Stripped of the vice-captaincy as a fall-out of South Africa's World Cup debacle, wicketkeeper Mark Boucher says the decision did not really hurt him and believes that it would help him to concentrate on his game with a "free mind".
The 26-year-old Boucher, a senior member in the relatively young South African squad, says the selectors had their own way of thinking for re-building the team and he is happy to play whatever role that is assigned to him.
"The decision to remove me from vice-captaincy did not hurt me. My role has actually not changed much. As a senior, I will keep guiding the youngsters and do whatever I can do for the team," Boucher said in an interview.
"The selectors obviously feel that the way to move forward is to have a new vice-captain. It's okay with me. We are in a transition phase and we all have to work together for the team's cause," he said.
"I had been there as vice-captain for a pretty long time and have experienced it all," he said.
"The South African cricket has a long way to go. It is not easy to find replacements for so many class senior players. People have to be patient and wait for the team to settle down," Boucher pointed out.
Having got into the side after a long hiatus, leg-spinner Paul Adams, who suddenly finds himself a key member of the inexperienced South African bowling attack, is devising strategies to contain the Indian batsmen when the two sides meet in a TVS Cup tri-series match on Friday.
"All you have to do is to keep it simple. Bowl at the right areas and hope that the batsman makes a mistake," said Adams, who was not in the team for South Africa's first match against India which the latter won by 153 runs last weekend.
Despite his team earning reputation for being a good fast bowling side over the years, Adams said as a spinner he was confident of coming out successful against India.
"A spinner needs a bit of confidence. It's all a question of confidence and bowling according to the situation. I just try and stick to the basics," said the bowler with a very unorthodox action.
Adams rated Indian master blaster Sachin Tendulkar as the best batsman in the world and said no bowler can tie him down because he has "such an amazing range of shots".
"It's not easy to bowl to him because he hits the good balls to the boundary. You never know where to pitch the ball to him."
Karl Johnson, New Zealand Cricket's turf manager, says he will be recommending to the New Zealand Cricket authorities to make Cadence Cricket Academy (CCA) of Pune a base for them.
Talking to PTI at the CCA in Pune, Johnson, who is in town since a week to assist with pitch development, said he was happy with the Pune pitch and said it could help the New Zealand team get accustomed with the pitch as well as weather conditions ahead of the their tour in September.
Johnson is also helping to construct a pitch in the CCA of overseas standard to help in training budding cricketers of India.
"New Zealand cricketers can get accustomed to the slow pitches of India while the Indian cricketers can get accustomed to the fast pitches," he added.
Former New Zealand coach David Trist, who is the visiting faculty at the Cadence Academy, said the pitches in India are slow and hence when players go offshore they find it difficult to face the bowlers as there is more bounce.
Hence the pitch in Pune is constructed keeping these facts in mind so as to help the Indian team get the feel of offshore pitches, Trist said.
"We are happy with our first effort and we can do even better", he added.
Apparently peeved over the selectors decision to ignore him for the World Cup in South Africa, former Bangladesh captain Naimur Rahman has turned down an offer to join the team for the remaining matches in the TVS Cup triangular one-day series as a replacement for injured pacer Talha Jubair.
Injury to Jubair, who pulled out without playing a single match, had prompted the selectors to ask Rahman to join the team but the all-rounder has declined to accept the offer on "fitness grounds".
Chief selector Aliul Islam had asked Rahman whether he was prepared to play in the triangular series but the former captain said he was not "physically and mentally fit for international cricket at the moment".
Media reports at Dhaka suggested that he declined to join the team as he was unwilling to come in as a stop-gap option.
Rahman, who has been in good form in domestic cricket, would not only have provided more depth to the batting but is also a genuine off-spinner.
The local media said Rahman could have spurned the offer out of sheer frustration after he was overlooked for the World Cup despite a very consistent performance at the domestic level. He was also not considered for the TVS Cup team which came as another surprise.
Bob Woolmer, who lifted South African cricket to new heights during his tenure as the country's coach, has questioned the credentials of new captain Grame Smith.
"Graeme is a good cricketer, but I don't think he should captain the side," Woolmer said on Wednesday.
"Graeme is too young and hasn't done his apprenticeship yet."
"To be the captain of an international side, one needs to go through the apprenticeship period and do a lot of hard work to get there," he was quoted as saying by BBC Sport website.
Woolmer said the authorities should have reposed their faith on Pollock in stead of taking decision at haste after the debacle.
"South Africa over-reacted to certain things that happened during the World Cup. They, like Pakistan, are going through a transitional phase," said Woolmer, the high performance director of the International Cricket Council.
The new captain came for sharp criticism when he did not open the bowling with Shaun Pollock in the match which South Africa lost by 153 runs.
"His inexperience showed during South Africa's match against India... I fail to understand the logic behind bowling him too late. A ridiculous decision indeed since Shaun is a wonderful bowler with the new ball."
