South Africa upbeat about India tour

South Africa, who set off for a two-Test tour of India this Thursday, are making very positive noises about the task that awaits them, despite a well-publicised series of setbacks and flare-ups in the recent weeks and months.

Graeme Smith, South Africa's captain, recently stated that his team had hit "rock-bottom" over the last six months, and that statement is backed up by their results. South Africa failed to progress to the later stages of the ICC Champions Trophy in September, and since Smith took over in April 2003, they have lost 18 out of 33 completed one-day internationals, and their only Test-series victories have come against the struggling West Indies and Bangladesh.

South Africa have the added burden of living up to the standards they set on their last tour of India in 1999-2000, when they conquered the so-called "final frontier" by winning 2-0. But in the last month, problems have started to queue up.

For starters, they have been deprived of two first-choice players in Herschelle Gibbs, who declared himself unavailable, and Nicky Boje, who pulled out of the tour after Delhi police failed to give assurances that he would not be questioned about alleged match-fixing on that last trip. Then Charl Langeveldt, Boje's replacement, suffered a bad injury in a provincial match and has since been replaced by Robin Peterson.

But the most worrying of all the setbacks occurred at the start of October, when Gerald Majola, the chief executive of the United Cricket Board, had to investigate claims alleging bungled mismanagement, racism and a supposedly debilitating Western Province clique running the national side. At the time, an unnamed board official told the Cape Argus: "Everyone realises that something is radically wrong and that it needs to be addressed."

So what's changed? The coach, for one. And since Ray Jennings replaced Eric Simons, the players have been saying how rosy things are. Alfonso Thomas, a new addition to the squad who was picked for the tour as a stand-in for Andre Nel, is clear about the way things are going. "It really feels as if something very special is developing," he told the South African Press Association. "There's an openness among the players, and the senior players are going out of their way to make sure that newcomers like me feel part of the team. There's an amazing vibe.

"I know he [Jennings] always starts off with a lot of intensity," said Thomas, 27, who worked under Jennings as part of the A squad. "We have been working hard, but we know what our goals are and what we have to do to achieve them." Even Fanie de Villiers, who has spoken out in the past about team preparation, is helping out, telling the bowlers about the conditions in India and how to get wickets.

Thomas is certainly not alone in endorsing Jennings. Martin van Jaarsveld, who also played in Jennings's A side, is feeling decidedly upbeat: "We had a meeting with him [on Thursday] and he outlined his approach. The guys all bought into it, and we are working with great intensity, in fact I've never seen them so energised. Ray puts you under a lot of pressure, and he is creating a lot of competition among the guys. It has been tough, because of the intensity, but we have had some great fielding drills."

Shaun Pollock, Smith's predecessor as captain, is also optimistic: "I think the vibe's been good. The guys have really worked hard, and all of us are really keen to go over there and do well for ourselves and for South African cricket."

Thami Tsolekile, South Africa's new wicketkeeper, is another player who has worked under Jennings. "He prepares us well. I think he helps us to be mentally tough, which is what you need to be in Test cricket."

The first Test against India starts at Kanpur on November 20, with the second match at Kolkata starting eight days later.