SMITH HITS BACK Graeme Smith has said there's only one way to silence critics of the Proteas in the World Test Championship (WTC) final. Picture: Alet Pretorius/Sportzpics for SA20
Image: Alet Pretorius/Sportzpics for SA20
Former Proteas skipper Graeme Smith says the best way the South African team can answer questions over the legitimacy of their passage to the World Test Championship (WTC) final, is by winning the title.
South Africa came under fire following their qualification for the WTC final, since they hadn’t played Australia or England in the current cycle.
The most notable of those critics was former England captain Michael Vaughan.
Vaughan said the Proteas had ‘beaten basically nobody’ as they qualified for the WTC final.
"I love Vaughny [Vaughan], but he’s spent too much time in Australia,” quipped Smith in an interview with SportsBoom.com.
“The Proteas dealt with what was in front of them. No bigger motivation than to beat Australia in the final and hold that trophy. It’ll silence the critics once and for all.”
Vaughan has also been vocal in his support of a two-tier Test cricket system instead of the current format.
With the conclusion of the India-Australia five-match Test series earlier this month, Vaughan doubled down on his belief that the format needed to be changed.
Smith though, was far more hesitant when talking about a new format.
"It’s difficult to comment without much detail. Will there be six or five teams in Tier 1? Looking at the future schedules, it seems decisions might already be made behind the scenes.
“For Test cricket to thrive, you need 6–8 strong teams, but balancing that with T20’s growth in new regions like the USA and the Olympics will be a challenge."