Smith's day began badly by losing the toss and he fell cheaply

South Africa captain Graeme Smith admitted it was a key toss to lose as his team succumbed to a five-wicket defeat against New Zealand in Grenada.

"The first 20 overs was very tough to bat, they exploited the conditions superbly," said Smith, out for one.

"We did well to drag it out to the 49th over so credit to the way we bowled."

Smith's team now face England in a key game on Tuesday. "We'll bounce back, we have lots of experience and big players looking forward to that," he said.

Having played their group matches in St Kitts and three Super 8 games in Guyana, the South Africans enjoyed a 67-run victory in their first match at Grenada against hosts West Indies.

"It was damp against the West Indies but it did a lot more today and that controlled a lot of our innings," Smith observed.

"If we could have got to 220-230 it might have given us a real chance."

The captain, who made four successive fifties in his team's first four matches in the tournament, was out in the second over to Kiwi paceman Shane Bond.

Tuesday's match against England is likely to become a shoot-out for the fourth semi-final place but Smith insists his team remain in good order.

"I'm not too disappointed with the way we played because conditions had a major influence," he said.

"We bowled in the right areas and made them work hard for their runs and if we had held a few catches who knows what might have happened?"

Vice-captain Jacques Kallis insisted South Africa could still win the tournament.

"Three big performances by the team and we end up with the World Cup in our hands.

"I believe we are capable of doing it and I think everyone in the team believes we are capable of doing it," he said.