Shaharyar Khan, the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman, has written to international and domestic umpires in the country, asking them to report bowlers with suspect actions. According to a report in The News, Shaharyar also provided umpires with a list of bowlers to observe, which included Shoaib Akhtar, Shabbir Ahmed, Riaz Afridi and Junaid Zia.In recent times, a number of Pakistani bowlers at the international level have been reported for a suspect action and advised to undergo remedial measures. In an attempt to avoid similar situations in the future, Shaharyar asked umpires to correct bowlers before it was too late, and to do their job without fear of criticism.While the ICC has put guidelines in place to define suspect actions, what has been notable is the reaction to umpires who report bowlers. In a recent case, Chris Broad, the match referee who reported Muttiah Muralitharan after Sri Lanka’s series against Australia, came under attack for socialising with Australian cricketers. While the accusation was on a different charge, it was widely perceived as an attempt to put Broad under pressure.

Australia’s stand-in captain, Adam Gilchrist, and Sri Lanka’s Australian coach, John Dyson, were heavily critical of the drop-in pitch at the Marrara Oval, after the Darwin Test finished inside three days for the second year running."I don’t think the wicket was quite up to Test standards," said Gilchrist, who led Australia in the absence of Ricky Ponting. "It is pretty obvious when a Test finishes like this. With the quality of batsmen around in both teams it is not quite there. With the type of pitch, the result becomes a lottery. If you get a good hour in a one-day match it changes the game, but in Test cricket it doesn’t. So the better team generally wins."I think we executed better with our bats than they did," added Gilchrist. "Both teams bowled really well in the right areas. We probably deserved to take the match in the end because we were able to play ourselves a little bit better when it was up for grabs."Gilchrist added that if Darwin were to maintain its Test status, the authorities would have to make improvements to the pitch. "It was not so much the seam and swing, it’s just the variable bounce," he said. "All you ask for in a good cricket pitch is consistency in bounce. It is difficult with drop-in wickets to know what you have to do. But they’ve had drop-in wickets now for many years at the MCG and they’ve got it right.""This is only the second time up here, so it’s early stages," he continued. "But I hope the authorities will take it up and talk about how this pitch wasn’t up to standard. You’ve got to make improvements if you are going to make Test cricket attractive here. Darwin has the facilities and it is up to Test standard. But the most important ingredient is a good cricket pitch."Dyson also added his opinions to the debate. "When Australia gets bowled out twice for 200 that should tell you something about the wicket. When a Test match finishes in under three days it also tells you something about the wicket. There were seven class batsmen in either team and they got bowled out twice. The highest score in the game was 207. In a good game of Test cricket you are expected to go into the fifth day. You can draw up your own conclusions from that.""It’s not very often that Australia gets bowled out twice for 200 in a Test," admitted Dyson. "I don’t think either team batted particularly well in either innings, because it is a difficult wicket to bat on. It seamed a heck of a lot. The scores indicate that. The wicket was a seaming wicket and a lot of the players were good enough to nick the seaming ball.""Australia knew the wicket was favourable for their type of bowling and they bowled exactly the way they should," added Dyson. "Look at our seamers. Apart from Vaasy [ChamindaVaas] they are not in the same class. But we still knocked over the world champions twice for 200."Sri Lanka’s captain, Marvan Atapattu, added that the run-out of Kumar Sangakkara was a major turning point of the final day. "Had it not happened it would have been better. Sanga is batting well at the moment. I think losing him by way of a run-out was a crime at that time. Normally Sanath runs very well. It was one of those days where he didn’t judge his runs 100 percent."

By all accounts, this third time was the charm. Faced with the memory of the 2003 Second National Championships with its alleged mismanagement, umpiring disputes and other assorted acrimonies, The US National Championships needed a boost that would bring back the halcyon days of 2002 when the tournament was first launched. The looming shadow of American Pro Cricket, about to begin its inaugural season in July, must have provided a further incentive. What was needed was a jolly good show, and this was precisely what was provided in Plano, Texas (a suburb of Dallas).The USACA had evidently decided to put all its eggs into one basket. Both the Eastern and Western Conferences were to be played in one location (Plano, Texas) over the same long weekend in June. The choice was not without an element of risk. Memories of the almost total washout of the 2003 finals in Plano, when most of the matches were cancelled thanks to an unseasonable tornado and its aftermath, must have haunted the tournament organizers; and indeed, the squalls did put in an impromptu appearance this year, interrupting one match and shortening others. That the tournament escaped largely unscathed was due as much to the organizers’ preparations as the weather gods’ uncertain mercies — this time the local cricket authorities had prepared in advance, and were ready for the rain.Selecting Plano as the venue for this experiment was not entirely fortuitous. The North Texas Cricket Association (NTCA) had earned top honours from the ICC as having had the best cricket development program in the world in 2003, and it had not been content to rest on its laurels. In letting Plano try again, the USACA was placing its faith on the NTCA’s being able to live up to this occasion.And indeed it did, in fine fashion. The NTCA organizers, Syed Shahnawaz and Jon Gowan, more than outdid themselves in making sure the tournament moved along smoothly and without any major hitches. They even managed to incorporate a coaching clinic by Greg Chappell, who was present at the proceedings. There was unanimous praise for NTCA and the professional way in which the entire tournament was conducted.The two conferences presented a study in contrasts. In the Eastern Conference, New York dominated the proceedings, with the other three regions reduced to watching themselves being steamrollered by the New York juggernaut. The Western Conference proved to be a far more unpredictable affair, with the winners not being decided until literally the last minute of the tournament.The following match summaries were adapted from notes made by Mr.Vinod Shankar, Mr. John Wainwright, and others who were present at the matches in question. I am thankful for their detailed insights into the proceedings.Eastern Conference
On the first day, New York appeared to have started off on the wrong foot, after conceding 242 runs against possibly the weakest team in their Conference, the North East. But Steve Massiah scored an unbeaten 103 and Staples 88, and New York won comfortably. Simon had scored a century for the North East that went nearly unnoticed after the brutal demolition by Messiah and the NY skipper.The Atlantic region took on the 2003 National Champions, South East Region. They scored 234 runs mainly due to some great hitting by Clain Williams(38*), and Nasser Islam took four South East wickets to have them at 137 for 8 before they finally collapsed.On the second day the rains came, and played their usual tricks with the proceedings. New York destroyed the Atlantic region with some good bowling from Zamin Amin to restrict Atlantic to 168 all out. Owing to the rain delay, New York needed only paltry 85 runs to win the game in 25 overs which they did with ease losing only a solitary wicket in the process.In the other match, South East restricted the North East to 221 mainly due to some quality spin bowling by USA vice captain, Nasser Javed (Charlie) grabbing five wickets. With the rain playing its part, the revised target of 112 in 25 overs proved far too easy for the National Champions.On the third day, New York having destroyed Atlantic previously, completely annihilated the South East, who were bowled out for 92 with all the bowlers chipping in with wickets. New York achieved victory target in 18 overs before lunch, losing four wickets on the way. New York had won all their games in the competition with relative ease and proved that they are well and truly the team to beat in the National Championships.In the other match, The Atlantic Region’s Dawood Ahmed (100 off 109 balls) took his team to 262 runs. The North East never looked to be in the hunt, with only keeper Ranaswamy providing any resistance with a dogged 48. NE finally ended on 162, leaving Atlantic as runners up in the Eastern Conference behind champions New York and sealing a berth in the National Championships.Western Conference
On the first day, South West (LA) faced a newly constituted Northwest Region team who, for the first time, represented all three Northwest Leagues in Washington, Oregon and Northern California, not just the NCCA that the Southwest has been accustomed to facing. The fresh faces, and the energy and attitude they brought with them, introduced a factor into the tournament which was to prove decisive.Butterflies and sheer nerves on the part of the many inexperienced Northwest players had their effect in the early going, and they were soon at 75 for 5, altough they battled to 186. With a fast outfield, true wicket and big names in the South West batting line up, the LA superstars were cruising at 110 for 3. But Mehul for North West took four wickets, and was well supported by excellent fielding and catching to dismiss Southern California for 162.In the other match, the hosts, Central West, won the toss and put Central East (Chicago, Michigan) to bat, and dismissed them for 196. Sushil Nadkarni (44) came in after lunch and started belting the ball to all parts. A collapse in the middle order had the hosts in trouble at 110 for 4, but they avoided further setbacks to take themselves home with two overs to spare.The next day — when it rained – the game between hosts Central West and North West, the two first-day winners, seemed as if it would head to a close finish when North West scored 232 runs in their 50 overs. However the rain seemed to affect this ground a little more than the others, and both teams had to be satisfied with one point each.Elsewhere, Tarun Bhoomireddy scored a century to help South West to 274 from their 50 overs. However Rizwan Uz Zaman, the veteran Pakistani Test batsman, scored 75 runs off just 81 balls. The rain interruption also helped the Central East cause by reducing the target and Central East finally won off the penultimate ball of the shortened match.On the final day, the Western Conference was delicately poised with Central East, Central West and North West in contention for the title and for the top two spots in the National Championships.Central East, put into bat, were in trouble at 130 for 5 before a 100-run sixth-wicket partnership took them to 254. North West would have to bat exceptionally well under tremendous pressure to get close to this total. Amit Dehra brought his team very close as 10 runs were required off the last over. A controversial boundary that looked a lot like a six and some quickly scampered singles later, and North West won with a boundary off the very last ball with Amit Dehra remaining unbeaten on 82. Amit had ensured his team’s qualification to the Nationals as their entire team came to watch the close exciting finish in the game between Central West and South West. If South West beat the hosts, The NW team would be crowned kings of the West.In the match, South West found it difficult to come together as a team and win despite having an array of star names in their line up. Central West stuck to the basics to restrict the SW team to 186. CW were penalized three overs for their slow over-rate and needed to get these runs in 47 overs. However small this total looked, it was far from easy to get as the CW team needed to erase the horrors of chasing a similar total against New York last year to lose out on the National Championship. CW started disastrously but recovered and scraped home CW were under tremendous pressure having lost eight wickets but got home with two balls to spare.However, noone knew who the Western Conference champions were until the net run-rates were calculated. After the calculations were done, the Central West team had just managed to edge out the North West by a net run-rate differential of 0.01. CW had retained the championship they won as underdogs a year ago. But the Northwest Region, as the Cinderella team of the tournament, had proved its worth to join Central West, New York and the Atlantic Region in the US National finals to be played later in the year, probably in Los Angeles.

The term pinch-hitting used to be associated with baseball – but when cricket picked up on the concept, the traditionalists, like the bowlers against whom the tactic was used, did not know what had hit them. Until Sri Lanka’s shock World Cup triumph in 1996, the accepted wisdom in a one-day cricket match had been to start with caution and build up a steady head of steam in one’s allotted fifty overs. But by the time Romesh Kaluwitharana and Sanath Jayasuriya had blown into town, that idea had been blown out of the water.They were an unlikely pair of revolutionaries – Kalu, a pocket battleship of a wicketkeeper, and Jayasuriya, a hard-hitting, leg-spinning lefthander, who had yet to develop into the champion batsman that he has now become. Their international records were modest, but their desire to belt the leather off a cricket ball was unsurpassed.

Together they set about tearing up the coaching manual, with their uniquely anarchic approach. Jayasuriya, with his penchant for uppercut sixes over backward point, was murderous on any width, while Kalu, with impish bat-speed and an executioner’s eye, treated all deliveries with equal disdain.Their alliances rarely lasted for long – against England in the quarter-final, Kalu was bowled by Richard Illingworth for a third-ball 8 – but the longer they were together, the greater the panic in the opposition ranks. And, as soon as they were parted, Sri Lanka’s recognised batsmen would take over. And, with men of the stature of Arjuna Ranatunga and Aravinda de Silva to follow, the tactic rarely failed.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Nuwan Zoysa celebrated the last day of his bachelorhood – he gets married tomorrow before the team’s departure to Dambulla – with a stump-flying career-best five-wicket burst that decimated South Africa at the Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Chasing Sri Lanka’s 213 for 9 on a bone-dry pitch, they were bowled out for 176, to hand Sri Lanka a 2-0 series lead.Sri Lanka had expected the spinners to do the major damage this morning, when they drafted in Rangana Herath as an extra slow-bowling option, but by the time the first spinner appeared, Sri Lanka were already halfway home thanks to the discipline of Chaminda Vaas and the snap of Zoysa.Herschelle Gibbs started the top-order meltdown as his wretched form continued. He’d survived the first five overs, but never looked at ease, jabbing uncertainly at the ball and frequently playing across the line. His eventual downfall was his worst misjudgment as a failed pull off a good-length ball left his stumps splayed (15 for 1).South Africa, experimenting with the top order again, sent in Nicky Boje as a pinch-hitter. His form had also been poor, but after a circumspect start, he looked to have clicked after a lofted four and sweet cover-drive in Zoysa’s fifth over. But those were the last runs before four wickets tumbled in quick succession.First, Boje (14) tried to drive Zoysa on the up and skewed a catch to Tillakaratne Dilshan, who clung on to a fine overhead catch running backwards at point (35 for 2). Graeme Smith (14) then flattened his leg stump when he chopped on Zoysa’s next delivery (36 for 3). The prize scalp, though, was Jacques Kallis, unfortunate to be adjudged lbw to a delivery that pitched just outside leg (37 for 4).Just when it seemed it couldn’t get worse, Jacques Rudolph (4) edged behind to complete Zoysa’s first one-day five-for (40 for 5). To be fair, he will bowl better and get far less – South Africa had gifted him two wickets and the umpire one. But it was also just reward for a bowler who has battled so hard to reclaim his place in the team.When the spinners did arrive, in the 17th over, they did not have to wait long to get into the action. Kaushal Lokuarachchi, who finished the first match with an arrogant six, drew Mark Boucher into a cover-drive with an enticing legbreak and Mahela Jayawardene gobbled up the catch at slip (50 for 6).Shaun Pollock and J-P Duminy – the great new batting hope who came in atNo. 8 for the second successive game – halted the wicket-rush for a whilewith a 44-run stand. But progress was too slow and the run rate was rising fast by the time the out-of-form Lance Klusener entered the arena after Dilshan had trapped Duminy lbw for 22 (94 for 7).When the final ten overs started, South Africa needed exactly 100. AlthoughPollock was now striking the ball cleanly, scoring 54 from 78 balls with twofours, and Klusener produced a couple of meaty clumps, Sri Lanka were homeand dry. Dilshan cashed in with his part-time offbreaks, taking 4 for 52.Earlier, South Africa had taken control of proceedings after Sri Lanka squandered the advantage of the toss with a distinctly ordinary top-order display, collapsing to 86 for 5 before Kumar Sangakkara (63) and Upul Chandana (61 not out) revived the nosediving innings with a Sri Lankan record sixth-wicket partnership of 93.The bowlers were more disciplined than the previous evening – though hardly menacing – but a trail of poor strokes had left Sri Lanka in a dire position, starting with Sanath Jayasuriya, who misjudged the line of a Pollock delivery that straightened enough to beat a last-second jab across the line and clip the top of off stump (18 for 1).Avishka Gunawardene was his typically awkward early-innings self,spanking the odd ball gloriously and then feeling for others with his legsseemingly stuck in cement. One ferocious blow over extra cover nearlydecapitated his colleagues sitting in their boundary-side tent. But, withhindsight, Gunawardene will have regretted the six, as it brought MakhayaNtini into the attack. Ntini found his outside edge with his first ball and he was out for 21 (45 for 2).

Straight after the first drinks break, South Africa tightened their grip.First, Marvan Atapattu feathered a catch to Boucher off a wide Ntini delivery and then, with runs having completely dried up, Jayawardene wascaught behind for a duck off Klusener (72 for 4). The arrival ofKallis – replacing Klusener, who conceded just 12 runs in six overs -further deepened Sri Lanka’s woes when Dilshan, surprised by some extrabounce, edged to Pollock at a wide slip (86 for 5).Chandana’s busy arrival at the crease helped turn the innings around. Just24 hours after being the victim of a road-rage attack that left him shockedand bruised, and his son traumatised, Chandana industriously worked singlesand scampered twos to kick-start the scoring again. Sangakkara, the lastspecialist batsman, was content playing the anchor role during thepartnership’s early stages, before opening up and speeding to hishalf-century.Just when a score of 230 looked on the cards, a brace of carbon-copyrun-outs checked the runscoring: first Sangakkara then Vaas weresent back and caught short after flicks straight to midwicket (188 for 7).Kallis also chipped in with a couple of late wickets, trapping Lokuarachchi lbw and bowling Nuwan Zoysa off the last ball of the innings.Kallis finished with 3 for 20.The defeat extended South Africa’s dismal one-day run to seven straightdefeats, the second-worst losing run in their history. With the coachpublicly admitting that he is close to walking out, the tourists could notbe in worse spirits as they pack their bags for the four-hour journey northto Dambulla, the venue for the third and fourth matches.

An injured hamstring has threatened Tatenda Taibu’s participation in Zimbabwe’s Champions Trophy opener against England at Edgbaston tomorrow. Taibu was diagnosed with a tear in his right hamstring, but he was optimistic about his chances.”I was told the injury was between grade one and grade two which is not bad, but I do have to have a late fitness test on Friday,” Taibu told AFP. “I’m hopeful I will be fit and it shouldn’t be a problem, but it is an important area for me as the wicketkeeper because I’m moving up and down constantly.”His progress will be closely monitored by Zimbabwe, because his withdrawal from the match would leave them short of significant experience, and they would miss their main player. Taibu was seen as a plucky batsman when Heath Streak was captain, but after the mass exodus of players, he was made captain, and the results showed in his batting.Taibu talked up his team’s chances, and warned others against taking Zimbabwe lightly. “There is no doubt we have enough firepower to cause an upset because we’ve got some real talent and if it all clicks we can rock a few teams. The guys try to learn all the time and they back me up completely so it is great to have a squad like that. I know we are underdogs, but I play every game to win and so do the rest of the boys and by doing that we can only get better.”

Warriors 251 for 7 (Jacobs 94, Boucher 77 Friend 3-36) beat Western Province Boland 164 for 9 (Gibbs 50, Strydom 4-26) by 75 runs (D/L Method)
ScorecardAt St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth, three rain breaks resulted in reduced overs and, ultimately, a fairly easy first win for the Warriors, as Western Province Boland collapsed from 76 for 1 to 120 for 7.The Warriors batted first under threatening skies, and made a steady start with Mark Bruyns scoring 45, before rain forced the players off for a second time, causing a loss of five overs per team. On the resumption, Mark Boucher and Arno Jacobs took the attack to the WPBOL bowlers, scoring 128 in 89 balls, with Boucher making 77.Jacobs fell six short of his second consecutive hundred as he was bowled with three balls left in the innings. Two late wickets gave Quentin Friend three for the innings as the Warriors, scoring 126 runs in the final 10 overs, ended on 251 for 7.WPBOL made a perfect start in their pursuit of a revised target of 257, as Herschelle Gibbs and Andrew Puttick added 76 for the first wicket. Gibbs was the quicker of the two, and went to his 50 in 29 balls, striking six fours and three sixes, before running himself out in the twelfth over.The wickets of Gibbs and Puttick, stumped for 40, started a collapse that left WPBOL on 120 for 7, with the spin of Pieter Strydom and Bruyns doing all the damage. One more run was added when, once again, the rain came down with WPBOL well behind the asking rate. On resumption, Con de Lange and Friend had a bit of a flurry, but when the rain returned at 164 for 9, the umpires called it a day.

James Franklin, the left-arm fast bowler, has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia with a groin injury that has upset New Zealand’s preparations for the two-match series. Franklin complained about the strain in the final build-up to the match, which starts tomorrow, and his absence forced a late reshuffle with Kyle Mills coming in and Ian Butler missing out.The coach John Bracewell said Franklin would have been a certain starter and his withdrawal influenced the selection of Mills. “We want to have at least one swing bowler as Brisbane is one of the few places in Australia where you get the opportunity to swing the ball,” he said. “It will be about taking the opportunity to pick up a couple of wickets with a swinging ball against a team that goes hard at the bowling.”As expected Craig McMillan, a late addition to the tour as cover for Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, will replace Hamish Marshall. Marshall scored a half-century in his only Test innings in Bangladesh, but Bracewell said McMillan was preferred because of his experience. “McMillan’s selection gives us someone who is battle hardened for a Test match of such magnitude,” he said. “What it really came down to was the small mental things – the fact that Craig has been there and done that. The added bonus of a few overs may help.”Brett Lee’s time in the dressing room has been extended after he was named 12th man. But Lee, who was used only as a substitute fielder in the India series, will be released from the 12-man squad to play for New South Wales in the ING Cup against Victoria in Melbourne on Sunday.Ricky Ponting said it was important that Lee was given the opportunity to bowl for his state. “Brett’s knocking on the door and is fitter, stronger and lighter than he’s ever been,” Ponting said. “The more overs he has under his belt the better he’s going to be.” Lee will stay with the Test team for the first two days.With Shane Warne coming back after a broken finger, the bowling attack is the same one that led Australia to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. “The guys in the side deserve to be there and you can’t fault for one second the work of Michael Kasprowicz in both forms of the game,” Ponting said. “Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillepsie are the same.”Ponting said he was confident Darren Lehmann would be mentally ready after giving evidence on Monday at the trial of a hotel bouncer charged with the manslaughter of David Hookes. “I brought it up at a team meeting and it’s been a tough couple of days,” he said. “But seeing Darren you’d have thought there was nothing different.”Australia 1 Matthew Hayden, 2 Justin Langer, 3 Ricky Ponting (capt), 4 Damien Martyn, 5 Darren Lehmann, 6 Michael Clarke, 7 Adam Gilchrist (wk), 8 Shane Warne, 9 Jason Gillespie, 10 Michael Kasprowicz, 11 Glenn McGrath.New Zealand 1 Mark Richardson, 2 Mathew Sinclair, 3 StephenFleming (capt), 4 Scott Styris, 5 Nathan Astle, 6 Craig McMillan, 7 JacobOram, 8 Brendon McCullum (wk), 9 Daniel Vettori, 10 Kyle Mills, 11 Chris Martin.

Bob Woolmer, Pakistan’s coach, admitted that his side’s performance at Perth was so poor that he is contemplating calling in a sports psychologist in a bid to revive the team’s spirits.He told reporters that Pakistan were suffering from “mental confusion and mental awe” when facing the Australian bowlers. “It’s more really, I think, that we have to look inside here,” Woolmer said, pointing to his head. “I’ll speak to a couple of friends and things like that, I have some ideas. There are one or two very helpful people who will help me.Mindful of last week’s attack by Javed Miandad when he was accused of not knowing the Pakistan cricket culture, Woolmer stressed that the people he recruited would come from the Pakistani community. “They can’t come from outside," he stressed. "They are the ones that understand their own people and that’s very important.”It was an abject performance, very disappointing,” Woolmer continued. “I can’t speak for them, but obviously there’s an element of the mental confusion and the mental awe in this performance.”There’s a combination of the technical side and the mental side involved in the way they played that particular innings. We will go back to the drawing board and work hard.”Woolmer was particular perplexed at his batsmen’s shot selection. “We’ve been working very hard on leaving the ball and playing straight, and as soon as they got into the middle that went out the window. We’re going to have to keep talking about it. We need the guys to get in, spend 30 minutes at the crease and then start playing square of the wicket, but it’s not happening. We can’t make excuses.”If there is pressure on Woolmer, that’s nothing compared with that on Inzamam-ul-Haq after two listless innings which produced one run. Not only were his on-field performances were poor, he attracted additional criticism for missing the afternoon session on Saturday with back and stomach complaints. The Pakistan board’s decision to appoint him for three series is already looking as if it might come back to haunt it.

South Africa’s captain, Graeme Smith, was gracious in defeat as he reflected on the events of the final day at Centurion. Though a series-levelling victory had been an improbable prospect at the start of the day, England were made to fight for survival after being reduced to 20 for 3 in their aborted run-chase."Unfortunately, we lost two days to rain," said Smith. "It would have been interesting to see a full five days here. But it was nice to perform well at the end of a long series. We didn’t start well at Port Elizabeth, we fought back at Cape Town, and we lost the series in one afternoon at the Wanderers. If we’d got through that, this Test would have been very interesting.""We always felt we had a sniff today," added Smith. "We needed to start well, and AB [de Villiers] and Jacques [Kallis] provided that platform, but because of the spongy slow bounce, it was a difficult wicket to play big shots on. But the newspapers said we’d lost 3-1 – so we played superbly to set up a chance of victory."Despite the defeat, Smith was optimistic about the future of South Africa’s Test team. "We let ourselves down in an evenly fought series, but this side has great potential," he insisted. "We need to remain consistent, performance-wise, because in two years, this team will be up there and challenging the top sides. We’re young andwe’ve got some growing to do, but we believe in ourselves.Smith added that continuity was the key if South Africa was to build on their progress in this series. "We performed well at times, but it’s important to give each player the run he needs to perform well. That way, we’ll reap the benefits of patience. Given experience and exposure, and in another year-and-a-half, this team will really go places."Ray Jennings, South Africa’s coach, was equally optimistic about the future. Though his first home series had ended in defeat, he applauded his team’s efforts in the final match. "To come back the way we did today shows the spirit of the side," he said. "It was exciting and I enjoyed every day of the series. Our mental toughness is getting better, and this team can go far – there’s something special to come."Jennings admitted that the early part of the series had been undermined by off-field selections issues, in particular the axing of Mark Boucher, but he added that the trust levels between him and his selectors were improving by the day. "I am building relationships not only with the players, but selectors and the media," he said, "and I certainly felt more comfortable with the players I was working with towards the end of the series."One of those players was the young opening batsman, AB de Villiers, who overcame the disappointment of making 92 in the first innings to record his maiden Test century second-time around. He was named Man of the Match as a result, and Smith said he was very proud of his efforts. "He deserved every run he got."De Villiers did have one moment of good fortune, however, when with a century in sight, he chopped a delivery from Steve Harmison into his off stump without dislodging a bail. "It just scratched the off stump," said de Villiers, who denied that he had felt nervous as his landmark approached. "I felt a bit more excited in my stomach," he conceded, "but I didn’t let it show in my body language."