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| Smith on SA's famous Test series win |
| January 21 2009 at 09:43AM |
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By Zaahier Adams What do you think of Matthew Hayden's retirement, especially considering how badly he sledged you? I grew to respect him the longer my career went on. He was such an imposing figure. He set the tone for many Australian innings. It's quite remarkable that every series in which he struggled, Australia struggled too. But as hard as he was on the field, he was always forthcoming off the field. At the end of the Test series I actually had a few beers and a good chat with him. His last few matches were quite tough as he was on the front pages every day. The Aussie media can get quite harsh with their own. But it was a surprise when he quit, he never hinted that he was going to quit. I think being left out of the one-day side pushed him to it a bit. Australia will miss him and his aggressive front-foot nature. Many people would say you and Hayden are peas from the same Yes, I do think so. Possibly because we are similar in stature, similar in style. I've always thought that it's important to know what you've been given in your career. With me it might be size, with AB (de Villiers) and JP, it's their quick feet. But if you take our size into consideration, where I bat and the way I look to impose myself on the game, then we similar. I think I've just chilled out a lot more over the years. Well, now that we've achieved it, I should probably say yes! (laughs) But seriously, we've had this debate around the dinner table on a few occasions. Not many players have won in Australia, so it is one of the biggest things to achieve in your career. The World Cup is big and only comes once every four years, and with the unpredictability of one-day cricket, it would also be special. But to win in Australia's own backyard, where the cricket is real tough, and win a series, it is really special. Last year, in your own words, was the biggest year in South African cricket's history. What do you regard as your personal highlights? The Edgbaston Test. I have to go with that as my personal highlight. My innings there under pressure to win the series will always be special to me. From a team perspective, we've won on every continent over the past year. That is very satisfying. The performances of the young guys like Dale (Steyn), Morne (Morkel), AB and JP are also very dear to me. From a captain's perspective, to put in all the hard work with them and then see them develop, mature and perform in the high-pressure situations, has been great. For me, winning the Indian Premier League with the Rajasthan Royals was also amazing. The IPL was just amazing. Scoring over 1 600 runs in a calendar year, that's also up there. Dale Steyn has simply been phenomenal with the number of wickets he's taken this past year. Tell us a bit about what makes the "Phalaborwa Express" tick? He's such a quiet guy off the field. He likes fishing, horror movies, all the gory stuff, you know. I think it comes out in his bowling sometimes. Dale has come on in leaps and bounds this year, but not only just honing his skill. He's got a great cricket brain and I watched him during the first ODI against Australia and he was bowling slower balls and different cutters to Ricky Ponting when he just walked in. He's always known what to bowl, he now just has the confidence to execute the plans. Dale's big problem initially was handling all the hype around him. When we landed in India, England and Australia, everybody wanted to speak to Dale Steyn. The tension of travelling to these big countries really got to him, but now that he's performed there, he's managing it a lot better. He's a kid from a small town and these things do get to him, but it's just going to be an ongoing thing for us, of how we get him to deal with this. The Proteas are the No 1 Test team in the world in all but ranking at present. Can your side dominate world cricket for the length of time the Aussies did? We've got a few challenges. We need to build up the next tier of players to make sure we have sufficient depth in case of injury or loss of form. Currently the Test squad does have 12, 13 players, we want to build on that. One positive is knowing that you have the ability to beat every team you play against. One of my immediate worries is that our entire Test attack is involved in the current one-day series. How we manage them is going to be very important because just two weeks after, the home Test series begins. How we bring on guys like (Lonwabo) Tsotsobe and so on is going to be crucial if we want sustained success. One major positive to come out of the Australia series is that the board has also seen the potential of this group of players, with many of them still being very young. So they are willing to back this team as they have now seen the rewards this team can reap. Tell us about your relationship with Mickey Arthur. It is very close. We have a very healthy relationship as we complement each other in many departments. We communicate well. Mickey takes a lot of stresses away from me. He has also made many good management decisions by bringing in Duncan Fletcher and Jeremy Snape. Snapey's been brilliant. How big an impact has Fletcher and Snape had on the team? Fletch is a fairly new addition to the side. He's been very helpful with the little things, also helping improve the tail's batting. He's also helped a few of the guys with a few technical problems. But more than that, he's just come up with a few ideas, thrown it in the pot and given us some more options to think about. Snapey, however, has been huge. I don't want to take anything away from JP, for what he's achieved is incredible, but he would be the first to say that Snapey has played a big role in helping him settle into international cricket, in helping the mental part of his game. As South Africans, we are also very passionate people, so Snapey has helped us a lot in taking the emotion out of our game. He's helped us to make clear decisions under pressure by either playing the correct shot, taking the right run or bowling the right ball. Have you thought about who will succeed you as captain, especially with the number of injuries you've recently had? Johan Botha was made vice-captain of the one-day team. He's a great team guy and doing a wonderful job at the moment. But you are right, and it's probably come earlier than I or we expected. Because I was so young when I got the job, I was very wary of putting that type of expectation on another young player. But grooming the next captain is something that is very important to me. The injuries that I have suffered have made me sit down and think that I need to get together with the selectors and discuss the possibility of appointing a permanent vice-captain who can play all three formats of the game with a view to the future. Then again Ashwell (Prince) has done such a wonderful job as vice-captain in the Test side and Johan is learning all the time with the one-day team, so we've got a little bit of time before that decision has to be made. That brings us to the hottest topic of the summer. What is going to happen when Prince returns from injury for the home series? Is Duminy going to be left out? It's a massive headache. But a good headache to have. JP is class and you can't argue with the way he's batted and the performances he's put in. However, Ashwell has been a top performer for the past 18 months. He's been there when the team has needed him most. Even off the field, the way he's handled himself has been brilliant. He's just been so supportive of JP, despite obviously being disappointed at not being able to play. You couldn't ask more from a senior player or vice-captain. But it doesn't necessarily have to be a shootout between Duminy and Prince? Correct, and JP does make it more and more difficult with every performance. However, the three top positions are all specialist, really specialist positions. We have lots of middle-order batsmen in this country. But I do think I'm going to leave this one to the selectors to decide … There has been lots of stories written from Down Under about how you picked Shane Warne's brain for advice on the Aussies. How true is that or were you just riling the home side? (Laughs) We do chat, but he doesn't give much away. We don't talk specifics, like what is this player's weakness, what is Ricky's tactics in this situation, etc. We speak more about general things like leadership and about the game in general. We've also become really good mates, so there are enough other things to speak about. The Aussie media just love a good story, so if they see me chatting to Warney, it's on the backpages the next day. He's still massive in Australia. I think their Test side misses him the most, more than anybody else. He just had so much control; he could just slow the whole game up. They definitely miss him. Did you always know you were going to bat in the second innings of the third Test? I got an injection on day 3 of the Test. I went to see the specialist because our doctor was very worried how the finger was holding up. And in true Aussie fashion, the specialist asked me whether he should construct a special glove if I wanted to come out and bat in the second innings. I just laughed at him because I really was hoping I didn't have to. So when did you decide? It was about 30 overs to go and I looked across to the bench and I saw Makhaya (Ntini) sitting there alone, I started to think about it. I chatted to Doc and Snapey about whether it was a good idea for me to go out and bat. You know, there's a part of you that wants to go out there and there's another part of you that feels you shouldn't. What would happen if I got hit again? Eventually we decided that come what may I was going out to bat. Even if I last one ball, I will go out there. And then what transpired? We had to build a glove for me. Basically the middle piece of the glove was cut out. My batting kit was at the ground, with all my bats covered with a playing shirt as protection. I was still in my greens and needed to change, so Morne gave me his trousers, I used the shirt that covered my bats, Harro (Paul Harris) gave me his jersey. And yes, I did look down and did see the burger stain, and just thought, "Harro, things will never change". It was chaos in the changing room, trying to get me dressed. So what did you tell Makhaya when you got out there? Before that I had watched Dale and Makhaya do really well to get us within 10 overs of saving the game. I was just thinking, boys, you can do this, but more in hope that I actually didn't have to go out there. But when I got there, my heart was really beating. I mean, it was the first time that I went out to bat knowing I could not defend myself with my full armoury. I couldn't hook, pull or cut. I knew I just had to take it on the body when it was short. When I went to speak to Makkie for the first time, I just told him he's doing a really good job. I think he was more nervous than me, because when he saw me come out, he started thinking that we could actually save the game. But I do think the quote of the moment actually belongs to Makkie. With Makhaya and his batting, we have adopted a two-fold approach. There's "OPTION A" which means he has to defend and protect his wicket, or "OPTION B", where he can just go out and play his natural game and swing wildly. So when I played a loose cut shot to a Mitch Johnson wide delivery, Makkie just walked up to me and said: Skip, remember Option A! Were you taken aback by the crowd's reaction when you walked out? Funnily enough, when I got to the ground, some guy shouted out asking whether I was going to bat and I just laughed. But when I walked out and heard the roar, I don't think it all sunk in. I was just amazed by their reaction. And the welcome you received when you landed at OR Tambo Airport? Again, I couldn't believe it. I had just got off a 14-hour flight. I was tired and feeling a bit ragged. I knew my dad and brother were going to be there. My mom was in Cape Town. You know they've got that new glass wall that you stand behind at the airport and I just couldn't believe all the kids and signboards. I signed a few autographs and was then taken by the security guards into the bus to get me to the press conference. It was such a humbling experience and I feel very privileged to have experienced that. To see the smiles on the people's faces because of what happened in Australia was really special. It's the same feeling I get when people see me in the street since I've got back and just give me their well wishes. It has been very satisfying to earn the respect of the people and the media at home. I got the job young and I know there have always been people who liked me and those who didn't. There has never really been a middle line with me. I've made big changes to my game and myself over the past two years, so that has been very satisfying to earn their respect. "Maturity" was the buzzword ahead of the Australian series. What did you mean by this term? I think the amount of time we've spent together over the last few years has allowed us to grow together as a team. There's a real family type of atmosphere in the team at the moment. The Test side is also a lot older than the one-day side, and there are a couple of guys with young families, but there are also a lot of single guys in the side. My philosophy is to give responsibility to each player. There are core values in the team, which each player must adhere to, and Mickey and I do set guidelines. I don't want to treat the guys like schoolboys. As much as I'm captain and can guide the guys, each player must still deliver his own ball and score his own runs. The more they grow, the more they mature, the better they get, the better they become, and that's my philosophy. The Proteas are in a very different space compared to the negativity surrounding "cliques" within the team after the World Cup. Did you actively get rid of these "cliques"? I don't really think there ever were cliques in the team. It was a difficult situation at the World Cup, which lasts for six weeks, and some of the guys don't play. It does become tough on the guys who don't play and it becomes difficult for them. But we were not alone in that situation, there were many others who faced the same problems. I think a big part of our current success lies with the backup players, the guys who haven't played. They all know their roles within and understand the situation, which contributes to the success of the team. When we lost in the semis at the World Cup, lots of questions were asked and reasons had to be found. I think the guys have shown a lot of maturity off the field, which has played a big part in our success. But I also had to become aware of the situation. I mean I get along with all the players, but I need to make a conscious decision to actually spend more time with each player. Maybe it was naivety on my part. I've become a lot more aware of the situation over the past two years. South African cricket has unique pressures associated with it. Have you ever walked on to the field thinking that not every guy in your team deserves to be there? I have certainly walked out on to the field nervous about certain things in the past. I've never thought this guy doesn't deserve to be there. I have worried about a young guy getting exposed too early to the pressures of international cricket. How is it going to affect his career in the future? What if he doesn't come through it, how is his game going to be affected by it? I've been nervous about this. I think of a guy like Thami (Tsolekile). Was he ready? Has his game progressed since? I don't think so. But it's different now. A lot more guys are getting exposed now, guys have also travelled with the squad, are getting opportunities in one-day cricket, where it's probably less intense on them. We were a young and new cricketing nation and there were lots of pressures, not only on me, but also as an entire leadership group: coach, captain, CEO, president and selection convener. All sorts of pressures from everywhere. I think for us now to have come through that and produced the fantastic players we have produced, with each player in the side a merit selection, is wonderful. The fact that they are there, performing, and on merit, will do wonders for the next generation of players of colour who will come through. Your domestic franchise, the Cobras, have experienced a few problems of late. Do you have any insight into these problems? I can't say, but I did read your article. When I look at the Cobras, I know leadership is a crucial thing. I know when I started at Western Province, we had Eric (Simons) and Vinnie (Barnes) and Arthur Turner, very stable and strong guys. There was also a very good group of senior players, who gave you a real sense that when you came in here, you would have a good base around you. Leadership has changed a lot at the Cobras and I think that is where they perhaps need to find stability to take them forward. The CEO has also changed. I just look at the national setup and I know how important my relationship with Mickey and Gerald (Majola) is. From a national perspective, we need the Cobras to be strong. They produce a lot of players for the national side and we need Cobras cricket to be strong. How do you want to be remembered when you retire from international cricket one day? That's not an easy question. Statistically, you want to play as many Tests you can, take as many catches as you can, score as many runs you can. But I do think as a guy who made a difference. When the team needed me, I stepped up. When we were under pressure, I performed. From a captain's point of view, I would like to leave South African cricket in a stronger position than it was before I started. In a better place. I do think that's where we are going. Tony (Irish) and I have been working on the educational side of things in domestic cricket, which allow the players who make such big sacrifices bigger earnings. We've tried to raise the profile of domestic cricket, so that more money flows into the game, allowing for fewer players to sign Kolpak contracts, etc. Most importantly, however, I would like to be remembered as someone who enjoyed playing for South Africa and representing South Africa.
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