Graeme Smith: We deserve to be no.1

[Karan114]

We deserve to be No. 1: Smith Nagpur, Tue, Feb 09 2010 After crushing India by an innings in the first Test, South African captain Graeme Smith today declared that they deserve to be the world number one team more than any other team. South Africa would reclaim their world number one status that they relinquished to India in December last year if they do not lose the second Test in Kolkata starting on Sunday. Smith said they deserved the Test numero uno status more than any side as they had won around the world and not only in their own backyard. "The reason we probably can say we deserve number one ranking more than any one else is we have traveled and won around the world in a short period of time. We have not only played at home and won. We have won in England, in Australia, come here and won a Test in 2008 and now here. Number one team deserves to be number one. We want to earn that and be there for a long time," he said. He said by winning the first Test his side has taken the first step of scoring a series victory in India which is something missing in South Africa's record books. "I think especially as a team we have achieved so much. I think as a Test team this is one thing (to win series in India) we wanted to tick off. A win here in this two-match series, we have taken the first step. It is a massive goal for all of us (to win the series)," said the skipper. Smith said his side stuck to their natural game and dished out positive cricket. "We have been really clinical. It is important to play our style of cricket. We have to adapt but play our style of cricket. I think we did that very well throughout the game and used our bowlers in short spells," said Smith. "Like I said before we had everything to gain. We know how tough it is to play here and how satisfying it is to get a victory. We got one in 2008. So we had to work just as hard. We played positive cricket," Smith said. "More than anything else the energy the guys showed is great. The mental energy. You need to put in that kind of effort. To bowl a team out like India in two days twice (is great)," he explained. Smith credited the entire team for the victory while singling out Hashim Amla's superb double century that set up the triumph. "Hashim's double century was great to watch. At No. 3 he is becoming the glue. (It's) terrific to have him there. We played with three quicks and, with (Paul) Harris chipping in, we adapted. It is a credit to the team," he said. "Hashim is one of the hardest working guys. He knows his strength is his mental strength. He has got great hands and he scores very quickly. He sticks to his game plan and has provided us a lot of stability. More than his 250 he has been involved in some key partnerships along the way," he said. Smith also praised his pace spearhead Dale Steyn for the devastating spell of swing bowling, both traditional and reverse and said the cool conditions in the morning helped him a bit. "I think (it's) a little bit cool here in the morning. Dale is a quality swing bowler. He swings the ball at pace. Didn't move it a great deal but swung it a little bit. It is a great display of fast bowling and backed it up with a little reverse swing," the South African opener said. Smith was a delighted man considering the controversial incidents that happened at home before the tour. "From a personal perspective it has been a really tough two weeks. It is the credit to the maturity the players have shown. It shows how much it means for them to play for South Africa. See guys like Hashim (Amla) and Jacques. (Kallis) it means so much to them. It was a great team effort," he said. Praising left-arm spinner Paul Harris who does his job quietly, Smith said, "I have got used to guys writing off Paul. Over last two years we have traveled to many countries and everyone doesn't talk much about Paul. He knows his role within the team. He allows the other guys, Morne (Morkel), Steyn and Jacques do the role they need to. He picked up some key wickets today, some big names." About settling down so soon after the changes in the selection panel and the chief coach, Smith praised interim coach Corrie van Zyl. "Corrie has created a good working environment for the players and as the weeks went on we have settled down and focused more and more on our cricket," Smith said. "I think more from a team perspective the set-up had been there for the past five years and there were a lot of shifts and changes and everyone was just trying to find their feet. It helped there was a lot of honesty around the group and the credit must go to their maturity also," he added. Smith was not too concerned about the type of wicket that would be prepared for the second Test in Kolkata starting on Sunday and said his players were experienced enough in these conditions to take on whatever is dished out. "India have more control over the conditions. Guys need a few days rest, mental energy more than anything else. This has taken a lot out of the guys. There is enough in the group now and we have beaten India enough number of times. I don't think anything will surprise us going into Kolkata," he said. Asked about the need to change ball in India before a new ball was due, Smith said because of the abrasive surfaces on which the matches are played the balls become worn out fast. "The wickets are abrasive in India. We changed the ball when the seam slit open. I think it is going to happen on such wickets where it is very abrasive. The outfield is pretty hard and firm. The ball is getting a good work-out 50 to 60 overs." "But we really worked hard on getting reverse swing on the ball something that we think is going to be a key factor. The ball change came at a good time just after tea and Dale made good use of it," he pointed out. © PTI http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-news/23950/we-deserve-to-be-no-1-smith

[Lord]

cant disagree with him

[riya]

Any team that beat the number one test team by an innings at their home deserve it.

[Riley's Girl]

No arguments from this corner.

[punjabi_khota]

They barely managed to tie the 4 match home series against England. :phehehe: and don't forget the home series defeat against aussies.

[Zap_Brannigan]

Dont overreact folks. They too lost a test at home recently. If they win the next game, then yes. But not otherwise.

[saneindian]

Number 1? Smith and co have to draw or win against India at Eden for that. Am sure India wont allow the saffers to take away the no 1 rank so easily.

[Sachinism]

Mr. Smith yes you've travelled and done well, but don't forget you lost to Aus and Eng at home

[satishg]

Yes you deserve that status if you win the final test match but Mr.Smith i am afraid that is not going to happen!

[someone]

Cannot believe how the above people are disagreeing. I would say at least SA is more deserving than India. For us, it was only some time ago, where we did not care about tests but suddently we become no.1 and then we start playing more tests and talk how important to play tests. But few months ago, every indian wanted t20s rather than tests

[The Outsider]

Then prove it by drawing/winning at Eden. Simple. Don't understand the hoopla.

[Sachinism]

Were SA number 1 when they lost to Aus at home(SA)?

[Lord]

no they werent avtually

[kabira]

I remember similar comments from Mickey Arthur and Smith when they gave us thrashing by innings in Ahmedabad. and Kanpur silenced them LOL Bring it on, Kolkatta. VVS where are you? This is your favorite ground, come back.

[vvvslaxman]

You can take it :winky:

[kabira]

Here is what Mickey Arthur had to say when they won Ahmedabad test http://www.cricinfo.com/indvrsa/content/story/345430.html We'll force India out of their comfort zone' - Arthur Ajay S Shankar April 7, 2008 Text size: A | A Mickey Arthur: In Ahmedabad Makhaya Ntini finally got it just right with that special bounce that hits the top of off stump © AFP South Africa will stick to their aggressive bowling strategy of drawing India's heavyweight batting line-up out of the comfort zone, and will take a call on a second spin option only after having a look at the Kanpur pitch on Wednesday, revealed Mickey Arthur, the team's coach. Arthur told Cricinfo that India would be committing a blunder if they prepared a pitch for the third Test that would crumble because "nobody in the world would want to face our bowlers at 150 kmph on a surface where the ball would go through the top from day four". "We have our bases covered either way," Arthur said. "If India are gambling on working on a pitch that will crack, as media reports suggest, they might be in for a shock. We could be looking at uneven bounce then on the fourth and fifth days, and fast bowlers could prove quite a handful. But we have not closed out options yet, we also have another option in the left-arm spin of Robin Peterson." Arthur, who is currently in Ahmedabad with the team, said he didn't believe that the forthcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) had distracted the Indian team. "Look, when things go badly, the media pin the blame somewhere. If things had gone well for India, this issue would not have come up at all." Looking back on the second Test in Ahmedabad, where South Africa won by an innings and 90 runs, Arthur said Rahul Dravid's dismissal was the turning point on the first day when India were embarrassingly bowled for 76 runs, their second lowest total ever at home. Dravid lost his off stump to a Steyn special that pitched on middle and swerved just that bit to beat the bat. "It was an unbelievable ball, wasn't it?" said Arthur. "It was really an important wicket because Rahul is the kind of batsman who could have stayed and thwarted us on this wicket. He has so often done that before, so when that wicket fell, we knew we were through." Arthur said that some credit for the Ahmedabad win would go to a bowling strategy that was quickly revised after the first Test in Chennai ended in a dull draw. "The mistake we committed in Chennai [where India replied with 627 to South Africa's 540] was we focused on swing," said Arthur. "After that game was over, we spent a lot of time with the bowlers to work out the best way forward. We realised we needed to be a lot more aggressive, we spoke about really hitting the deck at the right length, over after over. We talked about roughening up the Indian batsmen with short deliveries, and more importantly, the follow-up deliveries after the bouncers." The key, or rather the theme of the revised strategy, Arthur revealed, was to get Indian batsmen out of their "traditional" comfort zone. "We realised after all those discussions that the crucial aspect was to force India's batsmen to play outside their comfort zone, which is the front foot. We decided we will never allow them to settle down in that forward zone, but instead force them back with aggressive bowling. Hit the deck, hit the deck in the right area - that is what we kept repeating to ourselves." Arhtur admitted he was "happily surprised" by the pitch that was on offer at Motera, which contributed significantly to the South African gameplan. "I would say a lot of credit would go to Vincent Barnes [the assistant coach] because of the hard work he has put in with all the bowlers, especially Makhaya Ntini." Even though Steyn walked away with five wickets, it was a pacy Ntini who forced the door open for South Africa with the wickets of opener Wasim Jaffer (9), VVS Laxman (3) and Sourav Ganguly (0) to leave India reeling at 30 for 4 in the first hour of the Test. "In fact, if you look back, Makhaya had started regaining his rhythm on the fourth day of the Chennai Test [when India lost their last eight wickets for 146 runs]. Here, he has finally got it just right with that special bounce that hits the top of off stump," said Arthur.

[achilles]

Agree with Smith. But maybe it will help if he worked on his batting than on oratory classes and sermonizing the media.

[maggot_brain]

There's a saying: 'One swallow doesn't make a summer'

[achilles]

^ I like that quote.

[sm332]

You need to beat us first ... else, you can feel whatever you want.