October 11, 2007	Thursday	Ramazan 28, 1428

JOHANNESBURG, Oct 10: South African cricket captain Graeme Smith has declared that he is firm to reject rumours of a ‘captain’s clique’ in the squad.

Smith, 26, has been accused of allegedly being a dictator and not being inclusive enough with some of the players, and acknowledges there were times when he was too close to certain individuals.

“I’m not afraid to take a close look at myself; it is something that I am conscious of all the time. I am aware of spreading my time around the team as much as possible,” Smith said in the latest edition of The Wisden Cricketer South Africa.

“Eighty per cent of the time guys are going to go out for dinner with people they are comfortable with and I don’t think anybody in the team is going to moan about that. But as the captain I have to be more aware of my role.

“I do find it ironic that people have accused me of not consulting the senior players and being a dictator. Then, when I do consult them a lot, I’m accused of having a clique! But I know I haven’t always got the balance right and I am determined to spend more time with each player and not so much with one group, even if they are close friends. And I’ll do that because I want to, not because I have to.”

Smith felt the issue of ‘cliques’ could have stemmed from players excluded from the national squad, especially when they spend time together and look for reasons beyond their own performances for why they were left out.

He added that the difference between experienced players, such as Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher, and others “who are not so secure in either themselves or their games” needed to be broken down.

The perennial selection issue has been raised again recently, especially with so many domestic and former international players leaving South Africa to play in England.

A lot of players, white and black, have been speaking off the record about their dislike of quotas. According to Smith, many players of colour are categorised unfairly and that pushing youngsters too soon harms them mentally and physically.

“I worry about the guys who have been given a comfortable lifestyle with franchise contracts and a good salary,” he said. “They play all the time without a great deal of pressure and life’s good in their comfort zone. But if they get pushed up to international level where you have to work much, much harder, they are not ready – and maybe they don’t want it, the hard work or the extra pressure.”

Smith also responded to criticism of his players drinking excessively, saying it was part of a socialising culture which he had no problems with after success.

“It’s a celebration together; getting through a big game is an incredible feeling and celebrating together is important, like after battling through a Test series for 20 days and finally winning. That element of celebration will always be there and I’m all in favour of guys celebrating their wins. I am also big on giving guys time to let their hair down and relax a bit,” the skipper expressed.—Agencies