TUESDAY, 12.30PM:
SOUTH African cricket coach Bob Woolmer and skipper Hansie Cronje said the victories in Pakistan are now history and are concentrating on beating arch-rivals Australia in the tour Down Under.
Speaking on the team’s arrival at the Johannesburg international airport on Monday, Cronje said: “The emergence of some of the young players like Lance Klusener, Shaun Pollock and Jacques Kallis, and the perfomance of the old hands like Gary Kirsten, Allan Donald and Pat Symcox, was very encouraging. We are not fooled by the victories in Pakistan and we know the Australian trip will be tougher.”
Woolmer said the trip to Pakistan was the best of his life. “The Pakistan trip was the finest moment of my career, and made me proud to be South African,” he said. “But that is now history. We have to look ahead and focus now on what will be a demanding tour of Australia.”
The selectors are expected to name a squad of 15 or 16, with either one or two spaces to fill on Tuesday. Andrew Hudson is likely to be left out while Jonty Rhodes and Fanie De Villiers will strengthen the squad.