Sri Lanka v South Africa, 7th match, Champions Trophy

'The pressure is on both teams' - Smith

Anand Vasu in Ahmedabad

October 23, 2006

'It looks a better wicket than what we had in Mumbai and hopefully it will produce a good game of cricket' - Smith © Getty Images

Graeme Smith had not yet looked closely enough at the pitch at the Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad to make a final decision on the composition of the side, but he certainly liked the look of what he saw. "It looks a better wicket than what we had in Mumbai and hopefully it will produce a good game of cricket," he said. There had been plenty of steam let off at the end of South Africa's last match, which they lost to New Zealand after winning the toss, sticking the opposition in, and then having to battle it out for runs on a pitch that crumbled quickly as the day wore on.

But Smith said that it was not all about the pitch, and that it was essential for teams to suit their gameplan to the conditions they were presented with on the day. "Adapting to conditions is crucial to success in this tournament. Whether you bowl first or bat first you've got to be able to adapt to conditions as quickly as possible," he said. "Adapting to the wicket is the key for us. Hopefully we can put a good combination tomorrow that wins us the game."

South Africa have also strived to find a balance when it came to choosing their bowling attack. The question they pondered was whether to just put their best bowlers on the park, or choose bowlers most likely to be successful on a certain kind of pitch. "Our bowling combination has been pretty settled over the last two years," he said. "We have done well throughout the world. We obviously want to stick to our aggression."

Smith, asked yet again if his team were handicapped because they did not have a world-beating spinner in the mix, kept his cool and said, "We would love to have a [Muttiah] Muralitharan or [Shane] Warne in our side. Any team in the world would want to have a matchwinner of that calibre," he said. "But not every team has one, we have got a young spinner and we are backing him to do well. Our strength has always been our seam bowling. I think when Sri Lanka or anyone comes to South Africa they wish they could have a Shaun Pollock or a Makhaya Ntini in their team. It's just about trying to put your strength into the conditions you play, and that's what we are going to do tomorrow"

Moving from the bowling side of things to the batting, Smith said he believed his team had one of the strongest line-ups in world cricket at the moment. "Our first seven or eight are among the best in the world, and we cover all the areas pretty well," he said. We've got big hitters down the bottom and got power strikers at the top. The combination of our batting unit is pretty much up there with the best in the world. It's just about getting it right on the day. Being able to adapt to the conditions - how the wicket plays - that's going to be the key to our success in tomorrow's game."

Smith admitted that South Africa had their work cut out for them, as Sri Lanka are in the middle of a hot streak. "Sri Lanka is probably the form team in the tournament," he said. "They have played qualifying games and done well. They're the team that has got their combinations right and most of their players are performing well." At the same time, he did point to the fact that both teams would be under equal pressure because the game was a virtual quarterfinal. "It's pressure on both of us tomorrow to play well," he said. "That's reality of the tournament. The pressure is on both teams. It is a kind of a knockout, and that's how this tournament is structured. Hopefully the team that plays the better cricket at the end of the day wins."

Anand Vasu is assistant editor of Cricinfo

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Stories

Grudge match puts Smith under the spotlight

South Africa ponder balance for crucial game

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South Africa v Sri Lanka at Ahmedabad

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Graeme Smith

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ICC Champions Trophy

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South Africa

Sri Lanka