South Africa

Whether or not you agree with South Africa’s unfortunate tag as big-tournament chokers - a moniker which is rooted chiefly in their agonising semi-final defeat to Australia in 1999 - there can be little dispute that they are genuine contenders this time around. Their batting possesses a depth and versatility which many teams would envy: power (Graeme Smith) and grace (Hashim Amla) at the top of the order, technical excellence (Jacques Kallis), resourcefulness (JP Duminy) and brute power (AB de Villiers) lower down. Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel’s menace with the new ball is complemented by Wayne Parnell’s accuracy at the death, while leg-spinner Imran Tahir, whose reputation continues to grow, completes an impressive jigsaw. What's more, few can match Francois Du Plessis and de Villiers in the field.

Squad: Graeme Smith, Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, AB de Villiers (wicketkeeper), JP Duminy, Francois Du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Jacques Kallis, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Robin Peterson, Dale Steyn, Imran Tahir, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Morne van Wyk.

Captain: Graeme Smith
Coach: Corrie van Zyl

Key Man: Hashim Amla
Amla’s rise to prominence has been one of the stories of the past 12 months. Far from a regular in the team at the beginning of 2010, he ended the year at the summit of the ICC batting rankings. The purity of his strokeplay belies a strike-rate of 93 and his career average of 59.88 heading into the World Cup is better than any batsman in history (bar the Netherlands' Ryan ten Doeschate) to have played 20 ODI innings.

World Cup Record
1975: Did not participate
1979: Did not participate
1983: Did not participate
1987: Did not participate
1992: Semi-final
1996: Quarter-final
1999: Semi-final
2003: 1st round
2007: Semi-final