Graeme Smith
South African captain Graeme Smith said yesterday in the post match press conference, that he did not believe in the fact that the South African team choke under pressure. There is a popular belief that the South Africans choke under pressure situations and their past record doesn’t really help Smith’s claim.
Yet Smith reasoned out that the South African team had won the test series in Australia in 2008-2009 under pressure. He further says that “Pressure? We’ve handled ourselves in some tough situations over the last few years; I don’t think pressure is our weakness.”
Smith also appreciated the reverse swing produced by the English bowlers and said that there are very few players in the world who can play the reverse swing when the ball swings both ways.
Meanwhile the West Indies coach Ottis Gibson has slammed Haroon Lorgat’s statements regarding the stoning of the Windies bus in Bangladesh to be a ‘minor incident’ as ‘ridiculous’. He says “There were stones thrown at our bus. I just want to make it clear first of all and remind Haroon Lorgat of his responsibilities. He can’t sit in a hotel room in Chennai and say they were pebbles. What we heard hitting the bus and smashing glass didn’t seem to us to be pebbles. So it is not fair to make a statement like that. We as management of the West Indies team here believe that was a ridiculous statement to make.”
Although the stones did break a couple of window panes it did not injure any of the players or the coaching staff. Neither did any piece of rock enter the bus by any means. Yet the West Indies team is quite justified in raising qualms about the incident.
Australia has a slightly interesting dilemma to sort out. With the selection of Mike Hussey in the World Cup squad as a replacement of Doug Bollinger, the place of David Hussey that is Mike’s brother is at stake. Mike Hussey flies to India on Tuesday. But his inclusion in the match against Kenya on the 13th becomes a bit uncertain. But should Mike be included in the team in that match either David Hussey or Cameron White would have to make way for the left hander. Ponting had been quite articulate in mentioning in the press conference that Hussey would add to the experience to the middle order.
Mike Hussey said from Perth that ,”I’m just going to go over there and prepare as well as I can and the selectors have to make those sorts of decisions. The boys have been playing well, let’s not forget about that. All the guys in the squad just want the best team on the park. Whatever the make-up of the team is, I think everyone will be going forward in the same direction.”
Dirk Nannes will also be making his way to India as a replacement fast bowler in case Australia lose a pacer through injury.
Tags: Captain, Choke, England, Graeme Smith, ICC CWC, ICC CWC 2011, Ottis Gibson, South Africa, West Indies, World Cup
