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| March 21, 2007 | Wednesday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1428 |
‘I can cope with verbal barrage’
BASSETERRE, March 20: South Africa captain Graeme Smith insists he won't be rattled by the Australian verbal barrage which will surely come his way when the two bitter rivals meet on Saturday.
The winner of the World Cup Group A game will not only take a vital two extra points into the Super Eights but also a huge psychological edge over a fellow favourite for the title.
Smith was targeted by the Australians when South Africa toured in 2005-06 and he paid a heavy price.
His side lost the Test series 2-0 while he managed just 155 runs in six Test innings and 166 runs in his eight one-day innings.
“The Australia game is on everyone's mind, it is the big one everyone is looking forward to,” said Smith who is adamant that he is a more relaxed player now than he was on that tour.
“I'm a lot more experienced and comfortable with things. I went through a bad patch and I think once you go through a bad patch and get out of it you don't put as much pressure on yourself.”—AFP
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