Skipper Smith happy as Proteas go one-up

South Africa’s captain Graeme Smith said he was very happy with his team’s allround efforts as they defeated the West Indies by 163 runs on Sunday to win the first Digicel Test match at Queen’s Park Oval. Speaking after the match he hailed the bowling performances of Man-of-Match Dale Steyn and tall pacer Morne Morkel who 14 wickets between them (eight for Steyn and six for Morkel).

“Every captain around the world who has enjoyed success has had an outstanding fast bowler,” Smith said. “Dale has been with me since he was very young and I have watched him grow as a cricketer and as a person. He has put in some very good spells for us both with the old ball and the new ball. The other bonus that we have is that Morne is starting to support him more and more. As a pair they are starting to become very successful together and that is good.”

Steyn also acknowledged the role played by Morkel in their opening partnership. “The new ball spell that Morne bowled was great. When the ball started to reverse swing it was never going to be easy and I hope I have more spells like that. I don’t think it is going to happen all the time. Morne is a fantastic bowler and, when he bowls well, he takes a lot of the pressure off me,” said Steyn, who took his 200th Test wicket during the match.

The teams will now move on to St Kitts for the second Digicel Test match, which opens at the Warner Park on Friday. The third Digicel Test match will be played at Kensington Oval in Barbados from Saturday, June 26.