Graeme Smith spoke to the media ahead of the first Test at Johannesburg
Dileep Premachandran at Johannesburg14-Dec-2006
Not taking the opposition for granted: ‘They’ll be well-prepared, and hope to catch us offguard’ © Getty Images
Graeme Smith had recovered sufficiently from a bout of food poisoning tobe able to joke about it – “Don’t eat the fish in Cape Town,” he said -but both he and his team were bristling with determination to reverse theresult of their last home series, when Ricky Ponting’s Australia handedout a 3-0 cricketing lesson. Smith refuses to write off the Indians, butsuggested that he had the quality at his disposal to inflict seriousdamage on a pitch that’s expected to favour the seam bowlers from theoutset.”I think they’d be hoping to bounce back,” he said, when asked about theIndians after a morning training session. “They also had a game in between[at Potchefstroom]. They’ll be well-prepared, and hope to catch us offguard. We’re confident though that we can carry on as we did in theone-day series. We’re pretty focussed. Some new guys have come back in,who didn’t play the one-day games. There’s a lot of hunger around, andwe’ll be looking for some big performances.”India have some big names of their own, and Smith made it amply clear thatthey would be singled out for special treatment once the game commenced at10am on Friday. “India have world class performers with fantastic records.There are some guys in our side who have knocked over big names all acrossthe world, against every side, and will be looking to do it again.”He was especially confident that his pace battery could prey on the mindsof an Indian line-up that performed way below par in the one-day games.”They’ve been bowling at real pace and hitting the areas,” he said, afterhaving played through the net session. “There’s plenty of variety in theattack, and it bodes well for the game. In the one-day matches, we bowledthe right lines and in the channels and it paid off.”The only real change on the bowling side of things is the inclusion ofDale Steyn, whose electrifying pace jolted India at Benoni a month ago.”He adds a new dimension,” said Smith. “Nella [Andre Nel] has been hitting140 [km/h] and so’s Makhaya [Ntini]. Dale’s up at 150. We plan to use himin short bursts. He gets it to swing up front at pace, and that’s a hugeasset. He’s just come back from quadriceps strain, and is raring to go.”Steyn will share the new ball with Ntini, and the pitch, with cracksrunning right through it, will come in for considerable scrutiny. “I’veseen worse cracks here at the Wanderers,” said Smith, who didn’t soundparticularly perturbed. “The pitch looks pretty good. But with all theheat around, the cracks will play a role, as in any Test. The wickets herehave always been pretty good, with pace and bounce. There’s good carry,and you stand well back in the slips.”The South Africans elected not to play for the franchises after theone-day series got over, but Smith said that there had been no complacencywhen it came to preparation. “Most of the guys have worked individuallyduring the break,” he said. “I worked with Gary [Kirsten], and we’ve hadtwo very good sessions here. The new ball might do a bit. Both attacksbowled well in the one-day series, especially with the new ball. It’s justup to the batsmen to apply themselves.”Rahul Dravid had spoken of how the lowered expectations from his teammight benefit them in a positive way, but Smith scoffed at the idea. “I’vetoured India three times now, and never seen a situation where’s there’sno expectation from the Indian team [smile],” he said. “You can’t get awayfrom it. It’s in your face, the demand for results. There are also yourdemands on yourself, both as a team and as individuals.”He was candid when asked about the return of Sourav Ganguly, though heindicated that India’s former captain shouldn’t expect an easy ride. “Isaid from start that Sourav’s record speaks for itself, in both forms ofthe game,” he said. “There was just a big question mark over how he wouldfit in after all that has happened. We have our gameplans for him, andwe’ll be looking to execute them well. But he does bring a hardness and afighting spirit to their middle order.”There was also little doubt in his mind about the danger posed by anotherof India’s old guard. “A bowler of his class will always play a role,” hesaid when asked about Anil Kumble. “Most of us have played against him afew times, and know what he’s capable of. He takes large-wicket hauls, andis much respected in our team. We won’t take him lightly.”He did suggest though that Kumble would face batsmen intent on going afterhim, with AB de Villiers likely to be asked to reprise his performancesagainst Muttiah Muralitharan. “We were pretty aggressive against thespinners in the one-day games,” said Smith. “Harbhajan [Singh] went fornearly 50 in every game. The match situation dictates what you do though.We try and play a positive brand of cricket. Our mindset is moreattacking.”If the cracks widen as the game stretches on, Smith himself may have todo some bowling, with no specialist spinner in the ranks. “I’ve beenfeeling pretty good with the ball,” he said with a self-deprecating laugh.”It will be difficult to play our seam attack. Most batsmen can deal withsideways movement, but when it starts to get up and down [the bounce],that’s hard to deal with. The first three days will be crucial in settingup the game. But if I need to bowl, I will.”At a venue that he loves, one where he says the atmosphere can beabsolutely inspiring, he’ll be hoping that it doesn’t come to that.