We want to make semis on merit

The match against Bangladesh saw us play the worst we have played in a long time, no question. It isn't everyday that the entire team has a bad day at the office, and we have spent the last two days dissecting a game that went so badly wrong for us.

Not that we feel better about it after having analysed it to bits, but at least there is the consolation of knowing that not every day can be this terrible.

What makes things really difficult is that we have had just two days in between in which to regroup, and one of those days was spent travelling to Grenada. The positive is that we are now at a new venue, hoping to make a fresh start, and the match tomorrow is more of a must win game for the West Indies than it is for us. Not that we can afford to take it easy, but we have to put the past behind us and move on.

Finally, before I leave this topic altogether, full credit to Bangladesh for grabbing the opportunity we gave them with both hands. They won fair and square, and utilised their strengths far better than we did. There has been plenty of talk about possible changes to the team in the wake of the defeat, but we would like to inspect the pitch before coming to a decision. Herschelle Gibbs's injury may mean a few adjustments to the batting order, but we'll wait and see how well he recovers before we decide on whether he is fit to play.

Kemp's chances

I also read reports that Justin Kemp may not find a place in the XI because his batting is not really suited to Caribbean pitches. Well, he has been a match winner for us in the past, and the England or West Indies attack may suit him more than the Bangladesh bowling did.

Also, if Grenada offers a really good batting surface, we could do with Kempy. We are also looking at Andre Nel, obviously, but as I say, we will not form the team until we've had a look at the pitch. The other oft-repeated observation after the Bangladesh game is that South Africa's so called fragility against slow bowling on slow pitches has once again been exposed. Considering we beat Sri Lanka - a team that has the best spinner in the world - on the same slow pitch, I would say that the charge was a little unfair.

Barring Lasith Malinga's four-ball blitz at the end, we controlled the match throughout, and were not exactly found wanting against the slow bowlers.

Tomorrow is a new match and a new day. We want to win all three of our remaining games, because we want to get to the semis on our own merit instead of relying on someone else to do the job for us.