Graeme Smith predicts South Africa success
Mike Atherton, Chief Cricket Correspondent
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With a one-day international taking place at the Brit Oval, South Africa's arrival in England yesterday for a full tour was underwhelming. When the Test series starts in two weeks' time, though, post-Euro 2008 and pre-Olympic Games, such lack of fanfare will be a fading memory. And that, you suspect, is how Graeme Smith, their captain, likes it. He does not so much divide opinion as provoke it, valour having been the better part of discretion.
Take this from Shane Warne: “He [Smith] just keeps making these outrageous and ridiculous statements and doesn't back them up.” Or this from Michael Vaughan: “What astounded me was that he kept on calling me queer, which I found very odd and childish. He also kept calling Flintoff a big baby, which was courageous but also remarkably silly.” Or this, more prosaically, from Kevin Pietersen: “He's an absolute muppet.”
Nor do those three think much of Smith's captaincy. Warne again: “I don't think he understands how to captain a spinner.” Vaughan: “He looked as if he was playing to the cameras on the field ... sometimes he appeared to have one eye on the job and one eye on the big screen. It was as if he was saying, 'Look at me, I'm a power freak.' ” Pietersen: “I don't think he's too intelligent, actually.”
Well, Smith must be doing something right. No South African has been appointed to the captaincy at a younger age - he was 22 when he took the job in 2003 - none has captained them more often (57 times), or to more wins (27). And Vaughan would probably cast an envious eye over the depth of talent in Smith's squad (especially the quick bowlers), the apparent harmony in it (which has not always been the case) and South Africa's form, which has been outstanding in 2007-08. This year it has been England who have been doing the talking, South Africa the achieving.
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No surprise, then, that when I spoke to Smith he was in mellow mood. In the past he has called Pietersen, who was born and raised in South Africa, unpatriotic; now, at least until the cricket begins, England's genius is not even on Smith's radar. “I don't really have an attitude towards him,” he said. “Things have been said in the past and I'm very aware that the media will try to stoke things up again. But I don't feel the need to get involved, except that there are bound to be some words exchanged on the field. We don't really know each other and I suspect it's going to stay like that.”
Things change, though, as Smith's late-flowering friendship with Warne, after their recent stint together for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, proves. Did Smith learn anything from the man widely regarded as the best captain Australia never had? “It was a great experience,” he said. “Tactically I didn't learn very much, but we talked and talked cricket and I watched him carefully. He's very good at bringing the best out of people by making them feel good about themselves and making them feel valued. Tactically he was a genius of a bowler, but his great strength in the IPL was his man-management.”
Is that something that Smith has got better at of late, because there were strong hints in books written by Pietersen and Vaughan that Smith struggled on England's previous tour to South Africa, in 2004-05, to harmonise with his senior players? “Listen, I've matured and mellowed a lot as a person,” he said. “In my early days as captain I was very abrasive because I felt the need, probably because of my age and lack of experience, to impose myself on every situation. Sometimes I forgot who I was for a while. Now I'm very comfortable with who I am and the team that I've got, so I'm in a very calm state of mind.”
He has not always had the team that he wanted. Indeed, it is hard to think of a more difficult job in cricket than captaining the South Africa team, with the conflicting burdens of the expectation of a still-fanatical sporting nation and, because of the need for transformation, political interference. Only last week Smith was removed from the selection panel by Cricket South Africa (CSA). Perversely this was perceived as a minor triumph for him because the CSA president's power of veto over selection, a cause of conflict in the recent past, was also removed.
He describes his relationship with Norman Arendse, the president of CSA, as “neutral” - which, given Smith's list of enemies, does not mark him out, but reflects the level of political interference in selection in the past. There are six “players of colour”, to use that horrible phrase, in this 15-man squad, one fewer than the regulations allowed until a recent softening of the hardline transformation position.
Smith's position on transformation is pragmatic. “It is a difficult issue because emotional statements are made all the time,” he said. “The key is not so much who we pick in the national team but the quality and strength of our feeder systems. If we pick players who are not up to it, then no one benefits. But if players of colour are playing on merit in strong feeder systems, then transformation will become complete. All of us want to see the country move on, but we want to see it handled in the right way.”
At the weekend, Mickey Arthur, the South Africa coach, said that this is the first time he has had exactly the squad that he wanted. Smith agrees. “Two or three years ago there was a lot of interference and I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go on or not,” he said. “But right now I'm very excited by the team I've got and the possibilities on offer. At the start I felt it was a team that I inherited, but now it is very much my team. We've got the best combination we've had for a long time. I feel rejuvenated.”
It is not difficult to see why. Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel, backed up by Jacques Kallis and Monde Zondeki, make up probably the most potent fast-bowling unit available to any international captain. Warne thinks that Smith is clueless at handling spin; Smith may not bother trying to prove him wrong. Since readmission in 1991, South Africa have hardly been known for their subtlety and now, between them, Smith and Arthur have devised a strategy that demands three bowlers, at all times, capable of delivering the ball at somewhere near the 90mph mark. “I've no doubt that we'll bowl England out consistently, so in that sense the form of our top six will be the key for us,” Smith said.
And England? “They don't seem as confident or as settled as the last time we played them,” he said. “Obviously Flintoff is a key factor. If he plays - and I would have thought Vaughan will want five bowlers - then their batting suddenly looks vulnerable. If we can get early wickets, put the pressure on Pietersen and that middle order, I'd fancy our chances.”
Earlier, when we touched on transformation, I had asked him whether he could think of a more difficult job in sport than captaining the modern South Africa. His reply was that he did not much fancy captaining England at football. By the end of the summer, after Smith's bowlers have given England's batsmen the hop-around, Vaughan's job may not look so sweet either.
Graeme Smith was speaking to promote live coverage of England versus South Africa on Sky Sports
, his form in County cricket so far this year has not been good though, think he only scored 130 odd runs since April for Durham, is on 37* in the 2nd innings though.
