 Prince (right) is greeted by Sri Lanka's Mahela Jayawardene |
South Africa captain Ashwell Prince has admitted that his side will have to defy the odds to beat Sri Lanka in their forthcoming Test series. Regular skipper Graeme Smith, his deputy Jacques Kallis and senior seam bowler Shaun Pollock are all absent.
"Considering this and the fact we are playing away from home makes us the underdogs in the series.
"Sri Lanka will have the edge, but we are determined to face the challenge," Prince commented.
"Our critics say experience counts a lot and one of our replacements, Jacques Rudolph, was actually the only batsman to score a Test century the last time we toured here.
"The other guy coming back is Herschelle Gibbs, so both have the experience to perform."
The 29-year-old batsman is South Africa's first non-white captain and faces a major test of his ability to inspire players as Sri Lanka are in confident mood after a successful tour to England.
They achieved a 1-1 draw in the Tests in England and then whitewashed the home side 5-0 in the one-dayers.
"Mahela (Jayawardene) has been doing well as captain and as a batsman, (Kumar) Sangakkara has been among the runs and Sanath Jayasuriya has done well on his return," said Prince.
But he named spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan as their "main worry".
"We've got a lot of footage and we will be analysing how best to combat him," Prince added.
South Africa start their only warm-up game in Colombo on Sunday, with the first Test getting under way next Thursday.
Although Smith and Kallis will miss the two-match series because of injury, they still hope Pollock, whose wife is due to give birth shortly, may join them in time for the second Test.
E-mail this to a friend 
Printable version 