Graeme Smith will lead South Africa in warm-up

Graeme Smith will lead South Africa on to a cricket field for the first time today, however it will not be in an official international. The squad will take on Bangladesh A in a warm up game ahead of the TVS Challenge which gets underway in Dhaka today when Bangladesh play India.

It is likely that all thirteen squad members will have an opportunity to get a feel of conditions in the middle. Coach Eric Simons has requested that he be allowed to give everyone a bat or a bowl in today's game. "Some of the guys have not played for a couple of months so it's important that they get a feel as quickly as possible. Conditions are so different here and there is no substitute for middle play when preparing for a big game," the coach said after Thursday's training session at the Bangabandhu National Stadium.

Once again the conditions were fierce, with the mercury reaching the late thirties and humidity at sixty percent. "A touch warmer than Durban in summer," commented Shaun Pollock. And so it should be as April is the hottest month of the year in Bangladesh. But did not deter the squad as they were put through a thorough fielding session before taking to the nets with a keenness born of inactivity. Even the coach rolled back the years with a spell of medium pacers. "I even found my length," said the former Western Province and SA seamer, "but I'll feel it tomorrow".

With a number of new faces in the squad, today's outing will be an important opportunity for the coach and captain to assess form. Equally,for Jacques Rudolph, Neil McKenzie, Charl Whilloughby and Paul Adams, this match represents the start of a new phase in their international careers.

The match is a day game, however all the Internationals will be played under lights at the national stadium which will off some respite from the oppressive heat. South Africa have the toughest draw of the three teams with back-to-back fixtures on Sunday and Monday and again on Thursday and Friday. Graeme Smith is not unduly perturbed about this little imbalance. "That's what playing at this level is all about ... challenges!"

The news regarding the missing luggage was good with all the pieces that found their way to Atlanta en route from Dubai to Dhaka being returned to their grateful owners who wondered if they qualified for the air miles that their bags had collected.