game of cricket and he is an important cog in that England set-up," said Smith.

"How we knock him over is going to be important.

"As far as his cricket ability goes we have respect for that and we will show that tomorrow.

"He is one of the best one-day players in the world at the moment, we will have plans to attack him and we will be well prepared."

South Africa may axe spinner Robin Peterson to play an extra paceman while Herschelle Gibbs is fully fit following a calf problem.

Meanwhile, South Africa's board chief executive Gerald Majola has asked for a management report into allegations Smith and other senior players were out drinking into the early hours after defeat to Stephen Fleming's New Zealand on Saturday.