'I never doubted my ability' - Smith

Graeme Smith has revealed the support from his team-mates helped him through an awful Australia tour and set him up for his match-winning century on Sunday. Smith spent much of the recent trip unleashing big statements while failing to make runs, but he celebrated his return to form with an unbeaten 119 at Centurion that gave his side a 1-0 lead in the five match series.

"I never doubted my ability and I just built my way up into these two games and it's great to reap the reward of that," Smith told AAP after making South Africa's highest individual score against Australia. "Obviously I needed some quiet time to work and I went and did that work. Putting it out in the middle is important. All the support I received from our players is crucial and I think they backed me 100% through the tough time."

Smith will head to Cape Town for Friday's second game feeling more relaxed, although he said he was not looking for "justice" after Australia's dominance of him in the previous one-day and Test series. "My role at the top there is crucial to our success and getting the team off to a good start," he said. "I'm feeling a little bit more relaxed now and a little bit happier. I'm not looking for justice, I'm looking to do well in South Africa. It's a fresh start for us."

Australia have been hit by injuries to Ricky Ponting (stomach), Stuart Clark (rib) and Andrew Symonds (hip flexor) and Adam Gilchrist, the stand-in captain, said there was a lot to improve on. "We've just got to try and swing the momentum back our way," he said. "We feel like we have an all-round squad that can cover most places and we just didn't deliver that today."