West Indies will seek to prolong their survival in the 2007 Cricket World Cup when they face South Africa in their most important match of the tournament at the Grenada National Stadium here today. A string of defeats in the Super Eight second round have left their semi-final hopes hanging on a string and the regional side know that another loss will render the remainder of their campaign meaningless. Captain Brian Lara told reporters yesterday his side was upbeat and fired up following the nine-day break following their last Super Eight match, which included a day's personal break for players. "The fact that we had so much games on the trot [left us tired]. The first three games of the Super Eight stage we played in something like six days," Lara said. "Everyone was looking forward to the break and [we are] definitely refreshed and we had a few good net sessions and the guys are looking forward to the remainder of the tournament, especially the way how some of the matches have gone, some slightly in our favour which is good. "We have three games left in the tournament, if we win all three games there is a great chance of us getting into the semi-finals, that is enough motivation. The most important thing for us as sportsmen is to have some sort of self-motivation. That is half the job done and it makes it much easier for the management - if it's the captain, the coach, whomever to implement the rest of it." After winning their three preliminary matches in Jamaica, West Indies looked flat in successive losses to Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in their opening Super Eight matches. Lara said, however, the individuals in the team had reflected on their personal performances and understood the team's further progress in the tournament was each of their responsibility. "I think what has happened over the last few days is a lot of guys have looked into the mirror and realised the results depend on us out in the middle," Lara noted. "Yes, we did look flat, it's no point hiding from that, but we have discussed that and the guys aired their views on the entire situation and we have moved on from that." While West Indies are fighting to avoid elimination, South Africa will be striving to rebound after their shock 67-run loss to Bangladesh in Guyana last Saturday. Coach Mickey Arthur said the Proteas had already licked their wounds and had put that defeat behind them and were ready for the West Indies. "After the game on Saturday, I have to be honest, the boys hurt a lot which is a good thing," Arthur said. "We had a good chat yesterday, we've put everything behind us, we've closed the book on the Bangladesh game. We realised we still hold the key to our destiny in this competition and we are really looking forward to playing tomorrow (Tuesday). "The good thing is we had a quick turnaround time which is excellent. So again, we didn't have a gap to sit and grouch too much. Very much now the Bangladesh game is a thing of the past and we have closed the book on that." Arthur said South Africa, despite entering the game confident of getting full points, would be keeping an eye on the Windies. "I expect the West Indies to be hungry. I expect the West Indies to come with a lot of fire, to play with a lot of passion and I expect them to be desperate just like we are going to be, so it's going to be a really good encounter," Arthur stressed. Batsmen Ashwell Prince and Herschelle Gibbs are doubtful for the match after picking up injuries during their last outing. A decision will be made on their availability prior to the match. Reprinted from jamaicaobserver.com