Arthur urges South Africa caution

Mickey Arthur is playing down his side's chances of winning the NatWest series

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South Africa coach Mickey Arthur has warned that his side’s one-day progress this summer might not be as smooth as that of their Test team despite being ranked second in the world.

The South Africans have vied with Australia for top spot in the limited-overs standings over the past 12 months but Arthur reckons the loss of experienced bowlers Shaun Pollock and Charl Langeveldt is significant.

Prior to the tour, outsiders might have considered South Africa’s best chance of success coming in the impending NatWest Series.

But Arthur said: “We set our goals in both forms of the game.

“I was really confident in the Test series because I really believe in the team that I had.

“We had played good Test cricket in the lead-up to the series and it was one of the series we had targeted.

“I had hoped to see the fruits of all our work come through and it did. We will always be there or thereabouts in one-day cricket but as a word of caution we have lost Shaun Pollock and Charl Langeveldt, who were two huge role players in our bowling attack.

“We have to find two guys to take their place, so there will be a reshuffle and it is going to be interesting to see who stands up in the next two weeks.”

South Africa’s preparations, meanwhile, have been restricted to indoor practice following persistent rain.

“We haven’t been able to practise as much death bowling as we would have liked, our variations, our slower balls, our yorkers, bouncers, which are crucial in one-day cricket,” said Arthur. “That has been very frustrating for us.”