Graeme Smith happy with review system

10 April 2012

The much-maligned review system has been praised by South Africa captain Graeme Smith after his side's emphatic innings and 74-run victory at The Wanderers.

As England were dismissed for 169 a ball before lunch on the fourth day to draw an epic series 1-1, Smith said: "The review system is something that's made us happy. To see England lose focus on what was important gave us much more confidence in this Test.

"We played the hungrier cricket and things go for you when you're playing that way. Sometimes the reviews go your way, sometimes they don't. You have to accept that and get on with it. England seemed distracted here. "

They were indeed, especially after Smith himself was given not out on 15 on Friday when the rest of the world heard the snick off Ryan Sidebottom which was confidently pouched by Matt Prior. He went on to score 105 and secure this game.

Television umpire Daryl Harper claimed not be at fault after it was revealed his audio feed had the knob turned down to four out of ten and Smith said: "I'm sure I didn't touch it, but I heard the noise. People are forgetting what the review system is for. It's to take the shocking decisions out of the game."

England captain Andrew Strauss was roundly booed by a crowd of over 20,000 for mentioning his side's problems with the new-fangled law which saw AB De Villiers twice reprieved after being given out to Graeme Swann on Saturday.

He had altered his post-match view by the time he got to the press conference, saying: "We were much more frustrated by our performance in the Test match than we were by the review system.

"We need to take this defeat on the chin and accept it for what it was. We didn't play well.

"It wasn't end-of-tour weariness. People were up for it but from ball one (when Strauss was caught by Hashim Amla for a royal duck) were were behind the eight ball.

"Yeah, it was three-and-a-half really frustrating days for us.

"But South Africa's pace attack of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are up with the best pairing in the world at full throttle. I always said, in cricketing terms, this would be a more difficult series than winning the Ashes at home. A 1-1 draw isn't a bad result.

"It's not all doom and gloom. It's been a great tour. But we have room for improvement. We are under no illusions about that."

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