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| May 5, 2006 | Friday | Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1427 |
Smith looking forward to end of miserable season
JOHANNESBURG, May 4: After a miserable run of one win in eight Tests South Africa captain Graeme Smith is looking forward to the end of the season.
Smith, whose own batting form has also suffered, leads South Africa in the third and final Test against New Zealand, starting on Friday.
“I think we're all looking forward to packing the gloves and pads away, an opportunity to reflect and look back on the season. It's been a tough one, in which we've learnt a lot, especially myself,” Smith said on Thurs-day.
Smith has scored only 319 runs at an average of 21.26 during the southern hemisphere season's Tests which included five defeats and a draw against Australia.
“I've been very frustrated with my batting at Test level. I've scored a lot of 30s and 40s and I keep doing the hard work and then doing stupid things to get out.”
Smith did not expect the pitch at the Wanderers in Johannesburg to make life any easier for batting.
“It's obviously going to do a bit, there's a good grass covering there,” he said.
“As a batsman, you'll need to be really focused. It becomes very mental on wickets like these. You have to cut out certain shots and it's important not to be tentative, you tend to not move your feet and get stuck in the crease. You have to forget about what's gone past the bat,” Smith said.
South Africa won the low-scoring first Test at Centurion by 128 runs and the second Test in Cape Town was drawn after New Zealand plundered 593 for eight and South Africa 512 in the first innings.
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming told reporters a lively pitch at the Wanderers would suit his team's cause.
“A pitch that doesn't offer a lot would have made it really hard for us to make up the 1-0 deficit. But we've got better through the series. I thought the bowlers' performance was really good in Cape Town, even though the figures might not show it.
“If they can perform in the same way up here, with that pack mentality, then hopefully they will get the figures this time,” Fleming said.
Fleming added South Africa would be under pressure in Johannesburg.
“I see there's been a lot of talk about South Africa's season basically being analysed in terms of this series. So if they don't win the series they'll be taking a ton of hits.
Unlike Smith, Fleming's batting form has been superb, the left-hander scoring a ground-record 262 in Cape Town last week.
“I'm not a massive goal-setter but I'm very happy with where my batting has gone recently...but you know that cricket can come back and bite you at any time,” Fleming said.
South African hopes of ending a mediocre campaign on a high could hinge on the fitness of all-rounder Shaun Pollock and left-arm spinner Nicky Boje.
Pollock was a late withdrawal from the second Test with a stiff lower back, while Boje split the webbing on his right hand in the same match.
Decisions on the availability of both players are unlikely to be announced before Friday morning.
Hamish Amla, who scored 149 for his maiden century in the second Test, was hopeful for another opportunity to rack up the runs in what will be his first Test match in Johannesburg.
“Playing at the Wanderers will be an interesting prospect, it's a fantastic venue,” Amla said.
“The outfield is blitz, so it's great for batting if you can get in.”
Amla, who was left out of the side for almost 16 months before being recalled to play his fourth Test in Cape Town, did not take success for granted.
“It's still early days in my career, Newlands was only my first Test back,” the 23-year-old said.
New Zealand's chances of winning the series were dealt a serious blow when a knee injury ruled out fast bowler Shane Bond before the first Test.
New Zealand's left-arm paceman James Franklin remained upbeat about his side's chances and insists the visitors could still square the series.
“We're very confident that we can win this one,” Franklin said.
“Obviously the pitch in Cape Town didn't do quite what we expected it to, but we believe the two teams are very close.”
Temperatures in Johannesburg have plummeted as South Africa's winter takes hold and the New Zealanders have had to endure jokes about the weather suiting them better than the locals.
“There have been a few jibes that these are New Zealand conditions, but it does get warm there sometimes,” Franklin said.
Teams (from):
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Boeta Dippenaar, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, A.B. de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Nicky Boje or Andrew Hall, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (captain), Michael Papps or Hamish Marshall, Peter Fulton, Scott Styris, Nathan Astle, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum, Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Jeetan Patel or Kyle Mills, Chris Martin.
Umpires: Darrell Hair (Australia) and Asoka de Silva (Sri Lanka).
TV umpire: Ian Howell (South Africa).
Match referee: Ranjan Madugalle (Sri Lanka).
—Agencies
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