Smith in disbelief after loss

Graeme Smith is not a small man. He towers above six foot, has shoulders broader than a lock forward, a chest that can puff out even if he is not proud and logs for legs. His personality can be even bigger: the larger than life leader of South African cricket for the last eight years, who will bat with a broken hand and will bounce back, bullish as ever, after a broken heart. Add to that the meaty guffaw and booming voice, and you have a massive character. But, on Friday night, in his last game as captain of the one-day team, he looked a small, small man indeed.

His gestures, usually open and friendly, were limp. His smile, usually broad, was absent. His frown, usually menacing, had been wiped off, and his eyes, usually alive, were empty. This was a man who was gutted. At the beginning of his post-match press conference, it was almost as though he was battling to speak. Each word was laboured, each breath was long. He had, perhaps a little too literally, been stunned.

"It's hard to describe [how we feel] at such short notice. It's kind of disbelief; I felt that we certainly had what it took to win," Smith said. Few will disagree. South Africa were the team that was talked up as the most balanced unit in this tournament. They had a plethora of options, particularly in the bowling department. It was in that discipline that South Africa shone in the group stages, as the only team to take sixty wickets in six matches.

Their quarter-final was the first match of the tournament in which they did not bowl out the opposition. Still, they restricted New Zealand to 221 for 8, below the average first-innings score of 236 at the Shere Bangla Stadium. Smith showed creativity in the way he rotated the bowlers and used them in short spells; they displayed control and were assisted by a superb show of ground fielding. Smith said he thought they "certainly bowled well enough to win today."

	Graeme Smith said he could not fault the way his team prepared for the World Cup © Associated Press Enlarge

The problem came with the bat and, inevitably, with the mind. When Smith and Jacques Kallis were laying the platform for the chase, and then again when AB de Villiers was starting to look in good touch, the win was there for the taking. When Kallis and de Villiers were dismissed, the wobble started. Two hundred and twenty two moved further and further away, and the South African middle order slipped further and further in pursuit of it.

"The batting let us down in the middle period," Smith said. "New Zealand squeezed us, the ball got soft and we needed to show a little more composure in that period." He didn't go as far as saying it was inexperience that cost them, but a middle order consisting of JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Johan Botha and Robin Peterson is only powerful if one of them can come off in a big way. Although all capable, they are relatively untested and even though they survived the pressure against India, Ireland and Bangladesh, against a rampant New Zealand, it was too much. "We lost four or five wickets quickly and it's difficult to recover on a wicket like this."

Small as he felt, Smith would not make others feel smaller, and even though he identified the batting as the problem in this game, he was not on a witch hunt and had no more blame to dish out. He maintained that the squad he brought to the subcontinent had given their all and even though they had fallen, they would not be weighed down by South Africa's history of exiting major tournaments in the knockouts. "We've trained hard, we worked on our skills and I cannot fault the way this team has played. When we go homes there's going to be swords and daggers. We are not the only World Cup team that has not gone on to win."

Towards the end of his press conference, Smith had regained some of the confidence that has become synonymous with him over the years. He was still a long way from being a large man, but he had started to show fluency and conviction in what he was saying. He was being frank and honest and that's something South African cricket will need to be after this episode.

It's going to be a long process of rebuilding, not the personnel, but the mindset, and Smith started it before leaving his chair. "We've just got to be honest with ourselves, that we weren't good enough tonight. Simple as that."

Transformed South Africa aim for semis

Imran Tahir has been a revelation for South Africa in this tournament © AFP Enlarge

The Big Picture

Like the ghost of World Cups past, New Zealand have visited South Africa's campaigns in every tournament since 1992. Each time they have been clear underdogs against a team with a fabled dedication to clinical professionalism, but more often than not they reminded the South African scrooges of the frailty of a rigid formula. The timbre of those reminders has rung with increasing insistence, and when their paths crossed in 2003 and 2007, New Zealand were clear winners.

The lesson has been learned, and this time South Africa's progress has been notable for its break from the formulaic approaches of the past. In Imran Tahir they've found the final component in a team of near-perfect balance, and have shown a refreshing willingness to adapt as opposition or conditions demand. They have two of the best fast bowlers in the world, but both Robin Peterson and Johan Botha have opened the bowling at different stages.

But while South Africa's approach may have changed, there is a familiar look to their results from the group stages. West Indies, Netherlands and Bangladesh were dispatched with consummate ease. The loss to England may have raised old fears about the 'C' word, but that defeat never threatened South Africa's march to the second round and they immediately shrugged off the 'chokers' tag (a phrase that seems to be focussed on more obsessively in the media than it is by anyone in South Africa's camp) with a thrilling, last-over win against India.

How could New Zealand, who floundered against Australia and Sri Lanka and made the quarter-finals thanks mainly to a meltdown that only Pakistan could have delivered, possibly hope to derail the mighty South Africans? Outgunned with both bat and ball, and struggling with injuries, they will have to resort to the sort of scrapping, street-wise cricket for which their previous World Cup campaigns have been renowned. A transformed South Africa are determined to correct the mistakes of the past, but the return of Daniel Vettori will inspire New Zealand and this match could well be won by whichever team is better able to maintain temperament and composure.

Form guide

(completed matches, most recent first)

Watch out for...

may not be South Africa's in the tournament so far - that title belongs, surprisingly, to Robin Peterson - but his inclusion is symbolic of South Africa's new approach to limited-overs cricket. He's also their first attacking wrist spinner in a cricketing generation, and should find conditions in Mirpur to his liking. If New Zealand's top order can survive the early onslaught from Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, Graeme Smith will turn to Tahir, confident in his ability to pick up cheap wickets with a variety of legspinners, sliders and wrong 'uns.

New Zealand have a couple of limited-overs stars in their ranks, such as Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder, but their strength as a team is their potential to gel and become more than the sum of their parts. Their captain, Daniel Vettori, is the vital ingredient in that formula. Whether with bat, ball or in the field, Vettori seems to inspire by his very presence and as a seasoned cricketer he won't be intimidated by South Africa. There have been hints that Vettori could give up ODIs after this tournament, giving him an added incentive to go out on a high.

आब्जेक्ट Bangladesh surrender meekly The

Abject Bangladesh surrender meekly

The

Lonwabo Tsotsobe scuttled Bangladesh's chase inside eight overs © Getty Images Enlarge

Bangladesh were not favourites to win their virtual pre-quarterfinal against the might of South Africa, especially after the visitors breezed away to 284, but it was the meek manner of their abject batting surrender that would have jarred even their most faithful fans. Eight overs in to the tall chase, and the heart of their batting line-up had been ripped out by Lonwabo Tsotsobe, causing the substantial crowd at the Shere Bangla Stadium to quickly start dwindling. They never recovered from those initial blows, and all they managed was to beat their lowest total of 58 achieved against West Indies earlier in the tournament by 20 runs, before being put out of their misery by Robin Peterson's fourth wicket.

This was after South Africa came out blazing in the morning, and the solid base that the openers gave allowed Jacques Kallis and Faf du Plessis to consolidate and accelerate seamlessly, giving their spin-heavy attack a substantial cushion to stifle Bangladesh and bowl them to the top the group. That they did so with 206 runs to spare was a testimony to how the fight completely went out of Bangladesh, and also confirmed England's qualification for the knockouts.

It was not that South Africa's attack, minus Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, held a lot of alarms. Tsotsobe did get enough bounce off the slow wicket to trouble the batsmen, and also got it to cut in from a very tight line outside off stump. But it was more a case of poor shot selection by the Bangladesh batsmen under the pressure of a big chase in a must-win game in front of a large home crowd. The first four dismissals were demonstrations of the various ways of how not to play on a low and slow wicket.

Tamim Iqbal was too early into the pull off a short Tsotsobe delivery that was way outside off stump, and was caught behind off a healthy under-edge, as South Africa referred successfully after umpire Daryl Harper missed the deflection. Imrul Kayes shouldered arms to a full Tsotsobe delivery that cut back in to shatter the stumps. Graeme Smith had started with Johan Botha, and his suffocating lines had Junaid Siddique in absolute uncertainty, not sure whether to go back or forward, and he ended up being trapped in front by one that went straight on. Shahriar Nafees played on, driving in princely fashion from the crease to one that nipped back in slowly.

Bangladesh's chase was only eight overs old, and already their dream had caved in at 21 for 4. Mushfiqur Rahim pottered around for some time before being snapped up one-handed by an alert Smith at slip off Peterson. Before his dismissal, Bangladesh managed seven runs in the bowling Powerplay, the lowest in the tournament, trumping Kenya who had made nine runs against Sri Lanka.

Amid all the anti-climax, Shakib Al Hasan displayed his class, straight-driving and pulling Tsotsobe, and caressing and slashing the spinners for boundaries. There were loud cheers as Bangladesh passed 58 but Shakib departed soon after as Bangladesh's party rapidly came to a rude end. Peterson cleaned up the tail as Bangladesh lasted all of 28 overs to bring the curtain down on what was ultimately a chaotic campaign.

Bangladesh's struggles stood out against the contrasting approaches of Hashim Amla and Graeme Smith, which had worked perfectly for South Africa at the top as the duo batted their way to a 98-run opening stand. It was fascinating to see how the openers went about tackling the spinners in their different styles. While Amla allowed the ball to come to him, and played it as late as possible off the back foot, Smith was very eager to push forward and use his feet frequently in an attempt to meet the ball early.

Amla carried on in the nonchalant fashion that has made him the world's most prolific one-day batsman of late. Anything marginally short was quickly dispatched, even against the turn. Smith was uncertain to start with, but Bangladesh helped him settle the nerves with a couple of freebies on leg stump that he happily put away past short fine leg.

It was only after the drinks break that the openers lost their cool and their wickets. JP Duminy followed and at 141 for 3 with 20 overs to go, Bangladesh were in it. But Kallis and du Plessis started milking the singles calmly. Only four boundaries were hit in the next 12 overs but South Africa still scored at five an over. The duo added 82 risk-free runs inside 15 overs as the Bangladesh attack struggled for penetration.

Peterson did not let South Africa miss the seventh batsman they had left out, clattering 22 in nine deliveries as 83 came off the last eight overs. Even though wickets tumbled late, there was enough spunk in Peterson and Botha to lift South Africa to 284. It turned out to be much more than sufficient for a Bangladesh outfit that finally lost the spark that had made it come back strongly twice in the tournament after crushing losses to West Indies and India, with wins over England, Ireland, and Netherlands.