Politics not an excuse for failure, says Smith

South African captain Graeme Smith said today he would not use politics as an excuse for South Africa’s performance in the World Cup in the West Indies.

South African captain Graeme Smith said today he would not use politics as an excuse for South Africa’s performance in the World Cup in the West Indies.

A Johannesburg Sunday newspaper quoted Jonty Rhodes, the former South African international and the team’s fielding coach at the World Cup, as saying Smith had been hamstrung by the selection policies of Cricket South Africa administrators.

Since emerging from the apartheid era, Cricket South Africa has sought to redress the racial imbalances of the past by including a number of black players in provincial and national teams.

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They took seven black players to the West Indies, which prompted a number of commentators to imply South Africa did not take their best 15-man squad to the World Cup. South Africa were well beaten by Australia in the second semi-final of the tournament in St Lucia on Wednesday.

“We were pathetic against Australia,” Rhodes told Rapport, “but South Africa is the only land that can’t say they had their best 15 players here.

“In a tournament like this, where every player in every game has to be at his best, is that a recipe for a problem. Can (CSA) honestly say they gave Graeme the 15 men he needed to win the World Cup?” Speaking at a press conference in Johannesburg after arriving back in South Africa today, Smith said he had not read the report, but strongly denied that the selection policy had hampered the team in any way.