LONDON — England and South Africa will hope lady luck does not desert them when they clash in the Champions Trophy semifinal at the Oval in London Wednesday. Both sides, aiming to end a frustrating wait for a major one-day title, are fortunate to make the last four in the eight-nation tournament, saved either by the weather or their rivals' bad luck. South Africa sneaked a tie — and gain a valuable point — at Cardiff last week when rain forced the game to end with the West Indies on the exact Duckworth-Lewis par score of 190-6 in 26.1 overs. If Keiron Pollard had not been dismissed off what turned out to be the last ball of the match, the West Indies would have won the game and qualified for the semifinals after being ahead of the D/L target at that stage. England was lucky the weather favored it in Cardiff Sunday as the host squeezed out a 10-run win over New Zealand in a game reduced to 24-overs-a-side due to rain. A washed-out match or a defeat would almost certainly have knocked England out of the race and lifted the Black Caps into the semifinals along with either Sri Lanka or Australia. South African captain AB de Villiers said he expected a close contest between two “world-class” sides. “England will be the favorites because they are playing at home and know the conditions well,” de Villers said Tuesday. “But I think it is pretty much 50-50. “It's up to the team which rocks up with the right attitude that can take that momentum early on and run with it. We'll be looking to do exactly that and adapt to conditions as quickly as possible.” The South African captain said the only way his team can get rid of the label of ‘chokers' was to win the tournament. De Villers said premier fast bowler Dale Steyn was “close to 100 percent” fit, but insisted his team can win even without him. England skipper Alastair Cook said his team was excited about playing in a major semifinal. “It's another day tomorrow. It's another game. What's gone on in the past has no relevance,” he said. Group B winners India and Sri Lanka meet in the second semifinal in Cardiff Thursday in a repeat of the 2011 World Cup final in Mumbai which the Indians won. Tillakaratne Dilshan took a brilliant one-handed catch to end a stubborn last-wicket partnership of 41 as Sri Lanka beat Australia by 20 runs Monday. Australia, needing to reach its target of 254 in 29.1 overs to make the last four, came out all guns blazing but it lost wickets at regular intervals and, at 192 for nine, had looked to be heading for a heavy defeat in the final Group A match. ICC confirm umpires The International Cricket Council announced Tuesday the umpires and match officials for the semifinals. For host England's match against South Africa at The Oval in London Wednesday, the on-field umpires will be Sri Lanka's Kumar Dharmasena and Australia's Rod Tucker,. India and Sri Lanka meet in the second semifinal in Cardiff Thursday where the umpires in the middle will be England's Richard Kettleborough and Pakistan's Aleem Dar. — Agencies
