Jonty almosts chokes in laughter at pressure claims

Jonty Rhodes apparently burst out laughing when told Glenn McGrath still thinks South Africa can’t handle pressure. Rhodes, an assistant coach who played in four World Cups, says it’s best never to believe anything McGrath says.

"There would have been pressure on us anyway,” Rhodes told the Sydney Morning Herald. “We've been a top side in the last year. Every one of the top sides will be playing under pressure, whether they're No. 1 or six.”

Rhodes said McGrath was “being very clever”, but revealed Pollock, Gibbs, Kallis and Boucher had spoken about the near-misses of 1999 and 2003. "They were asked the question the other day in a team meeting, and they were all looking forward to putting what they have learnt in the last World Cups into practice,” he said. “It's not a case of, 'Here's another World Cup, we're damaged property'."