'I think we were a bit lucky at the end there'
Graeme Smith admitted that fortune had smiled on South Africa in the closing stages of the second Test at Durban, but praised the tenacity of his team, since lesser sides might have crumbled in the face of such a turnaround
Andrew Miller
30-Dec-2004
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Graeme Smith admitted that fortune had smiled on South Africa in the
closing stages of the second Test at Durban, but praised the tenacity of
his team, since lesser sides might have crumbled in the face of such a
turnaround. "I think we were a bit lucky at the end there," he said, "but we deserve a lot of credit for the way we fought, after being on top for two days."
Smith added that Shaun Pollock's local knowledge had come into play when
assessing the team's approach to the fifth day, "[Polly] said that, at
4.30 local time, bad light starts to set in. We set out to win at first,
but when we lost a few wickets after lunch, that became the goal.
"I think a draw is a bitter-sweet result for both teams," said Smith, whose
side was well on top until a 273-run opening stand between Andrew Strauss
and Marcus Trescothick flipped the game on its head. "On Day Two, we were
confident of our ability to put the pressure on England's batsmen, but
maybe we needed to be more on the button in that 11-over stint [at the openers late in the day]. It was crucial that England's openers started well and they did. In that heat, once you get behind it's hard to come back, and we toiled
through the rest of the Test match."
South Africa now have just two days to regroup before the third Test
begins in Cape Town on January 2, but Smith insisted that his team was
ready for the challenge. "Back-to-back matches are always an issue," he
said. "But both sets of bowlers had a workout, and our medical team has
been on the case straightaway. This afternoon was a stepping stone. We
had our opportunities to win and we need to look at that, but there's an
even feeling in the dressing-room. We haven't lost here, but we're still
1-0 down, and we need good cricket to come back."
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With the light fading, England took the new ball, which may have hastened
the umpires' decision to call the game off. "It's interesting," said Smith. "They bowled well with the older ball, but maybe they tried too hard
with the new ball? But that happens when matches get close, you get anxious and try to force the pace. They might have tried one or two things, or maybe given a go to their spinners - but I was concentrating more on our boys.
"The pressure's always on in Test cricket," Smith concluded. "We played
positively throughout and we played to win, but maybe this one thing has
changed the series for us now. If we play good cricket at Cape Town, we
could go to Jo'burg at 1-1."
Andrew Miller is assistant editor of Cricinfo. He will be following the England team throughout the Test series in South Africa.