Q & A: Graeme Smith on his love for Lord's, the Aussies and Proteas spearhead Kagiso Rabada

Independent Media’s Zaahier Adams, who will be covering the World Test Championship final between the Proteas and Australia at Lord’s, sits down exclusively with former captain Graeme Smith. 

Smith shares his vast experience of the unique challenge of facing Australia, the charms of Lord’s, and speculates about the make-up of the Proteas starting XI…

ZA: Graeme, we here at the Betway SA20 office, how is the day job going these days? 

It's actually unbelievable the amount of people that think when our season finishes that the work comes to an end. You get asked, what are you doing now? I've got a really good team at SA20 and working hard already on hopefully improving a number of things and getting things right for Season 4.

ZA: But before that gets underway, there’s quite a big thing happening in South African cricket the next couple of weeks, the World Test Championship final, with the Proteas playing for the golden mace, something you know a little bit about …

I’ve been fortunate to get my hands on the mace a few times. The thing about the mace is to get there and get your hands on it, the amount of toil and hard work that goes into achieving that No 1 status in Test cricket.

Travelling the world, you've got to have a team that can handle pressure for five days, that can handle the mental state and perform the skills consistently in many different conditions.  It's a reward of performance over a period of time.

It's great that South Africa are back in that place with the opportunity to get their hands on it.

ZA: The opposition is none other than the arch-enemy Australia. A team you enjoyed many a battle with. So, let's rewind to your debut series in 2001, you receive a verbal barrage, and you speak about it publicly afterwards…

It came back to a bit of innocence as well, naivety. I think for me, playing against that great Australian team, making my debut as a youngster at 21 years old, and then performing reasonably well in a cauldron like that when it was so highly pressurised, 

The (Australian) attack was probably one of the better attacks I've ever played against … (Jason) Gillespie, (Brett) Lee, (Shane) Warne, (Glenn) McGrath. And of course, Steve Waugh was still there, that old school hard Australian style.

I think for me, just doing an interview afterwards, I was actually speaking out of excitement. I learnt a valuable lesson because the reporter took advantage of it and it became a big thing. 

ZA: Four years later, you are now captain of the Proteas heading Down Under. And you take a lot of the responsibility on yourself both on and off the field. Do you feel it is key that the captain has to lead the way when facing Australia? 

I think as you grow, you balance things. At the time, we were a team that probably wasn't good enough to go and win in Australia. A lot of players going there for the first time. It was a valuable lesson for me, that tour. It was my first experience of touring Australia. 

Yes, I tried to take a few things extra on my shoulders. We fought hard in that series. I think for me, a lot of valuable lessons that I took away, that really helped frame us going back there in 08-09 and how we wanted to go about it. Building the type of team that can go there to be successful. (3:56) What are the challenges you need to overcome? (3:58) A lot of hard lessons on that first tour that were tough, (4:01) that ultimately framed the future successes.

ZA: You finally climbed Everest in 2008. You beat the Aussies on their home patch. The celebrations in Melbourne were extremely special. What did that mean to you as a group to go there after all the hardship that had gone before?

Winning at probably one of their most iconic stadiums, winning the series at the MCG. When you start on Boxing Day, you walk out there, you're like, wow, this is just an incredible coliseum to perform in. Then winning for the first time in Australia was just an amazing moment. I had watched teams and been a part of a team that had gone there and suffered at the hands heavily. It's a hard tour. The media is tough. The crowds are tough. 

They're an incredible cricket nation, a lot of outstanding players. It's a huge hurdle to overcome. I think it was so important that South African Cricket broke that barrier down in 08-09.

There's an image that I'll never forget of getting onto the team bus and Jacques Kallis is all emotional and in tears. For him, it had been such a tough run and now he'd overcome it. There was JP Duminy bouncing on him on his first ever tour. He was like, what's all this fuss about?

ZA: And then you head back in 2012, and do it all over again!

By then we were a team that had come together.  We had  some incredible bowlers. A great attack. We had depth with Kallis as an all-rounder and De Villiers performing and another all-rounder in JP. We also had a batting unit where the majority of the guys averaged close to 50 or over 50. We built a culture, we built a value system. We knew what we stood for and the performances just followed.

ZA: It all basically reached a crescendo at Lords in 2012, and you lift the mace. The Proteas are the best team in the world. Just that experience, the Lords’ experience. How does this young Proteas side going there now, how do they cope with the enormity of the situation?

There's a lot of experience around South African cricket now. Maybe that’s something we can get better at is the sharing of knowledge and experience of what was important for us.  For example, arriving at Lords, there can be a lot of fanfare because it's people's first experience of the museum, the ground, the traditions that come with it, the Members Stand.  

Often, it's about getting those little things out of the way and dealing with it pre-game. It is just an amazing place to go and play cricket and to have a final, a World Championship final there, adds to the occasion. Hopefully the South African team really just recognises the opportunity and is determined to go and do well.

ZA: What are the biggest challenges facing the Proteas?

We know that they've got certain challenges they're going to need to overcome against a very successful Australian team. They're the underdogs. But what an opportunity. It would be fantastic to see, in a one-off Test match, they give it everything and perform their skills.

ZA: How do you approach a once-off Test match? 

Obviously, preparation is key. I think for the underdog team it's a benefit. If you can get your stuff together and a couple of players or you get a batting unit that suddenly posts a total or your bowlers get you into the game, it really is. Over a three to five test match series, you expect the better teams to get better and better.

The pressure over a lengthy period of time will take its toll on a team that's maybe got a few gaps.  But in a once-off, you've got six days to really get it together and perform your skills.

ZA: How do you think Temba Bavuma, as captain of the Proteas, needs to front up to the Aussies?

I think Temba will go about it his own way. He's not a guy that shouts from the rooftops. He's calm, assured. The most important thing for Temba is his performance with the bat. There's a lot of players in that line-up that can bat around a Temba, and with his consistent performance of late, if he can take that into the game, it really does calm things down and settle things down for the rest of the unit.

Then tactically, I think it's going to be important to see how they go about it, him and Shuks, in terms of selection. What's the type of bowling line-up they're going to put together? What's the weather? What's the pitch look like? Try and put combinations together that can really hurt Australia. 

ZA: In 2012, we saw the importance of JP Duminy and Vernon Philander scoring valuable runs at Nos 7 and 8. Do the Proteas stack their side again with the all-rounders?

Just watching Shuks, he is a little bit unpredictable in terms of his selections, but I do think that he likes those options in terms of having a few more options with the ball and batting a little bit deeper. Depending on the weather, I would always be very nervous at Lord's to go without a spin option.

Kesh (Maharaj) has been an outstanding option for Temba. If the sun does come out, sometimes that pitch can get good and you'll need someone to control the game as well. That's often the nuance as a captain and a coach is trying to find that balance in your XI.

ZA: If you had a message to this young Proteas side before easily the biggest game of their lives, what would that message be to that group of players?

Well, motivation shouldn't be an issue for the guys getting there. If you're not motivated, then there's something wrong.  A lot of work probably needs to go into handling of situations, how they're going to handle the media, what's going to be their messages.

Getting used to the Duke ball what are the key factors that they want to get right in the Test Match from a strategy perspective. Focusing on that and then putting all things on the table.

 I think one of the great things about the team that we built when travelling to Australia, we actually built in things to deal with.

For example, six hours in front of an Australian crowd can be quite heavy. We used to sit in the changing room and create a space where people shared what they went through in the day. It actually became one of our best parts of the tour.

We'd sit at the end of the day and say, probably what I heard down at fine-leg Bay 13. 

It's also about sharing the load and sharing the pressure of the occasion that then allows you to perform. If I think back to 2003, I was a young captain, 22, and I actually found form in Arundale.

I got 100 there, it was a nice pitch and I got 100. That confidence that I got from that bit of preparation really helped me feel good going into my first ever game as a young captain.

ZA: Lastly, there’s been a lot of noise around Kagiso Rabada. But there’s something about the Aussies that gets him going. Does South Africa need him to be at his peak over the five days? 

He will be a key figure. For KG, yes, it's going to be leading from the front, taking the wickets, setting the standards. He puts all the noise and everything behind him.

Everyone's going to look to him to set the tone. But it's the people around him that are going to get the best out of KG. He's not going to be able to do it on his own.

Bowling in partnerships is key. Whether Janssen can back him up, whether it's Patterson or whatever it is. If they pick up the load, it really will spur KG on.

But yes, that first over with the ball, what you want from your premier fast bowler is to really set the tone, set the occasion and let those Australian batters know they in a contest.