I always believed that I could play this format, says Kallis

The all rounder steered South Africa to victory over England in their World Cup second round clash on Thursday and was named Man of the Match after scoring 57 not out from just 49 balls.

Kallis' two for 20 from three overs at Trent Bridge in South Africa's first Super Eights match also led to England recording their lowest Twenty20 total of 111.

"I always believed that I could play this format, perhaps over the last couple of months I have shown a few people that, but I have never played this game to prove people wrong," he told reporters following the win over England.

"I've played it to enjoy the challenge and to prove to myself I can do it and I've done that over the last few months."

Kallis considered retiring when he was left out of the squad for the 2007 World Cup in his homeland but was persuaded to play on before securing a $900,000 Indian Premier League contract.

"I've worked hard on a couple of things in the last two years with Duncan Fletcher and Mickey Arthur and I had a nice IPL as well which was perfect preparation going into this World Cup," he added.

"It's a format of the game that I really want to excel in and it's nice the hard work is paying off and to be part of a special team," added Kallis.