March 20, 2003	Thursday	Muharram 16, 1424

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JOHANNESBURG, March 19: Shaun Pollock’s sacking as South Africa captain after the team’s failed World Cup campaign was attacked by a United Cricket Board (UCB) official in a newspaper interview on Wednesday.

Errol Stewart, a member of the UCB’s national cricket committee, said: “You can’t just get rid of a national captain in that abrupt and unsatisfactory manner.”

He told the Star that the selectors’ decision had been “based on unsubstantiated information apparently fed to them by a person, or persons unknown”.

Pollock was dismissed on Saturday after hosts South Africa failed to reach the second round of the World Cup. He was replaced by 22-year-old batsman Graeme Smith, who has had an impressive start to his career but only played eight Tests and 22 one-dayers.

Former South Africa coach Graham Ford, meanwhile, said he was amazed by the decision. “Polly was a soft target. All I can conclude is that people hit on him in order to save their own jobs.”

He said of Smith: “He’s a lovely guy with great passion, but he has very little experience and hasn’t played outside of South Africa... I think it’s been very unfair, both on Pollock and on Smith.”

Pollock, while himself arguing he was undermined by lack of support from the UCB throughout his three-year captaincy, said he would continue to play in the team as a bowler and would give Smith his full backing.—Reuters