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SYDNEY, Jan 1: South African cricket captain Shaun Pollock said his team had nothing but pride to play for in the final Test against Australia starting Wednesday after surrendering the series with two heavy defeats.
Pollock said his battered side, who left home more than a month ago entertaining genuine thoughts of replacing Australia as the world’s best cricket team, had been crushed by their defeats but were no longer under pressure after conceding the series.
“We’re a proud sporting nation and we don’t like getting beat,” Pollock said.
“The pressure is obviously off now we’ve lost the Test series but the pride of performance as sportspeople is still there and that’s what the guys will be looking to.”
Pollock said the South Africans were approaching the final match at the Sydney Cricket Ground with a new frame of mind.
“I think you play your best sport if you’re relaxed, that’s obviously the environment that you perform your best in and that’s what we’re trying to create,” Pollock said.
“Maybe the guys have been a bit uptight but this is the ideal opportunity to play with a bit more freedom.”
Pollock said the Proteas were bitterly disappointed with the way they performed in the first two Tests, losing the first in Adelaide by 246 runs and the second in Melbourne by nine wickets.
The all-rounder even admitted his team had collapsed under the weight of their own expectations but had decided after a team meeting not to dwell on their defeats before the final Test.
“The series is over but it’s a brand new year,” Pollock said.
“I think the guys have realised that you can either sit here and feel sorry for yourself...or else you can pick yourself up and move on and we’re looking to do that.”
For Warne, Wednesday’s Test marks the 10th anniversary of his debut here against India.
Exciting batting prospect Jacques Rudolph, 20, is expected to take Klusener’s place.
Teams (from):
Australia: Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh (captain), Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel, Glenn McGrath, Brad Williams, Stuart MacGill.
South Africa: Gary Kirsten, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Kallis, Boeta Dippenaar, Neil McKenzie, Jacques Rudolph, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock (captain), Justin Ontong, Claude Henderson, Nicky Boje, Allan Donald, Mornantau Hayward.
All-rounder Lance Klusener has withdrawn from the South African team to play Australia in the third cricket Test starting Wednesday so he can return home and visit his pregnant wife.
Klusener flew out of Sydney on New Year’s Eve but was expected to return next week for the limited-overs series.
Klusener has scored just 47 runs in the first two Tests, both won by Australia, and reportedly asked the team management if he could return to Durban for a short break.
He also wanted to see his wife Isobel who is due to give birth to the couple’s first child at the end of January.
Klusener told South African journalists before leaving Sydney that he had asked Proteas coach Graeme Ford to allow him time off because his confidence was so low.—Reuters/AFP
