Victory for South Africa over Pakistan at Trent Bridge today will ensure there is an English presence in the World Twenty20 Final at Lord's.

Jeremy Snape played for England at the inaugural tournament in South Africa two years ago, but he is now in the Proteas' camp, helping Graeme Smith's team with the mental side of the game as they approached the first semi-final with a 100 per cent record in the competition.

Snape, whose official title is sports psychologist and performance coach, has been working alongside Smith and coach Mickey Arthur since before last summer's 2-1 Test series win over England, and with South Africa near the top of the tree in all three forms of the game, the all-rounder's appointment seems to have been a shrewd move.

"My role is to make the players equipped to produce their best form under pressure," said Snape. "Some sportsmen are very resistant to sports psychology but the South African players have been very receptive. I have been given free rein to look at the methods of other world-class sports teams and try to bring them back to us.

"During the tour of Australia last winter, I looked at some of the top Australian Rules football teams, to see how they integrated sports science into their strategies."

Snape, who worked in a similar role with England during their 2007 World Cup campaign, did a masters degree in sports psychology at Loughborough University and captained Leicestershire to the Twenty20 Cup in 2007.

He believes his status as a foreigner within the South African set-up can have a major effect on the players. The 36-year-old said: "Maybe my different perspective has more of an impact.

"Working with a different country felt a little strange at first but it is a fantastic opportunity to be a part of one of the best teams in the world."

South Africa, who are hot favourites, were expected to restore all-rounder Jacques Kallis to their starting XI in place of fast bowler Morne Morkel.

Meanwhile, England's women take on Australia in the semi-final of their tournament tomorrow at the Brit Oval, with Charlotte Edwards' side aiming to repeat their World Cup victory.