Hosts missing the party Predicting S. Africa, India, Pakistan, Zimbabwe advance to semis Click here for more on this story Posted: Wednesday June 02, 1999 09:35 AM   Allan Donald and South Africa could be pointing their way to the World Cup semifinals. AP By Tunku Varadarajan, CNN/SI The South Africans must be cursing the points system employed for the Super Sixes stage of the World Cup, and with jolly good reason. It is a travesty that they should have crushed their opposition in every match until the very last one -- when Zimbabwe inflicted a memorable defeat on them -- and still go into the critical countdown stage with only two points. Their situation is made all the more galling by the fact that the Pakistanis, the lords of Group B until they took one in the eye from a Bangladeshi peashooter, have four points in the bag. There should be a sharp debate after the cup on the merits of the methods here employed. Zimbabwe, which has delighted neutral observers with its giant-killing ways, lost badly to Sri Lanka and England, two of the most uninspiring sides in the tournament. Yet it soars forward, on the basis of the two "big" wins, and needs only one more victory to book a berth in the semis. This is quite wrong, as is the fact that India, which finished level on points with Zimbabwe and played only one bad match, has no points to carry forward. The points earned by the Group A qualifiers simply do not reflect the true balance of power in that group. Group B, on the other hand, provides a fairer picture. There is no doubt that the Pakistanis were the best side. They played some coruscating cricket, swatting aside their opponents in all the matches that mattered. If the South Africans were relentless, Wasim Akram's men were inspirational. The others were not on the same plane. (Bangladesh beat them, of course, but that was a glorious fluke: it will not happen again in a decade.) New Zealand, apart from an early win against a lethargic Australia, was a tedious and mediocre side. I predict that it will lose all three of its Super Six matches. The Aussies are beginning to lengthen their stride and their forthcoming match against India is poised to be a majestic encounter. I will stick my neck out and forecast an Indian win. Sachin Tendulkar intimidates them, something very few players have done to the Aussies in the history of cricket. And for that alone he should be regarded as one of the game's all-time greats. The hosts will not be present at their own party, which is a shame. But the blunt truth is that Stewart and Co. were woefully short of class, dull peahens in a field of peacocks. I long for the day when cricket's mother country begins to fizz again with bat and ball, for the day when its selectors place more faith in panache than in dreary hard work. But that will not be tomorrow. Sri Lanka, too, needs to search anew for its cricketing soul. Ranatunga must go, as he is at the root of all that is so stale in the islanders' approach. I reckon that the four teams to qualify for the semis will be South Africa, Zimbabwe, India and Pakistan. Obviously, the chanciest nomination is India, as it must win all three of its matches. South Africa will drop no more games, Pakistan will beat Zimbabwe, and the "Zims" will knock over the Kiwis. Australia, I suspect, will beat only Zimbabwe. Frankly, after that tawdry attempt to fix the net run rate in their match against the West Indies, they deserve no better.   Related information Stories World Cup groups intriguing this time around One-day cricket less popular than tests Multimedia Click here for the latest audio and video Search our site Watch CNN/SI 24 hours a day Sports Illustrated and CNN have combined to form a 24 hour sports news and information channel. To receive CNN/SI at your home call 1-888-53-CNNSI.

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