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No new era for Jennings?
18/05/2005 09:55 - (SA)
Johannesburg - South Africa's whitewash tour of the West Indies heralded the birth of a new era for South African cricket.
So said United Cricket Board president Ray Mali when he welcomed the team home on Wednesday. South Africa won the four-Test series 2-0, and the one-day series 5-0.
"South Africa's (Test) series-winning victory in Barbados was particularly pleasing to me," said Mali. "I was there in 1992, when South Africa needed just 78 runs to beat the West Indies in their first post-isolation Test.
They had eight wickets in hand, but they could only manage 26 runs on the last day. South Africa's decisive win in Barbados this time wiped out that bad memory, and heralded the birth of a new era.
"The team has done South Africa proud," he added. "There is a very tough season ahead, with New Zealand arriving in September and a tour to Australia in November, but we have every faith in the team, and in their leadership.
"Graeme Smith has shown us that he is very capable of leading the team into the future."
Ray Jennings, whose tenure as coach is expected to end on Thursday with the probable announcement of Warriors coach Mickey Arthur as the new national coach, said he was very proud of what the team had achieved in the West Indies.
"It's the first time a team has achieved a whitewash in a one-day series against the West Indies in the Caribbean," he said.
"I wanted to instil pride and passion in the team, and I think their performance in the Caribbean showed that they had pride and passion."
Jennings said the issue of whether or not he would be retained as coach had been an unexpected additional pressure. "But coaches are there to absorb pressure, and I feel good about what I have achieved in the short time I've been with the team," he said.
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Rugby
