<p>“It has been a fantastic two and a half weeks,” Kallis told newsmen on Tuesday afternoon. “Most of our preparations have already been done and it is the finishing touches that we have left for today and tomorrow. We are as well prepared as we have been for any other World Cup. In fact, we are probably better prepared and the guys are in a relaxed frame of mind. It has been a slow build-up but the guys are ready and raring to go.<br /><br />“We have covered all of our bases,” Kallis continued, explaining why the guys were in a relaxed frame of mind. “The team has spent a lot of time together as a unit, having played a lot of cricket before the World Cup. Each guy in the team knows his role and that is a major part of being relaxed going into a tournament. You can be quite worried or nervous if you are not quite sure where you fit in. Everybody knows where they fit in; they can just go out there and enjoy and relax and play the type of cricket they are capable of. For me as a senior player, the key is in getting that message across to the young players -- to go out and enjoy the World Cup.”<br /><br />Having recovered fully from the side strain that kept him out of the one-day series against India, Kallis concurred with several who have termed this the most open World Cup ever. “I don’t think there is anyone who stands out as the favourite at the moment,” he insisted. “A lot of people are talking about India but we know what it is like to play with the pressure of being at home, so that probably negates the home advantage. It is going to boil down to who gets to the next stage and once you get down to the quarterfinals, semifinals or the final, anything can happen because the teams are so evenly matched. The teams that are going to play the best cricket under pressure in those games and in one or two league games as well will be standing on top at the end.”<br /><br />Despite the presence of crack pacemen Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Kallis welcomed the fact most tracks in this competition have so far helped the spinners. “It’s nice that we have three world-class spinners in our side,” he noted. “All of them are bowling well and we can pick any of them, so it is an advantage.”<br /><br />Taking umbrage at the bringing up of the chokers’ tag, Kallis thundered, “A lot gets made of it in the media. We certainly don’t talk about it, we don’t even think about it. I think the word choker gets used far too often everytime a team loses nowadays. It is certainly something that doesn’t haunt us.<br /><br />“We have a lot of young players, 11 out of the 15 haven’t played in a World Cup before, so that doesn’t even cross our mind. We don’t worry about the past; we are just looking to play good cricket when we need to and relax away from the game of cricket.”</p>
<p>“It has been a fantastic two and a half weeks,” Kallis told newsmen on Tuesday afternoon. “Most of our preparations have already been done and it is the finishing touches that we have left for today and tomorrow. We are as well prepared as we have been for any other World Cup. In fact, we are probably better prepared and the guys are in a relaxed frame of mind. It has been a slow build-up but the guys are ready and raring to go.<br /><br />“We have covered all of our bases,” Kallis continued, explaining why the guys were in a relaxed frame of mind. “The team has spent a lot of time together as a unit, having played a lot of cricket before the World Cup. Each guy in the team knows his role and that is a major part of being relaxed going into a tournament. You can be quite worried or nervous if you are not quite sure where you fit in. Everybody knows where they fit in; they can just go out there and enjoy and relax and play the type of cricket they are capable of. For me as a senior player, the key is in getting that message across to the young players -- to go out and enjoy the World Cup.”<br /><br />Having recovered fully from the side strain that kept him out of the one-day series against India, Kallis concurred with several who have termed this the most open World Cup ever. “I don’t think there is anyone who stands out as the favourite at the moment,” he insisted. “A lot of people are talking about India but we know what it is like to play with the pressure of being at home, so that probably negates the home advantage. It is going to boil down to who gets to the next stage and once you get down to the quarterfinals, semifinals or the final, anything can happen because the teams are so evenly matched. The teams that are going to play the best cricket under pressure in those games and in one or two league games as well will be standing on top at the end.”<br /><br />Despite the presence of crack pacemen Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Kallis welcomed the fact most tracks in this competition have so far helped the spinners. “It’s nice that we have three world-class spinners in our side,” he noted. “All of them are bowling well and we can pick any of them, so it is an advantage.”<br /><br />Taking umbrage at the bringing up of the chokers’ tag, Kallis thundered, “A lot gets made of it in the media. We certainly don’t talk about it, we don’t even think about it. I think the word choker gets used far too often everytime a team loses nowadays. It is certainly something that doesn’t haunt us.<br /><br />“We have a lot of young players, 11 out of the 15 haven’t played in a World Cup before, so that doesn’t even cross our mind. We don’t worry about the past; we are just looking to play good cricket when we need to and relax away from the game of cricket.”</p>
