By RICHARD BOOCK
As the past week's chaos over driver licensing suggests, South Africa is a place where people often leave things to the last minute.
Overshadowing the World Cup for a brief but explosive 48 hours, the crush caused by the deadline for converting to a new-style driver licence brought
most of the major cities in South Africa to a standstill last week.
Despite having had 5 1/2 years' warning, tens of thousands of people queued for nine or 10 hours in some places, fighting broke out as patience wore thin - one licensing teller was punched through the glass pane of her booth - and police mobilised with water-cannon made numerous arrests.
The only thing coming close to matching the story in terms of emotion is the plight of South Africa's World Cup cricketers, who have also caused tension and angst throughout the land with their dangerously late bid to qualify for the second round.
South Africa's last chance will be early tomorrow morning when they begin their must-win showdown against Sri Lanka at Durban, knowing a loss will mean elimination from their own tournament.
No hosting team have ever won the trophy but South Africans in general have rated their team's chances highly, raising the question of whether the water-cannon would be better stationed at Kingsmead tomorrow.
In a tournament punctuated by upsets, controversies, scandals and periods of acute boredom, South Africa - who started as joint-favourites and are now scrapping for their survival - have been consistently underwhelming.
Losses to the West Indies and New Zealand were followed by lethargic performances against Bangladesh and Canada, prompting witch-hunts for the perpetrators of the slump and a heightened level of anxiety.
That tension is likely become especially acute about the time of the toss tomorrow, after the past week's furore over the lop-sidedness of day-night games at Kingsmead, which tends to favour the team bowling second.
For all that, South African skipper Shaun Pollock has remained remarkably composed in the face of public expectation and insists that his side will have the goods to produce a win whether or not the coin falls in his favour.
"Obviously, there's been a lot read into it, but I don't believe you can't win a game batting second [in a day-nighter]," he said.
"If we go there and bat second, I believe we can do the job.
"There's been a lot of talk about it and I suppose there are probably a few results that have backed up that theory.
"But we chased really well in Cape Town batting second at night, and if we'd got that extra over and things had gone to plan, we would have won."
Pollock said his side had to produce when it mattered most.
"We're really looking forward to it. It's a big one for us and the guys are excited.
"The World Cup's all about producing the goods on the big day."
Sri Lanka skipper Sanath Jayasuriya was philosophical after his side's tense win over the West Indies on Saturday, praising his bowlers but expressing concern that only a few of his batsmen were firing.
"Our middle-order batting is not in good form and we need to get more runs on the board," he said.
"The batting is a worrying factor. We are fortunate that the bowlers have been bowling well."
Left-arm paceman Chaminda Vaas, who extended the target for the West Indies at Newlands with a hard-hit 28, continued his match-deciding form with the ball by snaring four for 22 off 10 overs, a performance which won him the man-of-the match award.
The 28-year-old left-armer made the biggest impact on the West Indian batting line-up by dismissing Brian Lara (1), Chris Gayle (55), Wavell Hinds (2) and Ridley Jacobs (0), and has 16 wickets after five tournament games.
New Zealander Geoff Allott and Australian Shane Warne jointly hold the cup record of 20 wickets.
Jayasuriya said the way Sri Lanka rebounded from the shock loss against Kenya was encouraging for his team's Super Six and semifinal hopes.
"The way we are playing at the moment I think we have a good chance, but we need to hold all the catches and get more runs on the board," said Jayasuriya.
"If we can beat South Africa it will be much easier for us in the Super Sixes."
World Cup schedule
Points table
By RICHARD BOOCK
As the past week's chaos over driver licensing suggests, South Africa is a place where people often leave things to the last minute.
Overshadowing the World Cup for a brief but explosive 48 hours, the crush caused by the deadline for converting to a new-style driver licence brought
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