JOHANNESBURG // On the eve of the first Test at the Wanderers, the South African captain Graeme Smith predicted that India were about to experience the toughest batting conditions in world cricket and hoped that his fast bowlers could pile on the pressure.
“I think at the Wanderers, if you post decent totals, then you give yourself the best chance of winning,” Smith said on Tuesday.
“I don’t think it needs to be 500-600, because there is always enough in the wicket for the bowlers to do well. So, if we can have a partnership somewhere important in the game, that’s crucial.
“Batting in South Africa, it’s probably the toughest place to bat in the world, especially against the new ball.”
Smith hoped that his Dale Steyn-led attack would keep India’s new-look batting line-up from scoring too many runs.
“I look at them, hopefully, not getting any runs,” Smith said with a laugh about India’s inexperienced batting unit. “That’s my goal and our bowlers’ goal.
“They are hugely talented and a very different line-up to the ones that I have become accustomed to playing against. Touring other parts of the world is a test of character and I think it is certainly going to be for them in the next two Test matches.”
Smith said that the ultimate aim of his pace battery was not to scare the India side, but to take the 20 wickets needed to win.
“I don’t think there will be a lot of difference to the time we last played Test cricket,” he said. “We will play the game hard and, as I said, there is a big respect factor for the game and the opposition.
“As the No 1 team in the world, I would like to see us have some good credibility and lead the game well. Ultimately, we want to win this Test match and that is our goal. Hopefully we will do that through good cricket.”
Smith would not be drawn into responding to Zaheer Khan’s tongue-in-cheek remark that he simply needed to turn up to pick up the South African captain’s wicket, and insisted that his thoughts were not on any particular bowler.
“We haven’t really thought about it. I have had enough seasons and enough battles with bowlers over the years that I don’t tend to lose too much sleep over it,” said Smith, 32.
“It is all about my preparation and nothing has changed. I am looking forward to it. I think it is another wonderful opportunity to front up to an outstanding bowler, and that is another challenge.”
Smith also hoped that the Johannesburg cricket faithful would turn up in numbers to give their team an edge.
“I have played many games at the Wanderers and when you are on top, the crowd certainly adds to that. Jo’burg people, in particular, are very vocal and are intense people,” he said.
“I think there is a bit of moisture in the wicket and the cracks are looking pretty good,” he said. “The new ball will have something in it and it will have good pace and bounce.”
Dhoni confident lessons have been learnt
MS Dhoni, the India captain, on Tuesday stressed the need for his team to translate self-belief into performance.
India arrived in South Africa high on self-belief but low on conditioning, which showed in the three-match ODI series that they lost 2-0.
“We were confident going into the ODI series. But, as I said, there were a few games where we played lot of shots and they didn’t materialise,” Dhoni said.
“We found the fielders, more often than not, and it can happen in ODI cricket, especially when you are looking to play big shots.”
Now Dhoni must apply the lessons learnt. “It was a disappointing series in some ways but we learnt plenty: the length and areas we need to bowl and for batsmen what you need to avoid doing,” he said.
”Overall we have gathered a lot of information from the last few days.”
Anand Vasu is managing editor at Wisden India.
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