SA's hunger for success

2003-08-25 21:10

Christo Buchner

Leeds - South Africa's hunger for success proved decisive in the fourth cricket Test at Headingley against England - and captain Graeme Smith says his team will be going into the fifth an final encounter at the Oval with the aim of clinching the series 3-1.

South Africa can no longer lose the series after their 191-run victory in the fourth Test, but Smith does not intend merely defending a series lead. "If you intend playing for a draw, you may as well not play at all. We'll be positive at the Oval with the aim of achieving a convincing series victory," said Smith on Monday.

It was precisely this approach that proved crucial for South Africa at Headingley. When play was interrupted because of bad light on the second day, England batsmen Marcus Trescothick and Mark Butcher were well on top of the South African attack. But after the interruption, it was a different story.

"I gave them (the bowlers) a hard talking-to during the break. I made it clear that we could not allow our good showing with the bat in the first innings to be nullified." And the next session proved to be the turning point for South Africa in the Test.

England captain Michael Vaughan admitted after the match that his team had a fear of failure, and that was why the batsmen took the "safe" option of leaving the field when they were offered the light by the umpires.

Bat first

"We were not prepared to go for the jugular when we had the South Africans in trouble," said Vaughan. "It could be a psychological shortcoming. I get the idea that there's not enough enthusiasm in English cricket.

Perhaps it's because we play too much county cricket, where players just pitch up and play without having a real appetite for the game.

"South Africa played with more discipline than us in this Test," said the England captain.

Smith admitted that the decision to bat first after winning the toss had been the most difficult of his short career at the helm of the SA team.

"When we were 21-4, I wondered what the heck had made me decide to bat first. However, Gary Kirsten was fantastic and, together with the lower-order batsmen, he showed the true fighting spirit of this team.

"Jakes (Kallis) bowled brilliantly today (on Monday) and played the role we required in the absence of Shaun Pollock. We missed Shaun, but I kept on telling the blokes that this was an opportunity for someone to put up his hand with the ball. And Jakes did it.

"In fact, I had a hard time convincing him to give the ball to someone else. He just wanted to keep on bowling," said Smith.

- Beeld