How Steve Waugh's sledge fired South Africa to Lord's finale
'These things are a little more complicated behind the scenes, they're not always simple. I know how it happened. It was in the calendar before things moved on, things got squashed, and you ended up with a bit of a mess.
'I respect Steve, and I respect his opinion, but sometimes guys must take the opportunity to ask and figure out. It's just a WhatsApp away to say 'Smithy what happened here, can you give me some insights', and we can save a lot of public abuse between each other.
'I've played 117 Tests and been captain of our team. I know, no matter how we feel about the future of Test cricket, we hope it remains intact for more than five or six teams and there's an opportunity to keep it strong. But we know T20 is the growth into the future, with the Olympics, developing the game. To develop this product, CSA has had to take one or two tough decisions.'
Smith was one of seven inductees to the hall of fame.
The induction, held at Abbey Road studios down the road from Lord's, provided sundry reminders of cricket's rich and poor divide. The ICC's new chair Jay Shah was front and centre of every possible picture opportunity, but among the audience was the revered former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, who prospered in part because of a vastly different financial model for international cricket.
'It's about understanding business models and the pressure outside the top three nations,' Smith said. 'There's a lot of pressure. Look at West Indies. When you hear people say Caribbean Premier League is the most successful part of West Indies cricket then you start to worry, does the whole structure need to change in certain countries, does the financial sharing model need to change.
'There's big questions that need to be answered outside England, India and Australia. I'm not saying South Africa's there, we've put measures in place to make sure we can still be one of the top competing nations. That's the thing about our game, it's competitive, we've had battles on the field, but sometimes we're just a WhatsApp away to understand some of the challenges that other countries are facing.'
South Africa have enlisted the help of Australia's Ashes nemesis Stuart Broad for this week's final.
The retired England fast bowler wore full South African uniform at training, a day after enjoying a ribeye and wine with the Proteas' coaching group.
After they were belted in New Zealand with the decimated squad in early 2024, South Africa won seven matches in a row to qualify for the WTC final.
The Proteas' victories came against West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, while Australia downed India 3-1 last summer to secure their spot.
Coach Shukri Conrad said he was 'tired' of addressing South Africa's less challenging road to the final than their opponents.
'We're here, and that's all that matters,' Conrad said. 'We get a chance to walk away as the World Test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that.
'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute, and we'll be quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them.'
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Conrad explained the lengths to which the Proteas had gone to try to retain Test cricketers, whileSmith said the introduction of the SAT20, which he now directs, had helped to keep South Africa internationally competitive.
'We've had a lot of politics and a lot of disruption,' he said. 'So focus on winning the fans back, getting more competitive cricket on our domestic circuit and making cricket the main thing again.
'We know the importance of building a product in South Africa we can own and keep up with the world game and have a seat at the table in terms of the franchise movement. That can ultimately benefit cricket in South Africa. We all want a strong national team, men and women.'
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'These things are a little more complicated behind the scenes, they're not always simple. I know how it happened. It was in the calendar before things moved on, things got squashed, and you ended up with a bit of a mess. 'I respect Steve, and I respect his opinion, but sometimes guys must take the opportunity to ask and figure out. It's just a WhatsApp away to say 'Smithy what happened here, can you give me some insights', and we can save a lot of public abuse between each other. 'I've played 117 Tests and been captain of our team. I know, no matter how we feel about the future of Test cricket, we hope it remains intact for more than five or six teams and there's an opportunity to keep it strong. But we know T20 is the growth into the future, with the Olympics, developing the game. To develop this product, CSA has had to take one or two tough decisions.' Smith was one of seven inductees to the hall of fame. The induction, held at Abbey Road studios down the road from Lord's, provided sundry reminders of cricket's rich and poor divide. The ICC's new chair Jay Shah was front and centre of every possible picture opportunity, but among the audience was the revered former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, who prospered in part because of a vastly different financial model for international cricket. 'It's about understanding business models and the pressure outside the top three nations,' Smith said. 'There's a lot of pressure. Look at West Indies. When you hear people say Caribbean Premier League is the most successful part of West Indies cricket then you start to worry, does the whole structure need to change in certain countries, does the financial sharing model need to change. 'There's big questions that need to be answered outside England, India and Australia. I'm not saying South Africa's there, we've put measures in place to make sure we can still be one of the top competing nations. That's the thing about our game, it's competitive, we've had battles on the field, but sometimes we're just a WhatsApp away to understand some of the challenges that other countries are facing.' South Africa have enlisted the help of Australia's Ashes nemesis Stuart Broad for this week's final. The retired England fast bowler wore full South African uniform at training, a day after enjoying a ribeye and wine with the Proteas' coaching group. After they were belted in New Zealand with the decimated squad in early 2024, South Africa won seven matches in a row to qualify for the WTC final. The Proteas' victories came against West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, while Australia downed India 3-1 last summer to secure their spot. Coach Shukri Conrad said he was 'tired' of addressing South Africa's less challenging road to the final than their opponents. 'We're here, and that's all that matters,' Conrad said. 'We get a chance to walk away as the World Test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute, and we'll be quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them.' Loading Conrad explained the lengths to which the Proteas had gone to try to retain Test cricketers, whileSmith said the introduction of the SAT20, which he now directs, had helped to keep South Africa internationally competitive. 'We've had a lot of politics and a lot of disruption,' he said. 'So focus on winning the fans back, getting more competitive cricket on our domestic circuit and making cricket the main thing again. 'We know the importance of building a product in South Africa we can own and keep up with the world game and have a seat at the table in terms of the franchise movement. That can ultimately benefit cricket in South Africa. We all want a strong national team, men and women.'
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'These things are a little more complicated behind the scenes, they're not always simple. I know how it happened. It was in the calendar before things moved on, things got squashed, and you ended up with a bit of a mess. 'I respect Steve, and I respect his opinion, but sometimes guys must take the opportunity to ask and figure out. It's just a WhatsApp away to say 'Smithy what happened here, can you give me some insights', and we can save a lot of public abuse between each other. 'I've played 117 Tests and been captain of our team. I know, no matter how we feel about the future of Test cricket, we hope it remains intact for more than five or six teams and there's an opportunity to keep it strong. But we know T20 is the growth into the future, with the Olympics, developing the game. To develop this product, CSA has had to take one or two tough decisions.' Smith was one of seven inductees to the hall of fame. The induction, held at Abbey Road studios down the road from Lord's, provided sundry reminders of cricket's rich and poor divide. The ICC's new chair Jay Shah was front and centre of every possible picture opportunity, but among the audience was the revered former West Indies skipper Clive Lloyd, who prospered in part because of a vastly different financial model for international cricket. 'It's about understanding business models and the pressure outside the top three nations,' Smith said. 'There's a lot of pressure. Look at West Indies. When you hear people say Caribbean Premier League is the most successful part of West Indies cricket then you start to worry, does the whole structure need to change in certain countries, does the financial sharing model need to change. 'There's big questions that need to be answered outside England, India and Australia. I'm not saying South Africa's there, we've put measures in place to make sure we can still be one of the top competing nations. That's the thing about our game, it's competitive, we've had battles on the field, but sometimes we're just a WhatsApp away to understand some of the challenges that other countries are facing.' South Africa have enlisted the help of Australia's Ashes nemesis Stuart Broad for this week's final. The retired England fast bowler wore full South African uniform at training, a day after enjoying a ribeye and wine with the Proteas' coaching group. After they were belted in New Zealand with the decimated squad in early 2024, South Africa won seven matches in a row to qualify for the WTC final. The Proteas' victories came against West Indies, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan, while Australia downed India 3-1 last summer to secure their spot. Coach Shukri Conrad said he was 'tired' of addressing South Africa's less challenging road to the final than their opponents. 'We're here, and that's all that matters,' Conrad said. 'We get a chance to walk away as the World Test champions. Playing Australia, doesn't get any bigger than that. 'What's gone before counts for absolutely nothing at the minute, and we'll be quietly confident going into this game that we can pull one over them.' Loading Conrad explained the lengths to which the Proteas had gone to try to retain Test cricketers, whileSmith said the introduction of the SAT20, which he now directs, had helped to keep South Africa internationally competitive. 'We've had a lot of politics and a lot of disruption,' he said. 'So focus on winning the fans back, getting more competitive cricket on our domestic circuit and making cricket the main thing again. 'We know the importance of building a product in South Africa we can own and keep up with the world game and have a seat at the table in terms of the franchise movement. That can ultimately benefit cricket in South Africa. We all want a strong national team, men and women.'
