Simons not about to step down as coach

Eric Simons is not about to step down as South African cricket coach, despite the pressure mounting on him as South Africa arrived in Johannesburg on Wednesday for a whistle-stop tour of their homes before dashing off to England for the Champions Trophy, which starts next Friday.

Tying the record for South Africa's longest losing streak in one-day internationals (10) is bound to put any coach under pressure, and Simons is hoping better days are around the corner.

"We obviously didn't play to our potential in Sri Lanka and I realise I'm responsible and accountable for the results. But reports of me resigning are not correct; I merely told the players that the demands of the United Cricket Board were such that if things did not improve at the Champions Trophy, then obviously there would be changes in playing staff and/or management."

He said the "very good" Sri Lankan side deserved all the credit for winning the Test series 1-0 and the one-dayers 5-0, adding that the reasons for the South Africans' failure were "a lack of confidence and the poor early-season form".

Simons insisted his team's morale was still high, despite the terrible pounding they had taken in the last month. "It was a really tough tour, but the team have stayed together as a unit and are not playing the blame-game. Contrary to reports, there have been no problems at all with a lack of support for Smith and myself or any rifts between players."

After the first Test heroics in Galle, the South Africans fell apart, losing their next six matches, which was scant reward for all the "hard work, training and preparation" that Graeme Smith said they had put in.

"It just went downhill from the first Test. We demand high standards of ourselves and we expect to perform better. But we were not ruthless enough and then basics like dropped catches and missing run outs went wrong. The results have hurt our confidence and we are under pressure, but we have to handle it."

Simons said the fact South Africa had come out of a three-month winter break and had little chance to prepare in Sri Lanka could not be used as an excuse for their thrashing because "our best performance was in the first Test in Galle and things turned sour after that."

Simons promised some new strategies and more changes to the batting order in England, while defending the tactics and selection in Sri Lanka. "We had the right squad for the trip, and after New Zealand we had to redesign our strategy. Conditions in England will be very different though, and we'll need to make some other changes."