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| Smith’s own form has been disastrous: ‘I don’t think it was the easiest wicket to baton’ © Getty Images |
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Listen to Graeme Smith’s press conferenceSouth Africa have now lost four of their last seven home Tests, and thepressure is well and truly on Graeme Smith, whose woes with the bat havecontributed in part to the miserable sequence of results. After losingwith more than five sessions to spare against an unfancied Indian side, headmitted that his team had been comprehensively outplayed, with India’sbowlers outperforming a highly-rated South African pace attack.”I think they probably got too many runs in the first innings,” said asubdued Smith, speaking to the media after the game. “The wicket playedquite slow on day one but it quickened up quite a lot on day two. But forus to get bowled out for what we did was obviously not good enough. Creditto them, they got the ball in the right areas and created chancesconsistently. They were a lot more precise than us the whole Test match.We did get the highest total of the game in the fourth innings but allcredit to India. They have got their first win and congratulations tothem.”He denied that complacency had played its part in his team’s defeat, andsaid that the Test side had a long way to go to match the standards set bytheir one-day counterparts. “I think they were pretty hungry in this Testmatch,” he said. “Mentally, I think they got a little more experience intheir line-up, especially in their middle-order, which probably helpedthem a little bit. We have had a slight dynamic change in our Test side.”Our one-day team is a pretty confident outfit. We have performed wellover two years, and got a lot of good characters in there. Our Test teamis in some ways an emerging team. We’ve got to do a lot of work in certainphases and make sure that mentally, we are a lot stronger.”The pain of defeat would no doubt have been intensified by his inabilityto contribute with the bat. Scores of 5 and 10 here took his tally for thelast 10 Tests to 465 at 24.47, with just two half-centuries in 19 trips tothe middle. “It’s hurtful to all of us,” said Smith. “Not so much becauseit’s India’s first win, but the way we performed was very disappointingfor all of us. I think that’s what hurts the most, we let ourselves down.”We never quite hit the straps in any department of the game and that wasa bit disappointing. I think we can improve a hell of a lot going intoDurban. Sitting down in the dressing room and having a chat now, the guysall know what’s required of them.”According to him, the South Africans hadn’t got the pitch they asked for,though he added that it couldn’t be used as an excuse for the 123-rundefeat. “I don’t think we got the kind of track we wanted but I don’t wantto sit up here and moan about it and use it as an excuse,” he said. “Ithink that’s an easy cop out. We’re always looking for good cricketwickets. South Africa is known for pace and bounce. That must be thechallenge of touring South Africa. The wicket wasn’t a great one butprobably boded well for a good Test match.”His batsmen lasted just 25.1 overs in the first innings, and though therewere a couple of doughty knocks at the second time of asking, the matchhad already slipped away. “I don’t think it was the easiest wicket to baton,” said Smith. “I think the new ball was a very difficult time to bat.From there on in, for about 35 to 40 overs, it got a little easier as theball got a little softer. But when it was hard, both teams were three orfour down pretty quickly. I guess that was probably the main reason. Weneed a little more application, a little more grafting in the next Testmatch. We need to get ourselves in and maybe grind a little bit harder.”He went on the defensive when pressed about the top-order frailty that wasevident in the one-day matches as well. “So is the Indian top order,” hesaid, when asked why his top six were struggling. “Both teams have got tolook into that, both teams have struggled in this game. The last five orsix Test matches that we have played, especially in South Africa, thewickets have been hard to bat on. But that’s not an excuse. We’ve got toget away and work hard.”Sreesanth was India’s standout bowler, with match figures of 8 for 99, andSmith was lavish with his praise. “He bowled well, he hit the best areasin the game. He swung the ball from a straight line, which is always verydifficult to play. I think his seam action is pretty good. He ran in hardand has a lot of energy. All credit to him. He really bowled superblythroughout the game, and deserves his success.”Sreesanth also irked the South Africans with the odd aside and gesture,but for Smith, it wasn’t really an issue. “I don’t think the aggressionbothers us,” he said. “We’ve played against a lot of aggressive outfits inthe past and that’s something we are used to. Guys who have playedinternational cricket for a lot of years now are pretty battle-hardened.”They played better than us and that’s the simple fact of it – they weremore precise, they hit better areas with the ball. Their back-endpartnership got them to a decent total in the first innings. There were alot of little things but in general, they were a little bit more hungrythan us.”
| I don’t thinkI’ve ever seen it [Sreesanth’s jig] on a cricket field though. We all love characters in thegame, I’m one that has always encouraged them. It’s important to havethem. It brings people into the stadiums and makes the game exciting towatch. But I think it’s all got to be within reason. Maybe he did push thebuttons a little bit there |
Sreesanth’s comical celebration of a straight six off Andre Nel elicited arare smile from Smith. “It was a funny moment,” he said. “I don’t thinkI’ve ever seen it on a cricket field though. We all love characters in thegame, I’m one that has always encouraged them. It’s important to havethem. It brings people into the stadiums and makes the game exciting towatch. But I think it’s all got to be within reason. Maybe he did push thebuttons a little bit there.”His own quick bowler, Dale Steyn, ended up bowling just 10.1 overs beforelimping off with a quadriceps strain. “It obviously hurt us a bit in thebowling department,” said Smith. “The workload increased a bit on theothers, and probably made us a little too similar. Macky [Makhaya Ntini]wasn’t at his best in this Test match, so you probably lost a bit ofvariety.”And getting into the tail, you need someone who can bowl at 150 km/h.We’re going to see how he recovers, and make a decision going into Durbanwhether he is fit enough to compete there.”There were plaudits too for Sourav Ganguly, who marked his return to theTest side with innings of 51 not out and 25. “After being out of the gamefor as long as he has, we expected him to come in and really want to dowell,” he said. “We didn’t expect him to come in and give us anything. Heand Laxman at five and six provided a lot of stability and experience andconfidence, especially with them also three or four down early on. Thatexperience has really helped India. Maybe they were a bit soft there inthe one-day series.”Ganguly’s 44-run final-wicket partnership with VRV Singh was also key inthe context of the match. “Those runs were obviously massive in terms ofthe scores that were scored in the game,” said Smith. “That partnershipobviously gave them some confidence and momentum going into the bowling,and they then backed it up superbly with the new ball.”His opening partnership with Herschelle Gibbs is now well and truly underthe scanner – Gibbs made a pair here – and Smith accepted that a changemight be on the cards. “I know the selectors have been in some discussion,we just need to see what they come up with,” he said. “But the team knowsthat we have to take our pain from this defeat. There will be a lot ofcriticism over the next few days and we are honest enough with ourselvesto stand up and say that we messed up this one.”There has been considerable criticism in the South African media over theteam’s preparation for this game, with the players skipping franchisegames while India played a warm-up in Potchefstroom. “When you lose a Testmatch like this, you can look back and say that we should have preparedmore,” said Smith. “That’s going to be the criticism, and we’ve got tolook back at those things, learn from them and move forward. “We’llprobably be arriving a little bit early in Durban.”A week ago, they might have expected to wrap up the series at Kingsmead.Now, after this stunning defeat, Smith and his men face a battle forsurvival.