South Africa heading in the right direction

Was being appointed skipper of the Test squad at such a young age another feather in your cap?
It obviously is a massive, massive honour. It was something that I didn't really expect. I have been in international cricket for around four years and to be up there with the best is something terrific and, to be leading them is an unbelievable achievement for me.

Turning to South Africa: Do you think the team has started achieving the goals that you had set for yourself and the team when you took over as the captain two years back?
I think we are going to achieve those goals now. In the last few years top players like Gary Kirsten, Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes - players that had been the core of the team for a number of years - retired from the game and that's why in the 2003 World Cup we didn't do well. That was a period when we needed to re-build. I've been in captaincy for two years now and I really believe we are trying our best take a step forward. In the next year or two the team is going to start moving up, to the place where it belongs. We saw how long it took England to get to where they are today. Guys like Flintoff have been there since 1998 but now they are performing consistently at a level where they are the best in the world. Their team is built over a number of years and our team is just starting to get there. We've got a lot of talent, a lot of character and I am looking forward to the exciting phase.

However, barring that 2003 Test series in England, South Africa seem to have stuttered in their progress. Have you recognised the weak areas?
Our main concern has been our fast bowling which we are in the process of building. Twenty wickets these days is what wins Test matches for you. Obviously we needed to get things right within the team to move forward in the right direction. But at the end of the day without a bowling attack you going to struggle but with Makhaya [Ntini], Shaun [Pollock] and other youngsters we were building a good fast bowling attack. We have got young fast guys coming through with Andre Nel, Dale Steyn, Monde Zondeki and Jacques (Kallis) coming back. All these guys are capable of taking 20 wickets in a Test. That probably was, in my first two years in the captaincy, an issue - backup for Makhaya and Polly. As for the batting, youngsters like AB de Villiers and Ashwell Prince are doing well and trying to fill up the hole left after Gary Kirsten retired. So we are trying to build a nucleus that would serve us well in the future.

Fast bowling has been one of the chief areas behind England's success in the last couple of years and Troy Cooley, their bowling coach, has played a big part in that success. Don't you think South Africa, too, should follow that example?
We've had Vincent Barnes for more than a year who assists on the bowling side, and with Micky [Arthur] coming in as coach, soon we will be getting Allan Donald to work in the High Performance department and he will spend a lot of time with the youngsters. We've a bunch of youngsters coming through but their development needs to checked. Obviously we would like them to develop naturally, but because they are young, and we need them, we need to fasttrack their development. And guys like Donald, Barnes and Micky will help youngsters like Zondeki and Dale Steyn to develop further.

Then the lack of a match-winning spinner - that should be a very big concern?
That has been there for very long time now and something we are trying to develop, but it's a patient process and it is not going to happen in a matter days. We are not the only team in the world but we need someone, but we have to wait till someone comes through the junior ranks.

Do you think there is a lack of aggression in the South African unit?
There is a lot of aggression. It needs to be channeled in the right directions and we are getting there. Aggression works in good ways and during important moments there are a lot of times when aggression can be used at the right time. We saw England use the aggression in the right way and they stood up and made it count. We need to find situations when it is good to use it and when is a good time not to use it.

During your tenure as a captain in the last two years there have been three coaches already. Does that hamper your leadership?
No, I don't think so. The United Cricket Board went through a long process to choose Micky as the right man for the job. Every coach has to offer something, he has his good points and bad and they will differ from mine. I only need to take the positives.

The last coach, Ray Jennings was strict disciplinarian. What are the good things he left behind that has helped the team culture?
More than a team coach, he was good with certain individuals. He was good as a wicket-keeping coach and we improved a lot in our fielding during his time. I am hoping that Micky will provide a much more wholesale development to the team, along with a better plan and provide a different image to the unit.

When you took over captaincy you believed in a culture where each man thinks for the team in his own way. Is that kind of thing working now?
Yes, definitely. No one in life is a finished product - you have got to keep working on individuals and team ethics. You do want mature men who can think for themselves, and you want this culture where the guys are trying for each other and the team is really performing as a unit. We are about to begin with one our toughest seasons ever so we need this team culture, team ethics and the individual belief to come to the fore which will play a part in our success.

Talking about the tough schedule ahead - ODI series against New Zealand (home) and India (away) and then away and home series against Australia - what kind of goals do you set for yourself and the team?
I look at the daunting task next season as an opportunity - an opportunity to define ourselves, an opportunity to define our personality as a team. Yes, it is going to be a draining and a hardworking schedule but we should see that as an opportunity to progress.

Until a year back, South Africa were the pretenders to the Australia's No. 1 ranking. England have worked hard to match the Aussies whereas South Africa have lagged behind. What can South Africa learn from England?
You can look at the culture of professionalism in their game. Duncan Fletcher picked up the guys that he thought would make a difference for England down the line. They have this professional system around them to make their team the most important team in the world. And that team is now starting to deliver the results. They have shown aggression; they have shown calmness. With their kind of bowling attack you can take 20 wickets consistently, and they've played as a unit. That gives you confidence that if your team finds itself in a rough spot and if you stick to where you want to go you can get to it.