No Ntini or Peterson in South African opener

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, Mar 15 (Reuters) South Africa will go into their World Cup opener against the Netherlands in Basseterre tomorrow without fast bowler Makhaya Ntini and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson.

''Makhaya is ready to go but he won't be playing tomorrow,'' coach Mickey Arthur told a news conference on Thursday. ''We'll give him a rest and then give him a game against Scotland (on Tuesday).

''Robin Peterson will also not play against the Netherlands.'' Holders Australia complete Group A.

Ntini arrived in St Kitts yesterday after missing the South African squad's departure for the Caribbean to remain at home with his wife for the birth of their second child.

Peterson's omission for tactical reasons means South Africa will depend on Graeme Smith's part-time off-spin for their slow bowling.

Arthur said his team's preparations had not been disrupted by the cancellation of their last training session because of rain today.

''We've worked hard, the guys have put the preparation in,'' Arthur said. ''There's no point in going out there and risking injuries.'' A 30 percent chance of rain has been forecast for each of the next 10 days. That raises the prospect of a washout and shared points from a match the South Africans would have been banking on winning.

DUTCH STYLE Arthur said the South Africans had taken note of the Dutch style of play and of some of their players.

''Our batsmen are going to have to get their game plans in order because their wicketkeeper stands up to the stumps for most of their bowlers,'' Arthur said.

''They bowl a lot of cutters and wicket-to-wicket stuff.

''They have two big units who open the batting (Darron Reekers and Baz Zuiderent) and they look to give it a bit of a whack.'' Netherlands captain Luuk van Troost said his team realised they were underdogs.

''We play competitive cricket and we do have a chance against Australia and South Africa,'' Van Troost told a news conference.

''If you don't give yourself a chance what's the point of playing in the tournament?'' Van Troost said the Netherlands hoped to gain experience and exposure at the World Cup.

''Our strengths are our bowling and our fielding and if we play more games and gain experience our batting will also improve,'' he said.

''Only 7,000 people are involved in cricket in Holland but if we do well we will get more exposure.'' The Dutch dodged the showers in an attempt to practise their fielding before tomorrow's match but a particularly heavy burst of rain ended their session after 30 minutes.

The seven-week long World Cup culminates in the April 28 final in Barbados.

REUTERS DH PM0037