Balance and flexibility could give Smith a winning edge

The impeccable balance and the tactical acumen they showed against West Indies signalled South Africa's serious credentials to win an elusive first World Cup.

Graeme Smith has arrived in India with a team that has more variety than any of the previous South African squad in the showpiece tournament and their willingness to experiment is an example of their flexible thinking which should aid their bid to bag the title.

Aware of the spinners' enhanced role in the subcontinent's dust bowls, South Africa have drafted three frontline tweakers of different schools -- an off-spinner, a leg-spinner and a left-armer -- in their 15-man squad.

Smith showed the rare courage of fielding all three against West Indies and even opened the bowling with one of them, off-spinner Johan Botha.

The deviation from their pace-biased tradition served South Africa well as Botha and leg-spinner Imran Tahir tied West Indies in tangles before Dale Steyn mopped up the tail.

While most teams would be happy to stick to the formula that has just given them a perfect start in one-day cricket's biggest stage, Smith remains flexible, refusing to commit to continuing with the three-pronged spin attack.

"It worked for us today and we will reassess going into the next game," Smith said, refusing to sideline the pacers yet.

South Africa seem to have done their homework well, one indication of which is the role assigned to AB de Villiers whose unbeaten century scripted their seven-wicket victory over West Indies on Thursday.

De Villiers happily slipped his hands into the keeping gloves for the first time in an ICC event and has done a decent job behind the stumps.

His role would be important if South Africa are to put behind them their heart-breaking semi-final exits in 1992, 1999 and 2007 and a shock quarter-final loss to West Indies in 1996.

Smith gave an idea of de Villiers' role in the side when he said that he would rely most on the stumper when asking for reviews of umpiring decisions.

With the bat, de Villiers is coming off a dream season that made him the ICC one-day international batsman of the year in 2010 and he seems to be carrying on the form against West Indies.

South Africa take on the Netherlands in their next Group B assignment on March 3 in Mohali.