Smith says SA not mentally tough enough
South Africa won the first test at Centurion by an innings, but then suffered an ignominious 208-run defeat at the hands of Sri Lanka in last week’s test in Durban.
“I can’t fault the training nor the effort, they’ve been outstanding. But mentally we need to be a bit stronger, that’s the only thing I can put my finger on. We just didn’t adapt well to conditions in Durban and recently, we haven’t played our best cricket in those conditions. But when we’ve toured the sub-continent, we’ve adapted well, so maybe it is more of a mindset thing.
“It’s easier for us when the ball does go through and there’s good carry, but when it doesn’t, we need to adapt, we need to shift mentally,” Smith told a news conference at Newlands on Monday.
Sri Lanka, having failed to win their eight previous tests in South Africa before coming to Durban, were seen as rank underdogs but can now win the series if they beat the hosts in Cape Town.
“We have had a very hard time here and before the series, everyone was saying that we are underdogs and can’t beat South Africa. But if we play our brand of cricket and stick to the basics, then we believe that we can perform in any conditions,” Sri Lanka captain Tillakaratne Dilshan said.
South Africa have made two changes to their starting XI for the third test, with 34-year-old left-handed batsman Ashwell Prince being dropped after he scored just 11, being caught reverse-sweeping, and seven, during which he was complicit in the running out of Hashim Amla for 51, in Durban.
Alviro Petersen replaces Prince and will open the batting with Smith, with Jacques Rudolph dropping down to number six.
Seamer Vernon Philander, who has taken 24 wickets in his first three tests, will return to the side after he suffered a minor knee injury in Durban. Marchant de Lange is the unfortunate bowler to stand down after he took seven wickets in the first innings of the second test.
Sri Lanka are waiting on the fitness of wicketkeeper/batsman Dinesh Chandimal, who entered test cricket with a bang at Kingsmead, scoring half-centuries in each innings, but was struck a nasty blow on the elbow while batting in the nets on Sunday.
“Chandimal’s elbow is getting better, but it’s a bruise in a nasty place. It would be a loss for us if he can’t play, because he did a great job for us in the last test,” Dilshan said.
The fitness of Dilhara Fernando is also in doubt, with Dilshan saying the veteran pace bowler was suffering from knee pain. The 28-year-old seamer Dhammika Prasad is in line to take his place.
For South Africa, the pressure is on for them to put another infuriatingly inconsistent year behind them and start 2012 with a win.
“All these ups and downs – it’s been the story of my career! I’ve played under that pressure since I was 22 and I was probably stupid enough to take the captaincy at that age! But it’s about bouncing back and getting things right over the next five days,” Smith said.
South Africa team – Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Mark Boucher, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir.
Probable Sri Lanka team – Tharanga Paranavitana, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Thilan Samaraweera, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Dhammika Prasad, Thisara Perera, Rangana Herath, Chanaka Welegedara.