It is 20 years since Nelson Mandela joined forces with Francois Pienaar to orchestrate one of the most heart-warming stories in sporting history and that global success in rugby could be replicated by the country's cricketers during the next six weeks.

Such a scenario may seem unlikely, given the South Africans' past history in the tournament, where their misreading of the Duckworth-Lewis Method on one occasion left them requiring 22 runs off one ball, or spilling chances and being sledged by their Australian opponents: "You just dropped the World Cup."

But, at least on the evidence of this winter's one-day action, there is little doubt that the Proteas will take some beating when they commence their quest for the global crown in a group where they have avoided the in-form Australia and New Zealand and been pitted against India, West Indies and Pakistan: a trio who possess their own specific threats, but who are not going to be lifting the trophy unless they have been indulging in the greatest acts of kidology since Orson Welles concocted a Martian invasion.

In many respects, this World Cup badly needs a few new twists and surprises, if only because the tournament organisers have messed things up so frequently in the past. Whether in getting trapped in a political imbroglio which helped Kenya reach the semi-finals in 2003, or sanctioning the farcical ticket prices which left so many matches being played in deserted arenas in the Caribbean four years later, the competition has rarely preached to the unconverted.

Cynics will ask whether cricket can truly call itself a global sport when the ICC is preparing to cut the number of participants from 14 to 10 in 2019 and it's a difficult argument to repudiate.

Which brings us back to South Africa. This is a side which has lost the talents of such truly Test-class luminaries as Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith and Mark Boucher and barely stumbled an inch. Whereas defending champions, India, have never really recovered from the departure of such stellar figures as Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, and the Sri Lankans have not yet replaced Muttiah Muralitharan or Sanath Jayasuriya, AB De Villiers and his compatriots have simply kept speeding forward like Michael Schumacher in his prime. They have everything in their repertoire: the terrible beauty of AB in full flow, the cool-as-Antarctica attitude of Hashim Amla; a triumvirate of contrasting but classy pace bowlers in Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander; and even a subtle, multi-nuanced spinner in Imran Tahir.

That last quartet will be crucial to their side's prospects, because if there is one feature which has become apparent in ODIs, it is that teams no longer fear chasing 300 and the best batsmen have the technical expertise to tear any attack to shreds. I've seen explosive displays from Brendon McCullum, De Villiers, Luke Ronchi, David Miller, David Warner and Steve Smith in recent months and their ability to seize the initiative and treat bowlers with disdain has been undeniable. But, unless you are the sort of person who thinks cricket is synonymous with sixes, there needs to be a real contest between bat and ball if any match is to be transformed from good to great.

Only two countries possess the sheer raw pace and bounce to skittle opponents, which helps explain why South Africa and Australia are many people's candidates to advance to the final. This will probably be Steyn's World Cup swansong, as it will be Mitchell Johnson's and it would be a lovely antidote to the preponderance of dibbly-dobbly seamers in the game these days if both men were to make a significant impression on the World Cup.

It would also be a boon if at least one of the associate nation representatives - Scotland, Ireland, Afghanistan and the UAE - could claim a major scalp or, better still, progress into the quarter-finals. Sadly, that scenario seems unlikely. The Irish have a decent batting line-up, but are clearly missing Boyd Rankin, Trent Johnston and Tim Murtagh; the UAE were demolished by the Australians this week and are dependent on too few individuals; and Afghanistan can veer between the brilliant and bungling in the same match. As for Scotland, their prime objective has to lie in breaking their tournament duck. Any grander ambitions must wait, especially if they fail to press home winning positions such as against the West Indies in the warm-up phase.

Understandably, there is excitement as the tournament hoves into view, but also a latent sense of apprehension. Is the 50-over format a busted flush? Will crowds be captivated by the Aassociates? And will anybody bother watching Zimbabwe and Bangladesh? We have to hope the answer is in the affirmative, but this World Cup has a lot to live up to. The South Africans, a proper all-round team, should shade it.