Listen to Graeme Smith and Shaun Pollock at the press conference
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| Justifiably elated: ‘As a captain, to have guys in your team who want to takeresponsibility is a huge asset’ © Getty Images |
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Weighed down by his own batting woes and shocked by the manner of the123-run defeat, Graeme Smith had cut quite a disconsolate figure after thefirst Test at the Wanderers. Less than three weeks later though, the moodwas very different, after a five-wicket win that he called one of thehighlights of his career. Victory in Durban in the Boxing Day Test gaveSouth Africa a route back into the series, and at Newlands, on a surfacemore suited to the Indians, Smith’s side came back magnificently to scripta famous final-day triumph.”I think it’s a massive win in all of our careers, to come back from 1-0down in a three-Test series,” he said after the game. “I remember afterthe Wanderers [defeat] being asked how difficult it would be.Realistically we knew how difficult it would be. I think we just playedsuperb cricket. We’ve never given up, and shown character at key moments.To win in Durban like we did was obviously fantastic. But this win here atNewlands, considering the conditions and considering that they were 254for 3 at the end of day one, was incredible.”They had to do it the hard way, with unseasonal rain keeping the playersoff the pitch for more than three hours after Smith and Shaun Pollock hadgiven the team a rollicking start in the morning. “Obviously a little bitof panic starts to set in,” said Smith, when asked about the mood in thedressing room as the rain poured down. “You don’t know when it’s going tostop. The Black southeaster is always rare, and you don’t know if it’sgoing to stop or not. Polly and I had huge momentum going into that raindelay. We were definitely on top of the Indian team at that stage. Theywere panicking. Virender Sehwag was coming on. It was disappointing tocome off. But having got back on and finished off the game, we’re prettyrelaxed now [laughs].”The decision to move Pollock up to No.4 proved an inspired one, thoughSmith accepted that it had been laced with risk on a pitch where AnilKumble was expected to wreak havoc. “I phoned Polly last night and toldhim that I was thinking about moving him up to bat with me in themorning,” said Smith. “Between the new ball, which was difficult, and thereverse-swinging stage, there was a time where you could score prettyfreely. I think both teams did. This morning, it was important for us totake the initiative up front. Shaun’s the guy with all the experience andthe ability, and he’s a good thinker on the game. It was the right choiceand luckily it paid off. It was one of those decisions you live or dieby.”After Smith and Pollock departed, it was left to Jacques Kallis andAshwell Prince to seal the win, though Kallis exited just two runs beforethe stands erupted in joy. “There were one or two discussions that tookplace after I got out,” said Smith, when asked if he had been tempted topromote an attacking player like Mark Boucher or Herschelle Gibbs. “Ithink Ashwell’s becoming a serious pressure player. He’s a man stepping upon a lot of big occasions for us.”He proved it last year against Australia, and he’s proving it again now.His game’s really compact, and at that stage another partnership wouldhave got us home. You’ve got to rely on your guys to do the job. We’dtaken the one risk, and the guys did a superb job of taking us home.”The win was all the more satisfying considering that it came on a pitchthat Wasim Jaffer described as an “Indian” one after his opening-daycentury. “Those that say we can’t produce spinners’ wickets to developslow bowlers should have seen this one,” said Smith with a grin. “It wasdisappointing, but it was fantastic to win on it. It means we’ve learntfrom our trips to the subcontinent. Our ability to play spin, whicheveryone questions all the time, has definitely improved.”There were two factors in this game. One was the reverse swing, with thedry surface and some very skilful bowlers. And obviously, the spinnersplayed a huge part. Our ability to put India under pressure in theirsecond innings was the key. They didn’t score runs and we picked up fourwickets after lunch. That gave us the initiative. Still, chasing 211 on apitch like that is a huge achievement.”Smith wasn’t overly critical of India’s tactics on the final day, thoughhe did admit that one particular decision perplexed him. “We were sayingat the end of the game: what if Tendulkar had bowled 20 overs [he bowled3.1]? He was getting a huge amount of turn and has a great googly thatguys struggle to pick.”Kumble never posed the threat that he was expected to, and Smith said thathis batsmen deserved a lot of credit for that. “I think the key for me wasto get off strike as much as I could, and to keep mixing up whether I wentforward or back,” he said, talking of his approach on the final morning.”Any bowler that feels a bit of pressure doesn’t settle into a line andlength. And I also had to get rid of silly point [laughs].”
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| All round performance: ‘I don’t know how many more compliments we can givethe guy [Pollock] but he’s certainly a superb asset for us’ © Getty Images |
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In the final analysis though, the win was set up by some superb bowling onthe fourth day, with India’s batsmen retreating into a defensive shellfrom which they never emerged. “We knew that we really had to squeezeIndia after lunch,” said Smith. “I heard comments that we were a bitnegative with [Paul] Harris bowling into the rough. At that stage, we justwanted to make sure that India went nowhere. We knew that if we could getthe ball to reverse, we had the guys to make the ball work for us. Pauldid a superb job in partnership with Jacques [Kallis] initially and thenShaun [Pollock].”Shaun bowled best with the reverse-swinging ball in the first innings andhe did it again. You don’t get to 400 Test wickets if you don’t know whatyou’re doing. He’s the guy that’s stepped up the game for us beautifullythroughout the series. I don’t know how many more compliments we can givethe guy but he’s certainly a superb asset for us [smiles].Pollock was the man of the series, for his 187 runs and 13 wickets at aScrooge-like average of 16. After a couple of seasons of relativeunderachievement, he had an outstanding series against India, and was fullof praise for the manner in which the team had bounced back. “All the guyshave shown a lot of character, from the guys who walked in for theirdebuts, Morne Morkel and Harris, to the guys who were perceived to be outof form [Smith] that bounced back and got big runs,” he said. “We’ve shownwhat a fighting team we can be.”We’re not proud of where we’re rated in the world rankings at the moment.We’re working on trying to get up, and that was a motivating factor forus.”The last word has to go to Smith, who led his team magnificently when thechips were dwindling and there were calls from a few quarters for his headon a plate. “Senior players are always the ones who are watched,” he saidwith no trace of rancour in his voice. “Even when we lost Jacques [Kallis,to a back injury] in Durban, a number of guys stepped up at the time. Andin this game, our senior guys all contributed superbly.”And it’s not only what you see on the field. It’s what happens in thedressing room, what they say to the young guys, the experience they bring.That’s invaluable. At one point, Makhaya [Ntini] was asking me if he couldgo and bat next [laughs]. He backed himself as a senior player to go andfinish the game. As a captain, to have guys in your team who want to takeresponsibility is a huge asset.”How Rahul Dravid must long for the same.