The captain of the South African cricket team, Graeme Smith, said on Saturday that the team was feeling relaxed and confident ahead of the third Castle Lager/ MTN Test at Newlands. The five-day match starts on Sunday.
Smith said that while it wasn’t ideal to play back to back Tests, the team had had a good recovery session, and had also had a day off with no practice.
”We had a good water session, which always helps with the recovery, and we also had a bit of a rest. The guys are feeling good, and are looking very relaxed. I don’t know if that’s because we’re in Cape Town where there is a more laid-back attitude, but they certainly seem to be enjoying themselves. It’s the most relaxed they’ve been since the start of the series.”
He said the players were looking forward to the third Test. ”We have talked about what went wrong in Durban, and we know what we have to do. The most important thing is that we have to keep the momentum going. We got into a very good position in Durban, and then we lost the momentum and let it slip. We can’t let that happen again.
”The fact that we got out of jail because of the bad light on Thursday has helped us,” said Smith. ”We feel a lot better going into the third Test one-nil down than if we had been two-nil down. What we need to do is to play really well in this Test, and go to Johannesburg one-all.
”Little things can turn a Test around, and even turn a series around,” he said. ”We were in a position to win in Durban, and we let it go, but we’ll be stronger for the experience. I was also very impressed with the way the guys fought to get back into the Test. That partnership by Polly (Shaun Pollock) and AB (de Villiers) was magnificent, and showed a lot of character.”
Pollock, who was hit on a finger on each hand with successive deliveries from Steve Harmison, will be fit to play on Sunday. The team media manager Gerald de Kock said the finger on his left hand was still in a light splint, just for protection, but there was no danger that he would not be able to bat or bowl.
The third Test will be dedicated to the victims of the earthquake and tsunami catastrophe in South East Asia. Flags will fly at half-mast, and there will be a minute’s silence at the start of the Test.
Shirts signed by both teams will be raffled during the five days of the Test, and joint sponsor MTN have agreed to donate all funds generated from the use of the Cricket South Africa hotline to the disaster relief fund.
Revenue from the ‘SMS the scoreboard’ promotion will also go to the relief fund. – Sapa