Smith praises 'superb' efforts as SA come to the party

Graeme Smith was all smiles as he faced the media after captaining South Africa to their first Test victory since March 2004, and was fully confident that his team would carry their momentum forward into the final two Tests of the series, the first of which begins in Johannesburg on January 13.

"It's a great feeling," said Smith. "One win doesn't make us world-beaters, and there's a lot of hard work ahead, but we wouldn't be arriving in Jo'burg if I wasn't confident of victory. We've shown our ability as a team to win Tests, and I'm looking forward to it.

"It was a hard 2004," admitted Smith, who is hoping for brighter things in the New Year. "We didn't start well in Port Elizabeth, we slipped up in Durban after starting well, and then got lucky at the end - but that gave us momentum and confidence, and it's lasted all five days here.

"The balance of the side is looking good," he added. "The bowlers have taken a lot of heat over the last few months, but they've come back superbly. This was a good wicket with good bounce, and we put the England batting line-up under a lot of pressure all Test. It was superb."

Smith singled out two key figures in South Africa's victory. The spinner, Nicky Boje, who took four wickets in the second innings to go with his crucial 76, and the Man of the Match, Jacques Kallis, who made 149 and 66 to add to his 162 at Durban, and of whom Smith could not speak highly enough.

"I'm running out of things to say about Jacques," said Smith. "I think he's the best player in the world and I've told him that. There have been a lot of 60s and 70s from the batsmen throughout the series, so it would be nice to see someone else moving on to take the pressure off him." Kallis himself admitted that he was currently in a purple patch, but added that so long as he carried on boring the Barmy Army for the rest of the series, he'd be happy.

Boje, meanwhile, "came to the party", in the words of his captain. "We knew the pitch would get drier as the game went on," explained Smith, "and that was one reason we didn't enforce the follow-on. The wicket played pretty well throughout and the seamers had to graft, but Nicky really came to the party."

England must now face up to the psychological blow of being within touching distance of a 2-0 lead one week, only to end up 1-1 the next. "I guess they're very disappointed," said Smith. "If they're not then there's something wrong. But there are two big games left in the series, and it's crucial to get a big performance at the Wanderers."