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| April 09, 2007 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 20, 1428 |
Disappointed Smith pledges comeback
PROVIDENCE, April 8: Graeme Smith hopes new surroundings in Grenada and a more positive approach will help South Africa bounce back from their embarrassing World Cup defeat to Bangladesh.
“We now have to win all of our three matches. We would love to do that and we really don't want to be relying on other teams to get us through,” said the Proteas skipper after the shock 67-run humiliation at the hands of the Asian minnows here on Saturday.
“We need to regroup and have a fresh environment in Grenada. I think the basic thing is to discuss what went wrong and discuss what improvements we need for our next match.”
Ranked number one in the world, South Africa have four points from as many games and on Tuesday in Grenada meet the West Indies who are themselves in a must-win situation after losing three of their Super Eights matches.
South Africa must also beat undefeated New Zealand on April 14, also in Grenada, before their last Super Eights match against England three days later in Barbados.
“There is still an opportunity with three big games coming up and we need to be competitive and it's important that we regroup,” added Smith, whose team spent almost two weeks in Guyana and were known to be frustrated with the facilities and unpredictable weather.
“It's difficult to come up with answers after the Bangladesh defeat. We didn't do the basics well and gave them an opportunity. They grabbed it with both hands.
“Their spinners bowled very well and I think we allowed them to bowl very well because we were under pressure. We lost a few wickets in a clutch and put ourselves under pressure,” said Smith.
“Once we lost those wickets we became tentative and allowed them to grow in confidence. All credit to Bangladesh.”
Smith praised Man-of-the-Match Mohammad Ashraful.
“His innings changed things, he set it well, worked the field well and kept us under pressure through the 50 overs from when he came into bat.”
For South Africa Herschelle Gibbs, batting at number seven with a runner due to a calf injury, top scored with 56.
But Smith feared Gibbs may not be available for the crucial match against the West Indies.
“His injury is being reassessed and he has a 50-50 chance for the next match.”—AFP
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