New Delhi, Oct. 6: Armed with mantras like ‘think outside the box’ and ‘play the attractive brand of cricket’, the South African team have arrived fully prepared for the Champions Trophy as the No. 2 ranked team in ODI cricket. With Graeme Smith at the helm and all-rounder Jacques Kallis back to full fitness, the Proteas have a full side at their disposal and look ready for the challenge.

Talking to the media, Smith expressed pleasure on being back on the international circuit:"It feels great to back in the team after injury. It was tough being away from the players and the game."

With SA ranked as the second best team in ODIs, Smith did not mince words when he talked about his team’s chances: "We are ranked second in the world and we are here as one of the favourites. We are not going to shy away from this tag. Having said that, we know that one-day cricket is anybody’s game and there are probably six or seven other teams who are carrying the same tag as we are. We can’t afford to drop our guard." With lack of match practice prior to the tournament plaguing a few teams, Smith admitted that it was a bit of a concern: "We haven’t had much cricket lately. It’s the winter season back home so we couldn’t get ‘warmed up’ for this busy ODI season that includes India’s tour to SA and also the World Cup. We have a few practice games lined up here and we will try to get back into the groove as soon as possible." Talking about the strategies that the Proteas would be using during the Champions Trophy, Smith said: "In the flat tracks of India, it is very important to bowl well in the power plays. We did that well during our previous tour. We have the players in our ranks who can do the job for us. We would be looking at ‘rotating’ our side even though we have a fairly settled unit. Also, the role of a spinner becomes all the more important here and we have an exciting spinner in Robin Peterson."

Outlining the dew factor and reverse swing as something that could be the deciding factors, Smith said: "Reverse swing becomes very important in Indian conditions along with change of pace. On our previous tour we encountered some heavy dew and we would try to work around that problem."