SOUTH AFRICA'S first World Cup encounter against the Australians in Sydney last Wednesday was not only historic in nature but almost epic in proportions.

Their resounding 9-wicket victory, against the odds, put paid to the naysayers and placed the team firmly on the world stage.

The one-day game reduces the differences in strength between sides. The unknown variable, the spirit which lifts or deflates a side, became almost tangible under the bright lights of the Sydney Cricket Ground and carried the South Africans beyond their opposition...