Johannesburg: South African skipper Graeme Smith said up to six teams were in with a shot at the World Cup as he tried to dampen expectations about the new world No. 1’s chances of glory.

As he prepared to fly out to the Caribbean from Johannseburg with the 15-man Proteas squad, Smith said the players had managed to put previous World Cup disappointments behind them and confidence was high after toppling Australia recently from the perch of the one-day rankings.

But he said the highest ranking did not mean that they should automatically be seen as favourites for the tournament.

“We got the No. 1 ranking over a period of time, whereas the World Cup is an event, and anything can happen,” he said.

“There are about six countries that could either win it, or prevent us winning it.”

Smith said the team had talked about their past failures and were determined to shake off their tag of chokers. “We have discussed them and put them behind us,” he said.

“Most of the teams were not involved in those disappointments, and we have developed our own character and determination. But it’s important to learn from those mistakes and make sure we don’t repeat them.”Australia and South Africa have been drawn together in the group stage of the tournament and will meet at St Kitts on March 24 in the most eagerly awaited of the first-round games. (AFP)