It's now how you start, but how you finish....

I'm sure we've all heard these words before. Years ago Naas Botha was quoted saying "the Currie Cup's not won in May", and more recently after the Sharks slumped to a second defeat in so many weeks, every single rugby writer made it his or her job to point out the fact that "they might've peaked too early" or "great start, but let's see where they finish"......
Now i must say these words of wisdom by the experts got me thinking - and yes, I know it must be hard to believe a one eyed Stormers supporter is actually capable of something like that - but forget about rugby for a moment, and let's focus on the cricket world cup.

It's probably an understatment to say the Proteas haven't really been impressive so far. They arrived at the tournament as the "number one ranked team in the world" - thanks for continuously pointing that one out, Graeme Smurf - but have looked far from it. Teams have made a mockery of Polly's economy rate, Kallis has been blamed for his tortoise-like batting and they lost to Bangladesh for varks steaks!!! The lack of variety in the bowling attack has also been exposed on numerous occasions.... (Oh, and did I mention the defeat to Bangladesh by any chance???) But..... But..... But..... The scary thing however, is that South Africa are still in the competition, and haven't been knocked out yet.... Even if they have been performing poorly!

And earlier today they managed to get their campaign back on track with a vital win against the Windies. AB managed to get a big score, Kallis kept the scoreboard ticking yet again, and Gibbs and Boucher secured the big score with their flurry at the end. Of course it was by no means a flawless victory - the fact that they couldn't finish off the tail must surely still be a big headache for Mickey Arthur and his troops - but it was at least a better result than the Bangladesh match.... So, with games against New Zealand and England left to play, one victory should be enough to let them advance to the semi's.

Now, that brings me to the Black Caps. They're unbeaten, and have been really impressive so far. Fleming, Fulton, Styris, Oram and Mccullum have all contributed with the bat. Bond and Vettori have been on fire with the ball. They've brushed aside the opposition by hardly breaking a sweat. Surely they must be sitting pretty to win the whole thing! But... But... But... Let's start by looking at their remaining matches - they still have Sri Lanka, SA and Aussie left to play in the space of a week....
What if Shane Bond gets injured?
And, what happens if the top order fails to get them off to a good start... Will the middle and lower order be able to do the job? (Just go look at South Africa's 1996 world cup campaign.. in the quarter finals against the West Indies the middle and lower order failed to get the job done, probably because they didn't spend enough time in the middle during the pool matches, when the batsmen did their job....)

So, I'm really looking forward to this weekend's match between the Black Caps and Proteas. What's the saying again? "It's not how you start, but how you finish". Suppose we'll have to wait and see.