• Welcome to the Cricket Web forums, one of the biggest forums in the world dedicated to cricket.

    You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions and access our other features. By joining our free community you will have access to post topics, respond to polls, upload content and access many other special features. Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join the Cricket Web community today!

    If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us.

Graeme Smith : A superb interview

SJS

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
I have always been a great admirer of Smith and not just for his batting. This interview gives an indication of why this guy deserves more respect than he seems (my perception) to get.

It is tough being accountable for decisions made for you

Excerpts :

Are you hurt by suggestions that there is a "Captain's Clique" in the squad?
Not hurt, but I take it seriously and I have to accept that perception is reality for those who perceive it. I'm not afraid to take a close look at myself and I admit there were times when I was too close to certain individuals. It is something that I am conscious of all the time. I am aware of spreading my time around the team as much as possible.

I suspect that the "cliques" thing comes from guys who aren't playing, who are left out. They then spend time together and share their grievances and, perhaps, they look for reasons beyond their own performances for why they have been left out. There must be a reason, and it's not me - I don't pick the team.

In recent weeks the clique that has been mentioned has been the senior guys ... [Jacques] Kallis, [Mark] Boucher etc. They've been playing for 10 or 12 years and are very secure in their game and themselves. There are others who are not so secure in either themselves or their games. The difference between the groups needs to be broken down.​

So what's your anti-clique strategy?
Eighty per cent of the time guys are going to go out for dinner with people they are comfortable with and I don't think anybody in the team is going to moan about that. Business people have lunch with the same people.

But as the captain I have to be more aware of my role. I do find it ironic that people have accused me of not consulting the senior players and being a dictator. Then, when I do consult them a lot, I'm accused of having a clique! But I know I haven't always got the balance right and I am determined to spend more time with each player and not so much with one group, even if they are close friends. And I'll do that because I want to, not because I have to.​

Superb - as is the rest of it.
 
Last edited:
Flem274*

Flem274*

123/5
I've always liked Smith. I remember when he was easy to manipulate as he wore his heart on his sleeve but now he is one off the tougher skippers around.
 
Perm

Perm

Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Indeed. I thought I was the only Kiwi who liked Smith, and I always have. Love seeing passion and aggression in the game, two traits Smith has in bucket-loads.
 
SJS

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
Perm said:
Indeed. I thought I was the only Kiwi who liked Smith, and I always have. Love seeing passion and aggression in the game, two traits Smith has in bucket-loads.
Click to expand...
and you know, I dont see an ounce of malice in the guy. He is absolutely straight forward, gives credit to opponents where due, never hesitates to take the blame.

I am sure Pollock is devastated at being dropped but the fact that the man who made the decision was Smith must have made it absolutely devoid of any bitterness - at least thats how he comes out to me.

As he says in the interview, I have never felt thathe does anything except what he feels is in the team's interest and what more can you ask of a captain or any sportsman or that.
 
pasag

pasag

RTDAS
Used to hate him but have warmed to him in recent times. Either he's gotten better or I've gotten softer. Can't tell.
 
TT Boy

TT Boy

Hall of Fame Member
Big fan of Smith and the interview is indeed superb. Although, my favourite excerpt is this beauty regarding Garnett Kruger and younger South African cricketers…

Are you concerned about the perception that domestic success isn't always duly rewarded? Ryan McLaren, for example, was the leading wicket-taker last season but was not given any international recognition
It's hard for selectors and coaches because they have to watch guys perform and get the results and then, in some cases, they can't pick the player. But some very young guys are assuming they're not going to be selected because of quotas and transformation, and that's wrong. Look at Australia - most players make their international debuts at 27, 28 or even 30. Here, if you haven't cracked selection by 22, 23 then it's becoming fashionable to put it down to quotas and then move overseas.
I know Garnett Kruger says he wasn't treated fairly but does he deserve to play ahead of Andre Nel, Dale Steyn, Makhaya Ntini, Morne Morkel and Charl Langeveldt? Is he better than them? Does he deserve a chance ahead of them? The reality is that there's always going to be a queue in any country for guys to get the opportunity. Garnett got his opportunity in Australia, he played five or six games and he went for seven runs an over. And then he comes home and wishes he had been selected against Zimbabwe. It's all about the standards that you set yourself.
As a team you want a group of players that you know can play against Australia, India or England, not just Zimbabwe. There's always going to be a pecking order and guys have to earn their stripes. I am a bit worried about the current fashion that is being created whereby the guys who aren't prepared to work hard enough to reach the top just take the easy option and sign for the pounds. I don't blame the guys at the end of their careers who do that but the young guys should stay and fight.
 
neville cardus

neville cardus

International Debutant
I spotted that piece in the latest South African edition of TWC. Top read. For a man so regularly branded an airhead, Graeme Smith's a surprisingly bright and perspicacious fellow. This was a very brave thing of him to do, and I really appreciate his doing it. Although, at times, he can be a veritable bull in a china shop, he's come a long way over the past four years. All going well, he'll go even further, and take South African cricket along with him. The Proteas' grass looks atypically vert at the mo'.
 
Last edited:
Richard

Richard

Cricket Web Staff Member
Try again then - it's really not very hard at all. Something wrong with your hearing?
 
D

deira

Banned
ok whats so great about the interview??? its a normal interview. Some of you guys get excited for no reason.
 
SJS

SJS

Hall of Fame Member
There were a lot of very tough questions there. Most of them in fact. A lot of people would have resorted to defensive or diplomatic replies. He does neither. That takes much more courage and honesty than most people posess.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Top