Smith lauds South Africa's 'immense' record

It took a little longer than appear likely at one stage, but South Africa's comfortably victory extends a formidable overseas sequence which vindicates their No. 1 status

Before Graeme Smith went in for ankle surgery in May, the doctor gave him a worrying warning. "If this doesn't work, I don't know what I am going to do," he said to the South African captain.

Smith had suffered an ankle impingement in April last year, which ruled him out of the IPL, and had chronic ankle pain for a period of time before that. He had an operation last year before South Africa's tour of England but this year needed another - one he refers to as "major," - because the problem had not been entirely solved. The recent one, which meant he had cut short his first season with Surrey, involved putting two pins into his heel to correct a stress fracture and would keep him out of the game for six months, much longer than the ten weeks he had on the sidelines 2012.

"I had a lot of time to reflect on my career and I wondered if there would be more," he said. Smith didn't have to explain his fear that he thought there was a chance he may not take the field again because it was obvious from the pride he took in his own performance.

"I worked really hard to get to where I am now. To have come back and scored a double hundred in these conditions - almost sub-continental and with the heat - is something I will never forget. I am proud of it. I will cherish this innings for the rest of my life."

His 234 was the biggest individual difference between South Africa and Pakistan in Dubai and it was as much a personal achievement as it was a team feat. Without Smith's innings, a canvas painted by hard grind rather than attractive strokeplay, South Africa would not have had the platform from which it did not matter that their lower-order collapsed. Without his knock, they could have lost the match and their record run on the road could have ended.

Cricketers often claim numbers don't matter to them until they've called it a day but there are two that mean a great to deal to South Africa right now. The No.1 ranking is the first of them. They would not have lost it had they been defeated 2-0 in this series but their lead would have been substantially cut. Their unbeaten away streak since 2006 is the other because it explains, without needing to use too many words, why they are the top-ranked Test team.

South Africa have not won a series in the subcontinent, apart from victories in Bangladesh, since beating Pakistan in 2007 but they have drawn in India and now, in the UAE. That speaks about their ability to "find a way," as Smith likes to put it to win in conditions they are unaccustomed to and which are intended to work against them.

I don't think many teams in the current set-up can travel as well as we do and be able to perform in the different environments and under the different pressures. I don't think the team gets enough credit for that. It's an immense record Graeme Smith on South Africa away from home

It illustrates what Smith and AB de Villiers' innings showed: how to construct scores on pitches which take turn, outfields which are slow and bowlers who know how to exploit the conditions with movement and spin. But on the fourth day of this match, it was their bowlers' ability which was highlighted.

Despite being kept in the field for much longer than they expected, the attack barely strayed from their plans. They were disciplined in length, using the short ball as a threat rather than a regulation delivery, and understanding the need to pitch it up. Even when Misbah-ul-Haq and Asad Shafiq looked as though they would bat out the day, the bowlers did not panic and held their control.

Part-time left-arm spinner Dean Elgar took advantage of a lapse in concentration from Misbah and then South Africa knew it was just a matter of time. They finished Pakistan off before the end of the day to extend their record of adaptability to include the UAE.

"Once they got in and the ball got soft, it became difficult," Smith admitted. "We controlled the run-rate and they were never scoring at more than 2.5 to the over and we knew if we kept doing that, there was going to be one opportunity and Dean got that one opportunity."

They have now gone 12 series without being beaten away from home and Smith thinks that has the makings of the start of a legacy similar to the Australia and West India sides of old. "I don't want to be throwing that label around to the public just yet, I think we still have a long way to go but I don't think many teams in the current set-up can travel as well as we do and be able to perform in the different environments and under the different pressures," he said.

"I don't think the team gets enough credit for that. It's an immense record and we are very proud of it. We want to go on and win more series, dominate, we want to play good cricket set a standard and we are on the right path."

How South Africa have managed to win away from home is, according to Smith, down mostly to experience. "Part of playing away from home is finding a way to morph in those conditions," he said. "We have a great understanding of that and how to work our way into conditions."

That was why, unlike his surgeon, Smith never got to the point where he did not know what would work. At 1-0 down in the series, South Africa were confident of coming back. And despite Pakistan batting fluently with six wickets in hand, Smith had no doubt his bowlers would complete the job.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

Feeds: Firdose Moonda © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Smith plans more pain for Pakistan

South Africa are not done yet. Graeme Smith has promised they will keep piling on the runs to try and set up a series-levelling innings win over Pakistan.

With Smith and AB de Villiers both well set and JP Duminy and Faf du Plessis to come, the South African captain said he wants to occupy the crease for the best of its batting time before putting Pakistan back in. "Ideally we want to bat once and allow the wicket to deteriorate a little more. It's pretty dry at the moment," Smith said.

"The goal for today was to get ourselves into a winning position. Our innings was still in the balance when Dale went. But then the way AB transferred pressure made my life easier and we are in a good position now. We've got to come out tomorrow and work ourselves into a position where we feel we can win the game."

Smith said he does not have a total in mind where that position will be reached just yet. With the lead already at 361, South Africa are likely to continue batting past an advantage of 450 which will require Pakistan to bat better than they have in over a year to save the match. The last time Pakistan scored in excess of 450 was against Sri Lanka in June last year but Mohammad Akram, their bowling coach, has reason to believe they can do it again.

"Winning the toss and batting first showed we were confident this was a batting pitch and will play very well for the next three days. The batsmen are optimistic they are can apply themselves as and bat for as long as possible in the next innings," he said.

Those words will not provide much solace to Pakistan fans who will wonder why, if Pakistan were so certain of batting out a long period, they imploded for 99 on the first day. Akram had no explanation for the dramatic turnaround from the way they played in Abu Dhabi.

"That has been the case for a long time and we do accept that," he said. "We are working on a lot of things and trying to overcome it but at the moment, that's how it is."

Akram's words are not that of a fighting man and one can hardly blame him for his slumped shoulders. His bowlers lacked the bite they did in the first Test and the few chances they created - like the one to have de Villiers caught off the first ball he faced - were squandered. Akram did not lay blame on his under-pressure attack, though. "The bowlers tried their best, especially Mohammad Irfan," he said.

Irfan bowled in the upper 140kph range throughout the day and ensured the South Africa batsmen were kept on the toes even though he had little reward. Irfan took the only wicket of the day and should have another in de Villiers, but instead Pakistan were made to toil. "When AB de Villiers is dropped, he makes you pay. It's very difficult to stop his runs on a batting wicket," Akram said.

He did not think there was a lack of ideas or an over-reliance on Saeed Ajmal just a case of unhelpful conditions and a batting line-up that came good. "In Abu Dhabi, it wasn't only Saeed Ajmal, everybody chipped in. The wicket was really good and both the players who were batting there are great cricketers," he said.

Smith agreed that South Africa were bound to get better after the 249 they made in the first innings of the first Test and was pleased to see how swiftly they turned their approach around. "We had to improve from there. 90% of the time this batting line-up produces the goods," he said. "I felt we were a little soft in Abu Dhabi but we've had some good chats, worked on a few things like reverse swing and it paid off."

Now he wants to see his bowlers tighten the screws and finish Pakistan off. First, though, there's a bit more batting to do.

Firdose Moonda is ESPNcricinfo's South Africa correspondent

Feeds: Firdose Moonda © ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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