South Africa v Sri Lanka: Bob Willis makes Proteas marginal favourites
Mathews' men have the edge with the bat but Proteas have better bowlers...
Tuesday 17 March 2015 10:19, UK
The first of the World Cup quarter-finals between South Africa and Sri Lanka takes place in Sydney on Wednesday and ahead of arguably the tie of the round, Bob Willis compares the sides and gives his verdict...
These two sides have perhaps the strongest batting line-ups in the tournament, with Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene up against Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers. In the bowling department, there is Lasith Malinga versus Dale Steyn, so it should be a very close contest.
It will be the best of the four quarter-finals and I’m sure both are very confident of victory, although both have slipped up twice already in the tournament.
Openers
I would liken Quinton De Kock’s style to Dilshan. He hasn’t come off in the tournament in the same way but I know De Villiers is a big fan of his. Amla is a much more orthodox player but he still seems to score at a run-a-ball or better and is able to accelerate later on. He is probably up there with De Villiers and Sangakkara as one of the three best players in the world. However, I would say due to their experience, Sri Lanka’s openers just edge it. Lahiru Thirimanne has played 93 ODIs and the innovation Dilshan has brought to the one-day game, is well recorded. Plus, he is having a very good tournament.
Bob’s Verdict: Sri Lanka
De Villiers v Sangakkara
I suppose by the law of averages, Sangakkara is due to fail and De Villiers is due another big score. There’s not really a cigarette paper between them but I think on recent form, De Villiers is probably the best all-round batsman that there has ever been and I include the likes of Sir Viv Richards in that. He’s absolutely exceptional. We had Jacques Kallis on The Verdict after England’s last game and he said that De Villiers practices all-day, every day, on these different shots to make sure he can miss the fielders. So I’m picking De Villiers on that one, despite Sangakkara’s hundred heroics.
Bob’s Verdict: South Africa
Middle order
I'm a fan of David Miller. Rilee Rossouw is a little hit-and-miss, although he’s done well in whichever position they’ve asked him to bat. But generally, down to JP Duminy, I’d put that middle-order on a par with each other. After that, they don’t have the support from the bowlers that Sri Lanka have. Sri Lanka’s lower middle-order is better than South Africa’s, which comes to a bit of a grinding halt. Angelo Mathews is a very handy all-round cricketer and Sri Lanka have shown down the order that they can still pile on the runs. It’s very close to call but I just think Sri Lanka bat a bit deeper than South Africa.
Bob’s Verdict: Sri Lanka
Steyn v Malinga
Steyn has not done anything really dramatic yet in the tournament and Malinga is just coming back after a long lay-off but they both possess that wicket-taking capability. Malinga is probably a better death bowler than Steyn, with his fast, in-swinging yorkers, but Steyn is more dangerous with the new ball and I would have to put him in above Malinga as an all-round weapon.
Bob’s Verdict: South Africa
Rest of the bowlers
South Africa certainly have more class in their bowling ranks, although the Sri Lanka seamers do a pretty steady job. But I think that is the one glaring difference between the sides, South Africa are a stronger bowling unit than Sri Lanka. It may be better geared to Test match cricket, apart from Imran Tahir, though he has a great economy and record in one-day cricket. Rangana Herath, if he plays, is a very canny performer with the ball but it’s South Africa with the ball for me.
Bob’s Verdict: South Africa
Summary
Live Cricket World Cup 2015
South Africa don’t enjoy the tag of favourites, with them often labelled chokers. But Sri Lanka enjoy the role of underdogs. They have a very happy knack of getting to the closing stages of World Cup competitions – they are losing finalists in the last two World Cups, so you underestimate them at your peril. But I’m going to stick my neck out and go with South Africa because of their exceptional batting potential and their classy seam bowling. I’d just make the Proteas favourites.
Bob’s Overall Verdict: South Africa 3-2 Sri Lanka
Watch the World Cup quarter-final between South Africa and Sri Lanka, live on Sky Sports World Cup from 3am on Wednesday.
