Graeme Smith hails South African newcomers after stunning 272-run win over http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045
After a record-breaking 272-run win in the 3rd One-Day International against Zimbabwe (winning the series 3-0), Graeme Smith praised the newcomers for their exceptional form in the Zimbabwe
tour of South Africa.
"Tonight was a good night," said South African captain Graeme Smith. "It can be hard to maintain intensity when you've got 400 on the board and you clean them up cheaply, but I was happy with the intensity
we showed. When you've got 400 it's really easy to drift but the bowlers really set their own standards tonight, which was encouraging.
"We've had a few issues in this series on the bowling front, but there were a lot of positives that came out at the end," added Smith. "I think we've set up a good base despite there being a couple
of changes that lie ahead. There's good confidence around the group in terms of performances, and it doesn't really matter who you play, your confidence is always the key in sport."
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/David-Miller-c53105, and bowlers
Rusty Theron and Wayne Parnell were, however, more than impressive throughout the three-match series.
"I think it's great," Smith said of their performances. "You want to see these guys coming in and performing well. Initially there was a question about the back-up bowling unit, and we had a lot of
young batters coming through. It's never going to be easy replacing Steyn and Morkel, but it's nice to see guys like Rusty and some of the other guys coming in and impressing."
South Africa's Man of the Series, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887, helped himself to 231 runs in three innings, including two consecutive hundreds in Potchefstroom and Benoni. He was elated with his performance which
comes after he took a two-month break from the match.
"I think the break was very good for me, just getting the mind off cricket for a while," he said. "Especially after last season, this was a very long season that was a little bit of an up and down season
and quite tough mentally. So getting away from the game totally for two months was really good, and I've come back really refreshed and energized."
Besides De Villiers, opening batsman Hashim Amla also enjoyed the Zimbabwean attack and helped himself to two hundreds in back-to-back games. He was at his fluent best driving the ball with great ease and class, and once
again demonstrated that he has become a real reliable act in the South African batting line-up.
He is not outrageously attacking; he is more in the mould of Daryll Cullinan, who stroked some impressive hundreds for the Proteas in the 1990s.
However, Amla admitted that the real test for him and his team would be the tour of UAE where they take on http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in an ODI, T20 and Test-match series that is set to test their claims for the 2011 50-overs World Cup scheduled
to be held in the subcontinent.
The series would also be an ideal opportunity for Smith and his men to see the depth of their youngsters and whether they can sustain their prolific start against tougher international opposition.
The Proteas have an impressive record against Pakistan in ODI and Test-match formats but were knocked out twice in two successive editions of the T20 World Championships by the men in green.
The series would be played at two venues: Abu Dhabi and Dubai, and the Proteas are yet to play on either of the two. The wickets there are expected to help the slower bowlers; hence the challenge would be enormous for Smith’s
men as they tackle the threat posed by Saeed Ajmal, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 and Danesh Kaneria.
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