Smith: We're eyeing No. 1 tag

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A good record in the subcontinent and experienced players will help South Africa on their tour of India after a tumultuous week in which coach Mickey Arthur resigned, captain Graeme Smith said. More... Smith backs his side in India January 30 2010 at 01:14PM A good record in the subcontinent and experienced players will help South Africa on their tour of India after a tumultuous week in which coach Mickey Arthur resigned, captain Graeme Smith said. The Proteas left Johannesburg on Saturday for two Tests and three one-day internationals against India, the world's number one ranked Test nation, after Arthur quit on Wednesday due to differences with the South African board. "It's been an emotional week and not many teams go to India and win," Smith told a news conference on Saturday. "But our record in the subcontinent is solid and the players who have been part of the set-up for a while have dealt with a few difficult things in recent years and handled them very well. "I expect them to be as professional as normal, and I'm looking to them for responsibility and guidance for the youth," Smith said. Former fast bowler Corrie van Zyl, an assistant coach for the national team between 1998 and 2003, has replaced Arthur on an interim basis. "My experience of things like the last week is that it builds a team rather than tears it apart," Van Zyl said. "I was part of the management team when the Hansie Cronje issue came about and sometimes those things just pull a team together." Former South African captain Cronje admitted in 2000 to receiving about $130,000 from bookmakers to influence the course of matches. He was banned for life. "Obviously the players have to deal with their emotions, but it's a very important series and we need to focus on our preparations," Van Zyl said. South Africa will play a two-day warm-up match against an Indian Board President's XI in Nagpur starting on Tuesday before the first test in the same city, which begins on Feb. 6.

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SA : No more political stuff, just cricket There may be a genuine sense of relief flowing through the side that they can get out of the country after all the controversy of the past few days. More... No more political stuff, just cricket Stuart Hess January 30 2010 at 01:27PM Time was when a trip to India was viewed with some trepidation by South African cricketers, but that is most certainly not the case anymore. Following a week of upheaval, caused by boardroom inteference in the team's coaching structure, the best move for the South African team to make is to get away from it all in India, which is exactly what they will do this morning. There may be a genuine sense of relief flowing through the side that they can get out of the country after all the controversy of the past five days that saw Mickey Arthur, their coach of five years resign, and the captain's role in that decision scrutinised. "That's the good thing, that our focus will be on one thing and that's the cricket," said Kepler Wessels, who's been roped in as a batting consultant by interim coach Corrie van Zyl, and as a stop-gap selector by Cricket SA's board. "We can take the emphasis off the politcal stuff and concentrate on cricket. There are a few days which we will have togetherin Nagpur that include a warm-up game and that should allow everyone's minds to focus on the task at hand." The problems within the side may not be as profound as those in CSA's boardroom, but they still need fixing. For the most part they involve the area Wessels has been hired to look after - the batting. Right at the top is Ashwell Prince, who struggled against England and has voiced his unhappiness at having to do duty as an opener. "Before anything happens there, Corrie wants to have a discussion with Ashwell about how he feels about opening the batting," said Wessels. If Prince stays true to what he said before the England series then he'll tell Van Zyl he's not very happy at all. Prince did the job for the first time last year when, in the final Test against Australia he opened the batting with Graeme Smith out injured and Neil McKenzie dropped. Continues... He made 150 and everyone thought the problem was solved. Against England he averaged 13.85 with just one noteworthy score of 45, though at least half his dismissals came from excellent deliveries. "If he tells Corrie he wants to stay at the top of the order then he will find it beneficial to play in the subcontinent," Wessels explained. "I know there's the old saying about opening the batting being the hardest job in the game, but there are some advantages to being an opener in the subcontinent, where you don't face the kind of bowler-friendly wickets you find in England, Australia and South Africa." Once they do find Prince's favoured position, discussion will centre around strategy for his technique remains strong and compact. JP Duminy may have questioned his own technique over the course of the England series, but Wessels wants to highlight two major points with him. "The first thing is to look at his approach to the off-spinner and second is his play against short pitched bowling. Obviously he won't get a lot of that in India this time, but it will be useful for him to figure out how to regain his confidence against the short ball." Harbhajan Singh lies in wait when it comes to the first issue and it's an area of Duminy's game that requires specific attention. In his capacity as selector, Wessels doesn't anticipate making drastic changes to the starting eleven, though the conditions will dictate which course the selectors take, and they're more than likely to include a spinner. "The last time we were there we got that green top in Ahmedabad and then a broken raging turner in Kanpur," said Wessels. "I don't think we'll see another green top again, they won't being doing us similar favours this time."

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South African Cricket Team Arrives The South African cricket team arrived here today for a two-day practice match followed by the first Test of the two-match series against India. More... South African Cricket Team Arrives Nagpur | Jan 31, 2010 The South African cricket team arrived here today for a two-day practice match followed by the first Test of the two-match series against India. The Proteas, who arrived in the wee hours in Mumbai, reached here by a morning flight and were accommodated in a luxury Hotel on busy Wardha road. The visitors will commence their short tour with a two-day warm-up game beginning February 2 against the Board President's XI led by Mumbai middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma. This would be followed by two Tests -- Nagpur (Feb 6-10) and Kolkata (Feb 14-18) -- and three one-dayers in Jaipur (Feb 21), Kanpur (Feb 24) and Ahmedabad (Feb 27). While the practise match would be held at old Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) stadium, the Test will be held at VCA's new stadium in Jamtha, about 15 kms from here. The Graeme Smith-led squad will have net practice tomorrow followed by a press briefing in the evening. They are likely to turn up at the old VCA stadium later today for some practice. The Proteas have come here after controversies over the resignation of coach Mickey Arthur and sacking of selection panel headed by Mike Procter. Former South African fast bowler Corrie van Zyl has taken over as the interim coach. Squad: Graeme Smith (Capt), Hashim Amla, Johan Botha, Mark Boucher (wk), AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Paul Harris, Jacques Kallis, Ryan McLaren, Morne Morkel, Wayne Parnell, Alviro Petersen, Ashwell Prince, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Coach: Corrie van Zyl.

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Smith: We're eyeing No. 1 tag India will start the Test series as favourites but South Africa are good enough to dethrone them, visiting captain Graeme Smith said. More... Monday 1st February 2010 Smith: We're eyeing No. 1 tag India will start the Test series as favourites but South Africa are good enough to dethrone them, visiting captain Graeme Smith said. Smith also added that South Africa are good enough to regain the world number one tag. "Beating India in India is always a difficult task. In my nine years of international cricket, I have always found India to be a very formidable opponent. So they will definitely start as favourites," said Smith in his first interaction with the media after arriving. "But we have also done well in the past in the subcontinent and would try to play better cricket and beat them. "We have been doing well in the last two years and we hope to bring that confidence in this series. India are currently the number one Test team but we hope to take away that status from them in this series," said the left-hander. Smith said his teammates have a fair idea about the conditions awaiting for them in the Test series starting in Nagpur on Sunday. "The conditions will also not be easy. There will be low bounce, pitch will turn more and would assist reverse swing. But we also have quality batsmen in our team and it would be a good challenge," he said. Even though spin remains India's traditional strength, Smith said his team would not lag far behind in the slow bowling department. "We also have a good spin attack in JP Duminy and Paul Harris. The players have been together for quite sometime now and the results are reflecting in their positive mindset. It is a great opportunity for us knowing that not many teams have tasted series victory in India," the Protea skipper added. SA to take on Board President's XI The South African team will play Board President XI in a two-day warm-up match starting on Tuesday and Smith said the game comes as an opportunity for his side to acclimatise with the tricky Indian conditions ahead of the Test series. "We are excited to play the series and we have five days to go. The two-day match will be important as it would be an opportunity to acclimatise ourselves, make our brain work in the right way," Smith said. The second and final Test would be played in Kolkata from February 14-18 before the two teams fight it out in the three-match ODI series starting February 21 in Jaipur. "Difficult for India to find Dravid's replacement" India will find it difficult to cope with the absence of middle-order mainstay Rahul Dravid despite having quality replacements at their disposal during the upcoming two-Test series, feels Smith. Smith said he was keen to know who would fill in the vital slot of Dravid, who underwent a surgery on his jaw that was broken in Bangladesh during the second Test at Mirpur. "They still have quality players there, but to lose somebody of the calibre of Rahul Dravid with an incredible career of over 10,000 runs is always very difficult," the left-handed batsman said. "There is still a lot of quality in the Indian team. No. 3 is obviously a key position in any batting line-up, so it is going to be very interesting to see whom they choose to use there," he said. "The rest of their guys are pretty set in their batting positions so it will be interesting to see if they put (uncapped) S Badrinath at No. 3 or somebody else there," Smith told reporters. Proteas coach Mickey Arthur stepped down just a few days before their departure to India but Smith said he and interim coach Corrie van Zyl can dovetail their plans effectively together. "As far as having a new coach in Corrie is concerned, we have worked together before and we had a good session today. "The players are all going about their work as normal to make sure we are all prepared as best as we can be come Saturday," Smith said. Arthur put in his papers following differences with the Cricket South Africa which later sacked the entire selection panel headed by Mike Proctor. Smith also pointed out SA's good record in the sub-continent, including in India in the last series. "Our recent record on the sub-continent is pretty good. We won in Pakistan, we won in Bangladesh and we came very close to winning a series here in India. We were 1-0 up going into the last Test match," he said. Smith said that after having beaten both England and Australia in their backyards, his team was aiming to add another feather to its cap by bearding the Indian lion in its own den. "There are few teams who have come here and won here. But we have won in England and we have won in Australia, so this is our opportunity to tick this particular box as a team. Beating a major opponent on their home ground is a real achievement and it is a wonderful opportunity for this group of players," he said.

[vvvslaxman]

India start as favourites - Graeme Smith http://www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa2010/content/current/story/446536.html South Africa in India 2009-10 India start as favourites - Graeme Smith Sidharth Monga in Nagpur February 1, 2010 Graeme Smith is an imposing figure and a bull-headed batsman, but that's on the field. Mindgames in press conferences are not his thing, nor South Africa's. They haven't made statements in the past about ageing cricketers in the opposition, nor how their opponents play "old-school" cricket, and they don't predict scorelines. They come in quietly confident, manage to stay low-key, and surprise the opposition. That they have been the most successful visiting team in India over the past 10 years always manages to stay a surprise. They have won one series, lost one and drawn one, which is better than Australia's one win and two losses. On none of those three occasions did South Africa come in as favourites but in all of those series they stretched India to the extreme. Their first press conference on arriving in India for this series - one that will decide who stays No. 1 for a considerable duration of 2010 - was no different. Ask Smith about India being vulnerable without Rahul Dravid, and he says there is still enough quality in the line-up. Ask him about his team's good record in India, and he reminds all that it was the box that wasn't ticked when they beat both Australia and England in away series in 2008. Smith did talk about the No. 1 ranking but if you were the host broadcaster trying to cash in on the stakes, you could have done with better headlines. Smith conceded India were No. 1 for a reason, and were the favourites going into the series. "India have played good cricket to get there", Smith said. "We have had recent success in terms of having had that ranking. But it's not really an issue for us, we have come over to India to play good cricket, to focus on our own game, and we know if we can perform to our levels and standards, we will be able to put India under a lot of pressure. "Any time you come to India, it's always tough, you always probably start as underdogs. India are favourites going into this series. If this series was in South Africa, probably we would have been favourites. In the subcontinent, India have proven to be difficult to beat at any stage throughout nine years of my international career." The build-up back home was not ideal, with Mickey Arthur stepping down as coach less than a week ago. The bad timing hasn't been helped by South Africa's schedule: they come to India - a change of weather, a change of pitches and outfield, a change of the whole ethos from the series they played against England - with only five days to prepare for the first of two Tests. Even a day's delay in acclimatising could result in an unassailable deficit. While Smith acknowledged the disadvantage that comes with a crunched schedule, he didn't hide behind it. "International cricket today doesn't allow you too much time," he said. "This tour has been changed a couple of times, from one-day tour to Test tour to sort of both, which is great for cricket that we can play Tests and one-dayers here. "But we know we have got the five days, and we have to make the most of that. There is a lot to jam in those five days, especially for Corrie [van Zyl, the interim coach], who has just come in. There is a lot for us to do, the most important thing to do is to get the specifics right, and make sure you are making the most of the each day you are given. The two-day game [their only practice game, against the Board President's XI] is an important part of it. To acclimatise to these pitches, getting our brains working in the right way, and really start enjoying playing the brand of cricket you have to play in the subcontinent." It was not just fancy words: they spent a healthy five hours training at the Vidarbha Cricket Association Ground, the venue of their tour game, a day after the entire team showed up for an optional training session hours after landing in Nagpur. On Monday the players went through rigorous drills, under the supervision of their coaches - van Zyl, Kepler Wessels (batting), Vincent Barnes (bowling) and Rob Walter (the conditioning coach who also assists in the fielding department). While Smith didn't harp on India's weaknesses or their strengths or the hype around the No. 1 ranking, he was a confident man thanks to his side's record in the subcontinent of late. "We won in Pakistan on our last tour there, we won in Bangladesh, we came very close to winning the series here in India", he said. "We were one-love going into the last Test so I think generally we have played well. I think we have got a very positive mindset when it comes to playing in the subcontinent, which is important. The guys have been together for a period of time, we really enjoy coming to play in India." Sidharth Monga is a staff writer at Cricinfo RSS Feeds: Sidharth Monga

[patriot]

He's a Dhoni like pragmatic straight talker though not as street smart.

[Karan114]

Pretty honest and fair opinions there - confident of his side's ability but acknowledging that India are favorites.

[Ram]

He is just being politically correct, that is all. Michael Vaughan famously remarked that '"I've always said that almost every press conference is a lie. You've got to answer the questions, try to give an honest assessment, but you know that the people asking already know the real answer.' That is true for 95% of all international captains.

[coffee_rules]

He is just placing Indians in a complacent mindset.

[Sachinism]

mind games much

[vvvslaxman]

He is simply taking pressure off of his team. That's it. We all know what SA does when they are under pressure.

[ensd2]

want to see a double ton from Master

[ensd2]

If anyone can explain me please why VIRAT KHOLI is not selected for test ? he was really impressive in tri series

[sm332]

because ODI form doesnt imply test suitability ..l. having said that he should have been selected of batsman like Sharma.

[TheWall]

frankly - S.Africa seems favorites...

[Online]

:finger: yeh le number one

[Texy]

this is a big challenge for the test side...don't care abt the odis but TEST we gotta put in 200%

[gaurav92]

Well he is trying anti-ricky techniques.NZ tried the same but werent successful, so it will be intresting to see how Saffies fair

[Lord]

If anyone can explain me please why VIRAT KHOLI is not selected for test ? he was really impressive in tri series

how hard it is to get the name right?its Kohli,not Kholi

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Lacklustre spinners are Proteas' worry The lack of penetration - or much threat - from South Africa's slow bowlers in their warm-up match against the President's XI in Nagpur has cast a shadow over the build-up to the first Test. More... Lacklustre spinners are Proteas' worry Stuart Hess February 03 2010 The lack of penetration - or much threat - from South Africa's slow bowlers on the first day of their warm-up match against the President's XI in Nagpur on Tuesday cast a shadow over the build-up to the first Test that will start on Saturday. South Africa don't expect their spinner - whomever of Paul Harris or Johan Botha gets picked for that first Test - to run through an opposition side, but they would expect a far greater measure of control over the opposition's scoring than the two showed on Tuesday. If South Africa are to win this two-Test series it will be down to their fast bowlers - and yesterday the trio likely to be tasked with taking the majority of 20 Indian wickets - Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Wayne Parnell - all got good workouts. However, the spinner's role is vital and neither Botha nor Harris inspired much confidence. Harris went wicketless and conceded 71 runs in 12 overs, while Botha took a wicket with his second ball but failed thereafter to provide much more of a threat or give Graeme Smith extra control. JP Duminy bowled five overs, but expecting him to shut down an end may neutralise the attacking threat his very under-rated off-spin provides. "It's tough for any bowler to come to India and start bowling well straight away," South Africa's bowling coach Vincent Barnes said afterwards. "Paul Harris has to step up but it's good that he got some overs under his belt today." Which way they go as far as the spinner is concerned for Saturday remains to be seen but the interim selection panel made up of stand-in coach Corrie van Zyl, batting consultant Kepler Wessels and interim convener, Gerald Majola, who will arrive in India on Thursday, will have a lot of thinking to do leading up to Saturday. The surface was certainly on the lively side in the first session - something local pundits believe won't be the case when the Test starts - and provided an excellent opportunity for Steyn and Morkel to get some bowling miles in the legs after two days of hard training. Steyn got through nine overs and Morkel 7.4, but the seamer Smith and the coaching staff were most interested in seeing was Parnell. Because his debut Test against England was over so quickly, Parnell hasn't yet got a sense of how tough Test cricket can be and he wasn't needed to return for second or third spells at the Wanderers. Although he went for a few runs in his second spell, he did well enough to suggest he could make an impact in the series. South Africa will need him to, given the problems with the spinners. "Our three fast men are different kinds of bowlers but one thing they have in common is the good pace," said Barnes. "They have come off an exceptional performance against England. It was good to see them reverse it today, we have been practising that and obviously it's going to be an important art in India." The Board XI were bowled out for 318 in 74.4 overs with Abishek Nayar, who played some impressive innings in the IPL for the Mumbai Indians in 2009, scoring a century and 20-year-old Manish Pandey, who became the first Indian to make a century in the IPL in 2009, hitting an impressive 43. Morkel was the best of the South African bowlers, claiming 3/24, Parnell took 3/66 from 13 overs and Steyn 1/17.