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Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has urged his batsmen to make sharp improvements in their shot selection, ahead of the second Test in Colombo

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Jun-20150:58

‘Boys have the talent, but not experience’ – Mathews

Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews has urged his batsmen to make sharp improvements in their shot selection, ahead of the second Test in Colombo. Sri Lanka had been bowled out for 206 in the third innings, which led to the loss in Galle. Though Sri Lanka were ostensibly attempting to save the match at that stage, three batsmen were out stumped, while two more were caught slog-sweeping to the leg-side fence.”We don’t want to mourn about the loss too much, but we will try and rectify what went wrong this game,” Mathews said. “We identified a few areas where we need to improve – especially the shot selection. We also discussed how to handle certain situations. It’s a learning curve for all of us. We don’t have Mahela Jayawardenes and Thilan Samaraweeras in the team. We need to stay calm and give opportunities to the youngsters and have faith in them.”Sri Lanka were largely undone by spin in Galle, having lost 15 of their 20 wickets to Yasir Shah, Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Hafeez. Mathews said Sri Lanka would seek to unsettle the spinners by scoring regularly against them, echoing Kaushal Silva’s views on how the slow bowlers may be countered.”We just have to be positive. We can’t be negative against Yasir and Babar. We always have to look to score runs, not get bogged down against them, and that will give our bowlers a chance. Whether its Yasir, Zulfiqar, Wahab Riaz or Junaid Khan, we always look to score runs and we have plans for them.””It’s a different wicket from Galle but it will still turn. You never have a wicket in Sri Lanka that doesn’t turn four of five days. Yasir is a very good bowler and he lands it on the spot more often than not.”There remains some confusion over Kumar Sangakkara’s retirement, with the batsman not yet having shared definitive details of his career’s last phase. It is unlikely he will play the third Test against Pakistan. Mathews, though, said this uncertainty was not a distraction.”Kumar is still having discussions with selectors,” he said. “They have not come to a final decision on that. He’s earned the right to decide when and where to go. That is not a disturbance at all to the team. He has rendered a service that no one could do over the past 15 years. I don’t think the impact of the series or how it goes will make an impact on his decision.”

Brendan Taylor scored an emotional century in his last match for Zimbabwe, but experienced the familiar agony of watching his side lose

The Report by Sidharth Monga14-Mar-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Brendan Taylor was given one final reminder of how frustrating it can be to play for Zimbabwe: in his final match before he goes Kolpak, Taylor scored an excellent century to rescue Zimbabwe from 33 for 3, then saw five wickets fall for 52 after him; with the ball Zimbabwe had India down at 92 for 4, but then the fielding let his side down to lose with eight balls to spare. This was India’s biggest test so far. Taylor’s 138 off 110 balls, only the first time a Zimbabwean has scored back-to-back hundreds in a World Cup, set India their highest chase, the top order failed, but then Suresh Raina was dropped on 47 at a stage when the game was in balance. Raina and MS Dhoni then proceeded to take their winning streak in World Cups to 10.Taylor, Zimbabwe’s best batsman for a while now, and his heir apparent Sean Williams came together in familiar circumstances, that of opposition quicks dominating their batting. All three Indians had taken a wicket each, but the recovery fashioned by Taylor and Williams was so good they were left disappointed with the final total. It was thanks mainly to Mohit Sharma’s slower balls that India bowled out their sixth straight opposition. Mohit got rid of Taylor and Craig Ervine, and Umesh Yadav and Mohammed Shami ran through the rest to not even let Zimbabwe bat 50 overs. Put together the three quicks took nine wickets for 139 runs.The spinners, meanwhile, were targeted by the Zimbabwe batsmen on the small Eden Park. R Ashwin’s 1 for 75 were his most-expensive figures in ODIs, Ravindra Jadeja went for 71 for no wicket. It was against spinners that Zimbabwe began their comeback. Just before that, though, Dhoni dropped a difficult low catch to his right. Had India got Williams – on two – then, Zimbabwe would have been reduced to 42 for 4.Instead the two went on to rattle India, who were by now getting a little funky. Dhoni, possibly to counter short boundary right behind him, bowled Jadeja with a virtual long stop, sacrificing the third man. That’s where Taylor hit two reverse-swept boundaries to kickstart the comeback, in the 17th over. After Taylor reverse-swept India to distraction in the first 50 runs of the 93-run stand, Williams targeted Ashwin, hitting him for three sixes over midwicket. Ashwin had a consolation victory along the way. After the Williams onslaught he changed ends to dismiss the aggressor with a difficult low return catch.Taylor was not to be subdued, though. Classic shots over mid-off and cover, and reverse and regulation sweeps kept the pressure on. He took it up a notch in the Powerplay, going after Ashwin again. Ramping Shami over third man for a six, he brought up his final international century, in the 39th over. He celebrated it with another six over long-off in the same over. Then he took Jadeja to pieces in the 41st over, hitting him for three fours and two sixes. The sixes were orthodox shots down the ground.Taylor had moved from 100 to 135 in no time, all the momentum was with Zimbabwe, with 186 for 1 coming in the preceding 25 overs, when Mohit came on to bowl the 42nd over. A slower ball, tight in line, and short of a driving length, cramped Taylor’s attacking shot and offered mid-on a catch. Soon Ervine fell prey to a similar delivery. The rest of the batting again impressed upon Taylor how difficult it had been to carry Zimbabwe for so long. Apart from Sikandar Raza’s 28 off 15, there was little contribution, and India were the favourites when the chase began.That changed soon enough with the new balls moving around and Zimbabwe’s frontline bowlers accurate. Rohit Sharma got a leading edge to Tinashe Panyangara, Shikhar Dhawan played on in the same over, Ajinkya Rahane ran himself out, and Virat Kohli freakishly dragged a Raza offbreak on from outside leg. Dhoni walked in no stranger to such situations but with recent question marks against his form, and joined Raina who hardly bats without any question marks against him.Raina had a tough initiation with a few bouncers, and then a couple of leading edges of spinners narrowly missing fielders. While Dhoni started off in typically busy fashion, Raina scored only four off the first 19 balls he faced. You could see he was uncertain. Kohli’s wicket made him more uncertain. But it was Raina who took the calculated risks to release India of the hold Zimbabwe had on them. The asking rate had reached 8.38 when the 30th over began. Raina took the left-arm spin of Williams on, managed two consecutive sixes over midwicket, and India were on their way.The only time they stumbled after that was when Raina went to slog-sweep Raza a ball before the Batting Powerplay. The top edge went up for a regulation catch at backward square leg, but Hamilton Masakadza spilled it. After that India maintained the asking rate almost without taking a risk. Raina brought up his fifth ODI hundred soon. Since that drop and before the 48th over, the longest boundary-less spell was seven balls. Zimbabwe’s limited attack failed to build any sort of pressure. And by the time Zimbabwe managed a dry spell longer than seven balls, the equation had come down to 18 off 19. Dhoni then finished it with a pulled six.

As the 2010s come to an end, Goal casts its eye back to pick out the best players in Spain's top flight over the past 10 years

GettyGK: Jan Oblak

Arriving in La Liga in 2014 as the then most expensive goalkeeper in the league, Jan Oblak was viewed as the man to replace Thibaut Courtois for Atletico Madrid. It quickly became clear, however, that he would surpass the Belgium international in the Spanish capital. 

The Slovenian shot-stopper has been named La Liga's Best Goalkeeper for the past four seasons and is the most consistent keeper in Spain's top-flight – rarely making the type of errors number ones at Real Madrid or Barcelona have become prone to. 

Oblak's best domestic campaign came in 2015-16 when he conceded just 18 times across 38 league games, with his performances enough to see him selected in our team ahead of the likes of Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Victor Valdes and Keylor Navas.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesRB: Dani Alves

While his time in La Liga came to an abrupt end with Barcelona in 2016, Dani Alves had been a key part of the Catalans' treble-winning side. 

The Brazilian's speed, technical ability and physical strength made him a massive asset for Barca down the right flank. 

While he was named in the La Liga Team of the Year just once, Alves' ability and influence was often under-rated and his recent form for Brazil is a reminder the 36-year-old was and is a special talent. 

GettyCB: Gerard Pique

From a fringe player at Manchester United to a star at Barcelona, Gerard Pique's move to La Liga has paid off handsomely. 

A rock in the Catalans' backline and a rallying figure for the club, the Spanish defender has been key to Barca's success over the past decade. 

Pique has eight La Liga titles to his name and is a man that knows how to step up when his side needs him most. 

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Getty ImagesCB: Sergio Ramos

Talking of stepping up, Sergio Ramos has become an expert at doing just that for Real Madrid. The veteran defender is not only ruthless at the back, but surprisingly clinical in attack.

Ramos' ability in front of goal has proven regularly crucial for Los Blancos over the past decade with the Spaniard chipping in with 37 league goals since the start of the 2010-11 season. 

In defence, he has become infamous for poor discipline and is the most carded player in La Liga history, but those 'dark arts' have also often proved decisive for his side.

Thomas Muller could make the kind of impact at Manchester United that Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic did, former star Louis Saha says.

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Muller linked with Man Utd move from BayernSaha backs German to make big impactSays he could be like Ronaldo and IbrahimovicWHAT HAPPENED?

United are reported to be interested in signing the 34-year-old forward from Bayern Munich as they look to enhance their attack under Erik ten Hag. Despite his age, ex-Red Devils star Saha believes he would be a big hit at the club, citing the examples of Ronaldo's second spell at Old Trafford and Ibrahimovic, who scored 29 goals in 53 games, as evidence.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT SAHA SAID

“He’s definitely a great leader that’s admired across the footballing world. He’s played for one of the world’s best clubs for many, many years and he’s achieved a lot at Bayern Munich," Saha told . "He may not be as quick or as clinical as [Robert] Lewandowski was for Bayern, but he’s such an accomplished forward and nobody can doubt his quality. He’s a very smart player that has bags of personality.

"He may be 34 years of age but he could still be an answer for Manchester United, even if it’s not going to be a long-term solution for Erik ten Hag. Not many players in the world have the mixture of personality and experience that Müller has. Similar to when Manchester United signed Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Cristiano Ronaldo. Those players had no doubts regarding their ability and quality and they’d be prepared to challenge anybody. They would challenge themselves and their team-mates. This is what we need. Every time those players went on the field for Manchester United, they had drive, they were confident and they had the courage to take the ball regardless of whether they were playing well or not. They didn’t shy away from their responsibilities."

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Muller's contract at Bayern expires in 2024 but club president Herbert Hainer has said they want to sign him to an extension, insisting that the German giants want the World Cup winner to finish his career at the Allianz Arena.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR UNITED?

The Red Devils will weigh up their options as they look to strengthen Ten Hag's squad in the transfer window next month. In the meantime, however, they will host Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday, followed by another home game against Bournemouth on Saturday.

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen sent a clear message to Gareth Southgate on Monday night after bagging his first career hat-trick in stunning style.

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Bowen scores trio of goals against BrentfordFirst hat-trick of careerWest Ham man sends message to SouthgateGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The England boss will still have plenty of decisions to make ahead of this summer's European Championships, and Bowen gave himself the best chance of selection against Brentford on Monday. The West Ham star scored twice before the break, the first a sliced effort at the near post before an instinctive close-range finish. He completed his hat-trick three minutes past the hour mark with a deft header to meet Mohamed Kudus' cross.

Brentford twice clawed back in the match through Neal Maupay and Yoane Wissa, before a stunning strike from Emerson Palmieri rounded out a 4-2 win for David Moyes' side – their first of 2024.

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Bowen had been going through somewhat of a dry spell in the league, having not scored since December in a 2-0 victory over Manchester United. But with Monday's trio of goals the 27-year-old is far and away the Hammers' top scorer with 14 efforts to his name, as he stakes his claim to be in Southgate's squad for Euro 2024. His best spell in the Three Lions squad came in their 2022 Nations League campaign, where he made four appearances, but he has collected just one cap since.

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WHAT NEXT FOR BOWEN?

To be in with an outside shot at making that squad Bowen simply needs to keep putting in performances such as these. England's last camp before Euro 2024 comes between March 18-26, which Bowen will be aiming for if his fine form continues.

Barcelona and Arsenal legend Thierry Henry showed why he is referred to as one of the best strikers of all time while on punditry duty on Wednesday.

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Henry has a kickabout with RichardsStuns with Richards with body feintRichards left speechless after the trickWHAT HAPPENED?

Ahead of the Champions League clash between Arsenal and Lens, Henry and fellow pundit Micah Richards went head-to-head in a small kick-about, with the Frenchman showing levels to the former Manchester City defender with a very simple body feint that had Richards lose track of the ball. Richards was left shocked as he could not believe that he had just been done like that, while Henry simply passed the ball to Jamie Carragher and nonchalantly went to pick up his broadcast microphone.

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Henry has had a stellar footballing career having won the Premier League Golden Boot a record four times. He also boasts a World Cup and Euros to his name, won with France in 1998 and 2000, respectively, and a Champions League in 2009 with Barcelona.

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR HENRY?

The Frenchman is now also the French U21 manager and has become a stellar pundit alongside the CBS cast of Kate Abdo, Carragher and Richards. Fans across the globe adore the group as CBS has posted record audiences for their Champions League broadcast – although Lionel Messi won't be attending anytime soon.

The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2011The PCB will support the recommendation to implement the Decision Review System (DRS) in international matches at the ICC’s annual conference in Hong Kong, its chairman Ijaz Butt has said. However, the board will oppose the proposal to end the rotational system for ICC presidents and the planned amendment to the ICC’s constitution which will allow the governing body to suspend a member in the event of governmental interference in the running of a national cricket board.Those two issues, along with the Associate participation in the 2015 World Cup, form the crux of the conference but they were not debated on the opening day. The meetings began on June 26 with discussions on playing conditions and the rankings system. The headline issues were kept for the upcoming days.One board that has vehemently opposed the DRS is the BCCI, but the PCB was satisfied with the system. “We really don’t know why India is opposing the DRS,” Butt had said prior to his departure for Hong Kong. “They must have their reasons but as far as we are concerned, we are satisfied with the impact it has had so far in Test and ODI cricket, and we felt the World Cup was a good example of this system working and getting better in future.”We support India where we agree with their viewpoint. But generally we have our own independent views on decisions. I think the fact that we are not in favor of ending the rotation system of electing the ICC chairman, or having amendments in the ICC constitution to prevent complete government interference in member board affairs, is testimony to this.”With regards to the proposed amendment to prevent government interference, the PCB issued a legal notice to the ICC. It is among the boards that could, in the event of any interference from the government, be directly affected by the amendment, since the patron-in-chief of the PCB is the president of Pakistan.Pakistan and Bangladesh are next in line to nominate the ICC president and vice-president as per the rotational system. The Bangladesh Cricket Board said it is not against the proposed change in the process for the nomination and election of the ICC president, but wants the amendment to come into effect only after the completion of a full cycle of the current rotational system.”The board, in principle, agrees on the proposed amendment of ICC Article of Association regarding abolishing the present rotation system for the post of president of the ICC,” the Bangladesh board said. “However, the BCB feels that an equal and fair opportunity should be given to all existing Full Member countries to avail the privileges of the current rotation system.”The ICC annual conference begins with a meeting of the chief executives committee on June 26 and 27, followed by the executive board meeting – June 28 and 29 – and the full council meeting on June 30.

L Balaji produced some magic, Shakib Al Hasan had a double strike and the fielders hustled as Kolkata Knight Riders routed Rajasthan by eight wickets

The Bulletin by Sriram Veera17-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsL Balaji’s dismissal of Shane Watson was the beginning of the end for Rajasthan•Associated Press (Balaji, walk a little slowly) was the cry in 2004 when L Balaji charmed the Pakistan public with his skill and smile. Seven years later, post a career-threatening back problem, both the traits were visible tonight and Eden Gardens lapped it up in delight as a Balaji-inspired Kolkata Knight Riders routed Rajasthan Royals on a slow pitch.Balaji produced a magical delivery to knock out the dangerous Shane Watson in his first spell before he returned to torpedo the lower order. The delivery that took out Watson was one of the best, if not the best, delivery bowled by a seamer this IPL. It landed on the good length around the middle stump line and jagged away sharply past the waft to hit the top of the off stump. Balaji screamed, his team-mates were delirious, and the crowd roared; everyone knew the importance of Watson’s dismissal, accentuated even more by the absence of Rahul Dravid and Johan Botha in the line-up. He later returned to remove Ajinkya Rahane with an incutter and had Ashok Menaria upper cutting to thirdman.Buoyed by Balaji’s feat, a charged-up Kolkata applied the squeeze with discipline in bowling and desperation in the field. Iqbal Abdulla produced two sparkling moments: he first got one to dip and turn to leave Amit Paunikar stranded out of the crease before he produced a stunning effort in the field. He charged across and dived to stop a push-drive at short mid-on region off his own bowling and was shaping to throw at the striker’s end when he realised that damage had to be done at the other end. He switched his arm at the very last instant to fire down a direct hit to run out Faiz Fazal.The wicketkeeper Manvinder Bisla got in the act next to play his part in removing Ross Taylor in the 11th over. Taylor had overbalanced out of his crease, trying to flick a wide delivery down the leg side but Bisla reacted quickly to whip off the bails.It was then the turn of Shakib Al Hasan to leave his imprint on the game. He reacted quickly at midwicket to fire an accurate throw at the striker’s end to run out Abhishek Raut. Later, after Balaji had taken out Rahane and Menaria, Shakib took wickets off successive deliveries in the 15th over to hasten the end. Two arm-balls, with varying pace, took out Amit Singh and Shaun Tait for ducks, before Brett Lee rearranged Siddharth Trivedi’s stumps to give Kolkata a perfect finish.The chase wasn’t a stroll, though. Jacques Kallis fell for a second-ball duck, top edging a lifter from Shaun Tait, and Manvinder Bisla fell to Shane Warne after a scratchy knock. Gautam Gambhir, however, stayed till the end to finish the job.

Five English cricketers were named in the ICC’s Test team of the year, reflecting England’s rise to the No. 1 spot

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2011Five English cricketers were named in the ICC’s Test team of the year, reflecting England’s rise to the No. 1 spot, achieved during their 4-0 whitewash of India earlier this month. Two batsmen, Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott, and three bowlers, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and James Anderson, made the XI, but there was no place for Ian Bell despite his averaging 89.50 and making four hundreds during the qualifying period from August 11, 2010 to August 3, 2011.Dale Steyn, the South Africa fast bowler, made the team for the fourth straight year, while Sachin Tendulkar was named to the team for the third consecutive year. Three South Africa batsmen, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers and Jacques Kallis, plus Kumar Sangakkara, the former Sri Lanka captain, made up the rest of the XI, while India fast bowler Zaheer Khan was named 12th man. Sangakkara was named captain and wicketkeeper, though he no longer performs either role for Sri Lanka in Tests.”While selecting the squad, the selectors didn’t rely only on statistics only, but took into account all other factors like the opposition, pitch conditions, match situation etc,” Clive Lloyd, the former West Indies captain and chairman of the ICC Awards selection panel, said in a release. “But when you have only 12 places to fill from a big group of world-class players, there will always be a few who will miss out. In the panel’s expert opinion, it has selected the best team based on performances over the past 12 months.”The ICC also released the short-list for its annual awards and Tendulkar will have a chance to repeat as Cricketer of the Year award but will have to fend off challenges from Amla, and the England pair of Cook and Trott to do so. Tendulkar wasn’t quite as prolific as last year, but still managed to score 973 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 64.86 and 513 runs from 11 ODIs at an average of 46.63.Cook and Trott were also short-listed for the Test Player of the Year award alongside their team-mate Anderson, with Kallis the other nominee. Cook was in particularly inspired form in Tests, making 1302 runs from 12 games at an average of 76.58 with six centuries and four half-centuries. Trott was almost as good, accumulating 1042 runs from 12 Tests at an average of 65.12 with four centuries and three half-centuries. Anderson meanwhile was a handful with the ball, picking up 50 wickets in 11 Tests at an average of 25.48 and a strike-rate of 54.00.Amla was nominated for the ODI Player of the Year award as well, along with Kumar Sangakkara, Australia allrounder Shane Watson and India opener Gautam Gambhir. Watson continued to excel in the 50-over game, making 955 runs in 19 matches at an average of 59.68 and a strike-rate of 111.17, while also chipping in with 15 wickets.New Zealand’s Tim Southee’s five-wicket haul against Pakistan was up for the Twenty20 International Performance of the Year, alongside England’s Tim Bresnan, Watson and South Africa batsman JP Duminy.Test team of the year: (in batting order) Alastair Cook, Hashim Amla, Jonathan Trott, Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara (capt/wk), AB de Villiers, Jacques Kallis, Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann, Dale Steyn, James Anderson, Zaheer Khan (12th man)The short-listsCricketer of the Year: Hashim Amla, Alastair Cook, Sachin Tendulkar, Jonathan Trott
Test Player of the Year: James Anderson, Alastair Cook, Jacques Kallis, Jonathan Trott
ODI Player of the Year: Hashim Amla, Gautam Gambhir, Kumar Sangakkara, Shane Watson
Emerging Player of the Year: Azhar Ali, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Wahab Riaz
Associate and Affiliate Player of the Year: Ryan ten Doeschate, Hamid Hassan, Kevin O’Brien, Paul StirlingTwenty20 International Performance of the Year: Tim Bresnan 3-10 v Pakistan, JP Duminy 96* v Zimbabwe, Tim Southee 5-18 v Pakistan, Shane Watson 59 v EnglandWomen’s Cricketer of the Year: Charlotte Edwards (England), Lydia Greenway (England), Shelley Nitschke (Australia), Stafanie Taylor (West Indies)Umpire of the Year: Aleem Dar, Steve Davis, Ian Gould, Simon TaufelSpirit of Cricket: MS Dhoni for his recall of Ian Bell during the second Test match between England and India at Trent Bridge, July/August 2011, and Jacques Kallis for walking twice during the World Cup 2011 after clarifying with the opposition fielder if they had caught the ball cleanly
People’s Choice Award: Hashim Amla, MS Dhoni, Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Jonathan Trott
Members of the voting academyFormer players: Andy Bichel, Naimur Rahman, Aamir Sohail, Pat Symcox, Nasser Hussein, Russel Arnold, Robin Singh, Shane Bond, Grant Flower, Desmond Haynes, and John Davison (Associate Representative Cricketer)Media: Greg Buckle (Australia), Abdul Majid Bhatti (Pakistan), Azad Majumdar (Bangladesh), Kevin McCallum (South Africa), Stephen Brenkley (England), Chris Dhambarage (Sri Lanka), Ayaz Memon (India), Tony Becca (West Indies), Bryan Waddle (New Zealand), John Ward (Zimbabwe) and KR Nayer (Associate Representative) Elite panel of ICC referees representative: Chris BroadElite panel of ICC umpires representative: Aleem DarChairman of ICC cricket committee: Clive Lloyd

Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, has said the balance between the two sides is “probably even”, with both in a state of transition, although South Africa’s appears to have progressed further

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg16-Nov-2011Two hours of careless shot selection cost Australia the Newlands Test and a chance to set up a series win, but it may not serve as an accurate indication for how they match up against South Africa in the second game at the Wanderers.Graeme Smith, the South Africa captain, has said the balance between the two sides is “probably even”, with both in a state of transition, although South Africa’s appears to have progressed further. The real difference between the two sides may lie in the experience of their new players.”We’ve got certain areas that have been more consistent over a period of time but we’ve also got some new faces,” Smith said.South Africa’s two debutants, Imran Tahir and Vernon Philander, have played over 200 first-class matches between them. Australia’s young bowlers, Patrick Cummins and Trent Copeland have not even played 30. South Africa’s top six have each played a minimum of 36 Tests. Two of Australia’s, Phillip Hughes and Usman Khawaja, have not yet played 20 Tests between them.Smith said the value of years in the first-class game is sometimes unimportant but, when it does play a role, it can be crucial.”You get guys that come in at 21 or 22 and are able to handle it and perform well from the start. It depends on the make- up of the person and what they’ve been exposed to, in terms of their cricket,” Smith said. “Vern took a bit of time to regroup after the first time he was picked. He is probably a much stronger personality now than he was then.”With Patrick Cummins likely to become Australia’s second-youngest debutant in their Test history, Smith said it’s an exciting time for the 18-year old, but could turn into a tough one.”He’s got a lot of potential” Smith said. “But if things don’t go well he probably doesn’t have a lot to fall back on in terms of experience and know where to go from there. That’s the challenge of a youngster, when you are under pressure, where do you go from there?”Philander, whose performances in the last two seasons of first-class cricket made him an automatic choice for the starting XI, showed that he had a Plan B. When he tried to bounce Ricky Ponting, and was promptly dispatched, he immediately switched to a fuller length. That probably led to Smith handing Philander the new-ball and opting away from the Steyn-Morkel combination that became known as the most feared in Test cricket. South Africa now have the luxury of choice, with three frontline seamers who can open the bowling, and Smith said he will use them according to what the circumstances dictate.”The new ball was not taken away from Morne, it was more a tactical decision in how I felt the wicket was going to play. I thought Vernon would get the most benefit out of the new ball in terms of the style that he has,” Smith said. “Morne was really good in the second innings. He opened up that middle order for us in knocking over Michael Hussey. The competition amongst them is really good.”Morkel, Philander, Steyn and Tahir were four of the eight players who attended the optional net session on Wednesday, with the batsmen who did not get much time in the middle, like Ashwell Prince, Mark Boucher and Jacques Rudolph also in attendance.”There was a real focus and a really good intensity,” Smith said. “We have to build on the things we did well. On day two and three [of the Newlands Test] our cricket really improved from what it was on day one. We were consistent in the areas we wanted to control. The areas that we hit and the pressure we created was far better than in the first innings.”A win at the Wanderers will see South Africa achieve something they have not managed to do since readmission – beat Australia in a series at home. Bowling coach Allan Donald described it as “the pinnacle,” and the start of what he hopes will be South Africa’s ascendency to Test dominance. Smith said South Africa are not looking too far ahead and although they will relish victory, it will be not be what defines their summer.”A lot of the players have won a series in Australia so for us, I wouldn’t say it’s the pinnacle but it’s something we really want to achieve,” Smith said. “I wouldn’t say it’s the biggest thing in our lives. Allan endured tough times touring Australia and playing Australia in their prime and obviously it means a lot to him. If we can provide him with that series victory that will be great.”An eight-wicket victory in less than two-and-a-half days usually suggests that the gulf between two teams is as wide as it is deep, but cricket is a sport where scorecards are not the best storytellers. This series could end by revealing that in terms of cricketing talent, team make-up, big-match temperament and closing out a game, there is little to choose between South Africa and Australia.