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JONTY Rhodes suffered a blow on his righthand - and Allan Donald sailed blithely through controversy as South Africa's countdown to the World Cup shrank to fivedays on Monday.

Rhodes, the focus of most South African anxieties as the World Cup drew nearer,was showing every sign of having recovered from his right forearm injury as he hit crisply against balls thrown down by assistant coach Graham Ford at Lord's.

In the next net, vice-captain Shaun Pollock was honing his batting skills. He middled a ball with crunching power, it went through a hole in the netting, and there was another Rhodes injury scare as he was hit painfully on the right hand.

The verdict, thankfully, was that no major damage had been done. Rhodes will play in the final warm-up match against Middlesex at Southgate in north London on Tuesday.

Donald, meanwhile, left the nets early to attend the launch of his autobioraphy, White Lightning (Harper Collins), at South Africa House in Trafalgar Square.

Notwithstanding a glowing testimonial from President Nelson Mandela in the foreword, Donald confessed in the book - or at least told his ghostwriter - that Birmingham rather than Bloemfontein may become his home.

``I will always be a proud South African, but in the short term I have to start thinking about my young family and the worrying social problems. The period after Nelson Mandela's retirement will be a difficult one for South Africa, with strong political leadership needed to unite all communites, and I do wonder just how peaceful it's going to be.''

Of more immediate concern, however, was the World Cup. Donald listed ten reasons why he thought South Africa had an excellent chance of winning. Top of the list was fielding skill, followed by bowling experience in England, county cricket experience, depth in batting, allrounders, attention to detail, the ``third time lucky'' factor, intensity, confidence and the amount of support South Africa can expect in England.

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