 Smith sits down on the job after suffering severe cramp |
South Africa captain Graeme Smith was frustrated after an ill-timed attack of cramp cost his side dear in their World Cup defeat by Australia.
His side were going well in their bid to reach a target of 378 for victory when he had to retire hurt on 72.
"It's the first time I've ever been through cramp like that.
"Having fielded 50 overs, you do get little bursts of cramp but today was unusual. I've never had it badly as that before," Smith commented.
The other key moment was the run out of AB de Villiers for 92 after an opening partnership with Smith of 160 in 20 overs.
"AB was playing really well at that point but losing both of us at about that time made it rough for us," said Smith, who later returned to the middle but only added two to his score before being caught behind.
He defended his decision to put Australia in, adding: "We were happy chasing - the wicket stayed good throughout.
"When we reached the 34th over and looked at our target, we were ahead there but it was just too much to do in the end."
Although South Africa will not carry any points forward to the Super 8 phase of the tournament, Smith remained confident they could still compete for the trophy.
"I think the teams who are going to carry two points through are going to have a slight advantage, but we know what we have to do to reach the semi-finals.
"There's still a lot of positives we can use. Australia got the victory but I'm sure if we get back together, there'll be the same sort of fire in the game."
De Villiers hit two sixes and 14 fours in his 94-ball knock, which followed a score of 62 in the previous match against Scotland.
"I'm just playing my game like I always do. I right to hit the ball and keep the bowler under pressure," he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment