Tour Diary CWC 2003: 1st Super 6 vs Sri Lanka : Is there any stopping us?

The Aussie juggernaut continues to gather pace as it swept aside one of its more fancied rivals on Friday at Pretoria. It is an ominous sign for the Kiwis who face us on Tuesday, especially considering we are missing two or three of our first pick players, yet we have replaced them with such ease.

The remaining Fanatics sought out some able replacements on the eve of the game, and by the time the first ball was bowled, the familiar wave of yellow had assumed its rightful position alongside the players race. What we were about to see was a clinical destruction of the bowler of the tournament and his bunch of hapless support crew.

While Matty Hayden continued along with his trot of mediocre scores (although, admittedly, he did look a bit better), Gilly was at his anhilating best, smacking all bolwers to various parts of the ground. His partnership with Ricky Ponting had us doing backflips on the hill, and we just knew it was all going to mental following Gilly's century.

Well, we were right, even though Gilly was cruelly run out on 99. Ponting took responsibility for his actions and played what must be one of the finest innings of the tournament.

The final score of 319 was well below what could have been achieved, but more than enough considering our bowling line up. Hit Sanath Jayasuria on the arm twice in a Brett Lee over, and the game is all but dead.

The Fanatics did their best on the hill to bring some kind of atmosphere to a half full ground, but the bitter and twisted South African supporters around us did not seem to enjoy it as much as the rest of us.

Steve Bucknor added some light to proceedings when he signed autographs for the best part of an hour. themanintheyellowsuit got his coat decorated with a signature, and some kind of cigarette, maybe in honour of his Jamaican heritage.

But it was Richie Beneaud and Tony Greig who provided us with the final laugh of the day when they were sighted walking through the car park together. They stopped for a chat and a few photos before jumping into the car together. You could imagine the conversations those two would have.

Tomorrow is the 'might' of the Kiwis in what has to be recognised as a real danger game for us. The Kiwis are about the only team in world cricket who are not hypnotised by the genius of Australia. They've got character and react well to pressure, but the form of Ricky Ponting's men matches that of any other team history. It will be a cracker...

iamthemanintheyellowsuit