Good reality check - Smith
25/11/2007 22:06  - (SA)  

Want to know more? Answerit can help.

Nel snatches victory for SA ODI Scoreboard SA v NZ How boosts NZ to 248-6

Durban - South Africa squeaked home by two wickets at Kingsmead on Sunday to beat New Zealand in the first of three MTN one-day internationals (ODIs), with the winning run coming off the last ball of the match.

Proteas captain Graeme Smith - who was leading the team for the 100th time in an ODI - acknowledged that South Africa had some work to do, but said it was a good feeling to have won a closely-fought match.

"We always knew New Zealand would be tough competitors," he said. "We've always had good contests against them. I think our skills can improve, especially in the bowling, but it's always nice to have things to work on when you're winning.

"We had to work today, and we're going to have to work harder in Port Elizabeth and Cape Town. It's a good reality check for the guys going forward."

Man of the Match AB de Villiers, who made 87, said he was sorry he had not played through until the end of the match. "Hopefully, I'll learn from my mistakes, and there will come a time when I don't make stupid mistakes," he said. "But I think I played pretty well today. I've been in good form the last month or so, and things are going pretty well."

Should have won

The New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori was justifiably disappointed at his team's loss.

"We should have won this match," he said. He conceded that the number of dropped catches was a problem. De Villiers was dropped when he was on 21, and there was a comedy of errors in the last over, with fumbled catches costing New Zealand the match.

"You don't get too many chances against good players," he said. "We're letting ourselves down and it is hurting us. "It's hard to practice taking catches - the guys will take most of them while we're practising, but it's in the match that we have the problem.

I think we just have to try to keep them calm and that will help." Vettori said it would be difficult to come back from losing the first match in a three-match series, bur he thought the way they had played was a good starting point.

What is this? Yahoo Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Brought to you by OUTsurance Car Insurance
	News24 Headlines on your Facebook profile		News24 on mobile