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Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town – Graeme Smith had to fend off some slightly unexpected captaincy curveballs at a Proteas press conference on Saturday, ahead of the crucial third Test against England at Newlands here.
The issue of paceman Makhaya Ntini’s loss of form and likelihood that he will be dropped for the Test also commanded much attention and at one point Smith felt compelled to protest: “Look guys, I think over the last two weeks I might have answered enough questions on Makhaya. You can ask the same question in 10 different ways here.
“Selection will be done this afternoon and we’ll announce the team tonight. Makhaya will fall into the same place as everyone else – we want to pick the best team for tomorrow.”
It is widely expected that the return of Friedel de Wet for a second cap, after his success in the drawn first Test at Centurion, at the expense of Ntini will be the sole South African adjustment as they aim to level the series at 1-1.
But “Biff” also had to field questions, mostly from a writer for a leading British broadsheet, on his leadership -- doubtless spurred by the Proteas’ declining record across all formats in the 2008 calendar year, the home Test series reverse to Australia and now threat of similar second fiddle to England.
Was the pressure building on Smith, after his lengthy and mostly successful tenure in the post?
“I think you constantly reassess your position as the captain: even in the good times I’ve asked myself whether I’m the right man for the job,” he said.
“From a personal perspective I’m pretty relaxed on that (front). I’m very comfortable with what I’ve been through as captain and achieved. I’m proud to have had it for a period of time and feel I’ve been successful in it.
“I can’t say I’m feeling any extra pressure in the job at present. I’ve just gone about being the best captain I can be at this time. I’ve gone about my own game and my duties … as normal.
“Those are really things beyond your control. You’ve just got to focus on the things you can control.
“I’ve never looked too far ahead in this job. It took me two or three years to get a grasp on the job (after he inherited it in 2003) and I’ve really felt comfortable in it more recently and felt like we’ve started to take steps forward.
“It’s been unfortunate of late that we haven’t performed as well as a team. I certainly wouldn’t say anything has changed around the group. The players are still the right ones and we just need to get back to that level of performance … maybe the players need to be challenged a little more in terms of training; going a little bit harder is something we could perhaps look at.”
The questioning was persistent: did Smith still feel it was his team?
“Yes, absolutely. No doubt about that. If I didn’t I’d walk away. I’ve been a part of seeing two England captains (Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan) walk away at different stages of my career, so I’ve had a lot of experience of looking at things, why they happen … as I say, I’m very comfortable. If people feel differently, so be it; we move on and hopefully extend our careers in other ways.”
Elaborating on the Ntini matter before his signal that he was tiring a little on the subject, Smith said: “It’s a sensitive issue in South Africa. Makhaya is an icon across the country; the most iconic player of colour we’ve had and … also in terms of performance over the last decade or so.
“When senior players are at a point where lots of questions are being asked about them, it’s a tough time for the leadership group to manage. We’ve really tried to support Makhaya and give him as much as we can behind the scenes. He’s been working hard at his game too.”
Asked whether he had sensed any improvement in the veteran Ntini in the heavy Durban defeat, Smith said: “It’s always tough in a game where a player hasn’t taken a wicket to say you’ve seen improvement.
“England have played him well, and they’ve had good tactics against him, while he hasn’t been at his best over a period of time. We’ve worked with him on a few things this week and let’s see what happens.”
*Advance ticket sales for the Test have been excellent, with the first two days now officially sell-outs and 13 000 tickets even sold already for day five.
Total attendance is tipped to be a record for the venue -- in excess of 85 000 -- admittedly boosted by a mass influx of English fans to the city.
Cape Town – Graeme Smith had to fend off some slightly unexpected captaincy curveballs at a Proteas press conference on Saturday, ahead of the crucial third Test against England at Newlands here.
The issue of paceman Makhaya Ntini’s loss of form and likelihood that he will be dropped for the Test also commanded much attention and at one point Smith felt compelled to protest: “Look guys, I think over the last two weeks I might have answered enough questions on Makhaya. You can ask the same question in 10 different ways here.
“Selection will be done this afternoon and we’ll announce the team tonight. Makhaya will fall into the same place as everyone else – we want to pick the best team for tomorrow.”
It is widely expected that the return of Friedel de Wet for a second cap, after his success in the drawn first Test at Centurion, at the expense of Ntini will be the sole South African adjustment as they aim to level the series at 1-1.
But “Biff” also had to field questions, mostly from a writer for a leading British broadsheet, on his leadership -- doubtless spurred by the Proteas’ declining record across all formats in the 2008 calendar year, the home Test series reverse to Australia and now threat of similar second fiddle to England.
Was the pressure building on Smith, after his lengthy and mostly successful tenure in the post?
“I think you constantly reassess your position as the captain: even in the good times I’ve asked myself whether I’m the right man for the job,” he said.
“From a personal perspective I’m pretty relaxed on that (front). I’m very comfortable with what I’ve been through as captain and achieved. I’m proud to have had it for a period of time and feel I’ve been successful in it.
“I can’t say I’m feeling any extra pressure in the job at present. I’ve just gone about being the best captain I can be at this time. I’ve gone about my own game and my duties … as normal.
“Those are really things beyond your control. You’ve just got to focus on the things you can control.
“I’ve never looked too far ahead in this job. It took me two or three years to get a grasp on the job (after he inherited it in 2003) and I’ve really felt comfortable in it more recently and felt like we’ve started to take steps forward.
“It’s been unfortunate of late that we haven’t performed as well as a team. I certainly wouldn’t say anything has changed around the group. The players are still the right ones and we just need to get back to that level of performance … maybe the players need to be challenged a little more in terms of training; going a little bit harder is something we could perhaps look at.”
The questioning was persistent: did Smith still feel it was his team?
“Yes, absolutely. No doubt about that. If I didn’t I’d walk away. I’ve been a part of seeing two England captains (Nasser Hussain and Michael Vaughan) walk away at different stages of my career, so I’ve had a lot of experience of looking at things, why they happen … as I say, I’m very comfortable. If people feel differently, so be it; we move on and hopefully extend our careers in other ways.”
Elaborating on the Ntini matter before his signal that he was tiring a little on the subject, Smith said: “It’s a sensitive issue in South Africa. Makhaya is an icon across the country; the most iconic player of colour we’ve had and … also in terms of performance over the last decade or so.
“When senior players are at a point where lots of questions are being asked about them, it’s a tough time for the leadership group to manage. We’ve really tried to support Makhaya and give him as much as we can behind the scenes. He’s been working hard at his game too.”
Asked whether he had sensed any improvement in the veteran Ntini in the heavy Durban defeat, Smith said: “It’s always tough in a game where a player hasn’t taken a wicket to say you’ve seen improvement.
“England have played him well, and they’ve had good tactics against him, while he hasn’t been at his best over a period of time. We’ve worked with him on a few things this week and let’s see what happens.”
*Advance ticket sales for the Test have been excellent, with the first two days now officially sell-outs and 13 000 tickets even sold already for day five.
Total attendance is tipped to be a record for the venue -- in excess of 85 000 -- admittedly boosted by a mass influx of English fans to the city.
