Johan Botha (left) opened the bowling against West Indies

South Africa skipper Graeme Smith has promised to spring more surprises after opening the bowling against West Indies with off-spinner Johan Botha, who dismissed Chris Gayle in his first over. There were three spinners in the South Africa side as Smith's team won their opening match of the tournament by seven wickets. "There is a bit of an unknown factor about us this time," Smith said. "Many of the boys have not been in the side for a long time, so there will be more of an element of surprise about us this time than in other World Cups." (AFP)

England bowler Tim Bresnan has admitted he did not understand the ruling that ensured Ian Bell could not be given out leg before wicket upon review by Hawk-Eye when struck on the pad during Sunday's match against India because the point of contact was more than 2.5 metres in front of the stumps. "It confuses you, but once explained it does make a lot of sense," Bresnan commented. (PA)

Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi has warned his players to guard against complacency ahead of their match against Canada on Thursday. His team have beaten Kenya and Sri Lanka, while Canada lost by 175 runs against Zimbabwe and 210 in their clash with Sri Lanka. "We had a very good win against Sri Lanka, but we still need to take every match seriously, more so against a team who we don't know," Afridi stated. (AFP)

Australia have dismissed suggestions that Shane Watson and Brad Haddin deliberately batted slowly against Zimbabwe. Haddin said the "whole thing is quite laughable, just a joke", while team manager Steve Bernard said the claim was "ludicrous".
Full story: Daily Telegraph (Australia)

New Zealand bowling coach Allan Donald has warned his team about the dangers posed by Zimbabwe ahead of their match on Friday. "They're not scared of any big names and while they're a bit of an uneducated cricket nation at the moment because they've been out for so long, they are a dangerous team," Donald reflected. (AFP)

Bangladesh captain Mohammad Ashraful is confident his team's spin attack can take his team to victory over West Indies on Friday.
Full story: Daily Star (Bangladesh)

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