For once luck was on our side!

Coach Mickey Arthur has said the game against Sri Lanka probably took a few years off his life. I would say the same.

Having dominated the game for about 90 overs, and bowled out a high-calibre batting side for 209 in conditions that suited them far more than they did us, the jolt at the end took us completely by surprise, and I would say full credit to Lasith Malinga for some beautiful bowling.

He was coming in at more than 140 kmph and to get the ball to reverse-swing at that speed is a great feat, one that made him almost unplayable at the death. For once, however, contrary to our World Cup record, luck was with us and we're not exactly complaining!

Personally, the record books have declared that a certain Graeme Smith has become the fifth batsman to post four successive 50-plus scores in a World Cup, and the first captain to achieve this feat. That feels nice, but to repeat an old chestnut, the team's interests come first, and the record would certainly not have looked nice had it been in a losing cause.

Big ones

The next two games are big ones for us, because we are absolutely set on leaving Guyana with six points from three games. Speaking of which, we have now gone five days without a game, and the wait has been excruciating because there's not much to do in Guyana.

We simply can't wait to take the field again. What pleases me most as we go into the Ireland encounter is that we've come a lot closer to getting rid of the "chokers" tag, and this confidence will definitely stay with us.

Ireland and Bangladesh may seem like easy meat, but we're taking no chances, which is why we are thinking of playing an extra batter at number five to cover our options.

On a good track, we would probably back ourselves to beat Ireland 10 times out of 10, but the pitch here in Guyana has a bit of uncertain bounce and plays really slow and low at times. Conditions such as these usually reduce the skill factor and narrow the gap between minnows and others.

Some observers reckon Robin Peterson would be ideal for these conditions, and I must say his five overs against Sri Lanka went pretty well, but as I say, we're looking to play an extra bat, and Jacques [Kallis] and I can share the fifth bowler's load. However, I daresay Robin will play a greater role as the bigger and potentially tougher matches - against New Zealand, England and the West Indies - come closer.

Backing Pollock

There has also been some concern about the performance of Shaun Pollock, who has had the misfortune of having two thoroughly in-form batsmen - Matthew Hayden and Sanath Jayasuriya - go after him. But we back him completely and fully expect him to come back strongly.

We haven't really peaked yet as a team and are still looking for that perfect performance - which we almost pulled off against Sri Lanka - and some of our batsmen are yet to fire. If they do, we ought to have an interesting time.