Smith’s been kicked around … but still cheerful 0
Graeme Smith may have felt like he had been kicked around like a football on the beach in the summer holidays in the aftermath of the Kingsmead fiasco, but the South African captain was a cheerful but thoroughly determined figure on the eve of the Newlands test against Sri Lanka.
Smith acknowledged that the team had let themselves down in the shock 208-run defeat in Durban and it was up to them to put things right in Cape Town from Tuesday, and win the series.
“It’s been a pretty tough time, an embarrassing one or two days because we didn’t perform to the standards expected of us. We’ve taken a few blows over the last few days, but we need to overcome the emotions and play a lot tougher. We need to make Sri Lanka earn things a lot more than we did in Durban.
“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 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 at Newlands on Monday.
Having been hammered by a Sri Lankan side that had looked hopelessly outclassed in the first test, Smith conceded that the South Africans needed to lift themselves mentally.
“I can’t fault the training nor the effort, they’ve been outstanding, especially since Gary Kirsten came on board. 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 said.
The captain also confirmed the starting XI for the test, with two changes being made to the team that failed at Kingsmead.
Vernon Philander is back up and running again and will return in place of Marchant de Lange, who is probably the first bowler to take seven wickets in an innings and then be left out of the next test!
Alviro Petersen has also been called up to open the batting with Smith, with Jacques Rudolph dropping down the order to number six to replace Ashwell Prince.
“I faced Vernon in the nets and he had good zip. He’ll bring a bit more structure into the attack – he knows how to get people out, but he’s got good control too.
“Alviro will also come up front with me, with Jacques going to six, and he’s carrying some terrific form into the game,” Smith said.
Whatever the personnel, it is the team as a whole that needs to react positively to whatever conditions they come across – and they won’t be as seam-friendly as they were for the last test at Newlands, against Australia in November. The South African camp was grumpy from the outset in Durban at the pitch not being as pacy and bouncy as they have come to expect … The collective eye may well have been taking off the ball as a result, leading to the most embarrassing defeat at home since the return from isolation.
<b>South Africa team</b> – Graeme Smith, Alviro Petersen, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Mark Boucher, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Imran Tahir.