Smith - Winning was everything

Smith: Acknowledging the fans

When we started the series in Perth if I had thought we'd be going down to the last two overs 2-0 up in the series on a wearing wicket in Sydney I certainly would have taken that.

Graeme Smith
Quotes of the week

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Graeme Smith was in jovial mood after South Africa's series win against Australia, despite failing to save the final game at The SCG.

The skipper batted with a broken finger for 17 balls in the second innings of the third and final Test in a vain attempt to stave off defeat against the world's top-ranked Test team.

Paceman Mitchell Johnson clean bowled the number 11 with just 10 balls of the match remaining as the Proteas went down by 103 runs in Sydney.

Victories at Perth and Melbourne had already helped secure a 2-1 series triumph for the tourists though and Smith was not at all downhearted given the circumstances.

Pride

"I thought Makhaya Ntini should have protected me. He was the senior batter at that stage," Smith joked to Sky Sports.

"When we started the series in Perth if I had thought we'd be going down to the last two overs 2-0 up in the series on a wearing wicket in Sydney I certainly would have taken that.

"I'm very proud of the way the boys have performed throughout the series. It's a credit to the team.

"It just shows if you put your mind to it what you can achieve.

"I ended up thinking I'll just go out and give it a shot and see what happens - hopefully I'll be protected and it can be a fairytale ending. It wasn't, but it was still great for the guys."

Praise

Opposition captain Ricky Ponting was in magnanimous mood following the consolation victory and could take nothing away from the side that inflicted Australia's first home Test series defeat in 16 years.

"Obviously I'm very proud of the way we've played right through the series," Ponting added.

"The results in the first couple of games weren't what we would have liked, but at different times in those games we were in good positions.

"We just weren't good enough to hold that position, but full credit to Mickey Arthur and Graeme Smith for the way the South Africans have played this game.

"They've been behind the eight-ball and they've been able to bounce back and turn pretty negative situations into pretty positive situations for their team and that's the sign of a very good team."

Smith may now be sidelined, but the tour continues with the teams taking each other on in the shorter formats of the game, starting with the first Twenty20 international live on Sky Sports in Melbourne on Sunday.