Hard not to be able to jump in - Donald

When a South African bowler veers down the wrong line, misses his length, oversteps or even fumbles in the field, he does not only have his own team-mates to answer to but someone far more expectant: his coach Allan Donald. From his vantage point on the boundary, Donald has been known to pace, pout, praise and and almost play the game himself. Almost.

"It's dangerous territory for me. I am a passionate guy. It's very evident when a player has mad a mistake and I want to get involved but the captain might have a plan so I tend to pull myself in when I see things unfolding," Donald said ahead of South Africa's World Cup opener against Zimbabwe in Hamilton. "That's why I sit in what we call the pit - the dugout. It's the only place that stops me from being on the field."

A dozen years have passed since Donald played international cricket in a career that ended at the 2003 World Cup, and the fire for the biggest stage has not dimmed. "I am very excited. The nerves will never go away but the excitement of it - to get the feel of the oval and the net, when you are able to close the game out when you are bowling to a guy like AB de Villiers and the pressure on, that's what I love. I'm looking forward to seeing what skill will be provided at this World Cup."

As someone who has been involved in five of the six World Cups since South Africa's readmission, Donald has seen first-hand how things have changed from one tournament to the other and he believes the progress has been for the better.  "It's been more than 20 years since I played in the World Cup here and the growth of the one day game has been massive. It has become so fast and so much more skillful. We've seen the game go through the roof in terms of skill and execution under pressure," he said.

At the 1992 World Cup, Donald was South Africa's highest wicket-taker and sixth overall in conditions which changed from pacy to placid between Australia and New Zealand. Totals were much lower than they are now - there was only one match with scores over 300 - and the playing field was more level between batsmen and bowlers, who Donald explained have had to learn to be more courageous.

"Where one-day cricket is now compared to where it's been is a different ballgame. You expect a lot of runs and you expect some brave cricket, especially with the ball," he said. "It's going to come down to that when you're under the pump." Bowlers are expected to be in that position throughout the event.

Donald identified the smaller grounds and good pitches as the two challenges facing every attack and came up with some solutions of his own. "The wickets are going to be pure wickets; very good wickets so wickets in the Powerplay will be a massive factor for everyone. That ball has got to swing, we've got to find a way to get that ball reversing. That's crucial for us," Donald said.

With two new balls that will be more difficult than it was before but South Africa have one of the best executioners of reverse swing in Dale Steyn, who will also be a key protagonist in Donald's other plan."Against West Indies, we realised we have to stay aggressive through the innings and be unpredictable at the end of the innings," Donald said.

South Africa's death bowling has been inconsistent. They roped in the services of former international Charl Langeveldt to try and change that but he does not have a designated yorker-bowler to train, although Kyle Abbott has volunteered himself. But because Donald does not even believe toe-crushers are the best balls to do the job and would instead like to see bowlers dishing up what they feel most confident delivering, be it a slower-ball bouncer or Test-match length outside off, confusion can sometimes creep into the South African strategy.

They still have some time to sort out exactly what they hope to do even though their tournament starts on Sunday. For Donald, the World Cup is not about domination from day one, especially not this one. "It's a very open World Cup," he said. "You look around and you see the talent and the teams who are out here and you know you cannot take any team lightly. That's just the pressure of the World Cup. You've got to find the right time to peak and find the right balance."