West Indies v South Africa (5th Test, Post-match)

The team is very disappointed in the way we have played. We were beaten by a better team. We might have played well below par, but congratulations to the RSA team who beat us in every aspect of the game. In Pakistan it was different, as most teams battle to win on the sub-continent.

When we came to South Africa I was very confident of doing well, but a lack of unity in the team, not being able to fight together for the same cause, and coming from the different islands has made it very difficult to get a team of unity.

We have to look at the youngsters, maybe from the national under 15 team, to instill the importance of unity into them. We have to get in at ground roots. Since 1995 the team has slowly been going downhill, until where we find ourselves today.

South Africa have played better cricket in all aspects of the game. It is not often that a team is whitewashed, we might have played below par, but they never let up. If it was not Kallis and Cronje, then Rhodes and Pollock or somebody else stepped in.

From here we have Australia, we have to put this behind us and learn from the experience. The Buster Cup is in progress at home at the moment, and from that and the players here we have to get a group together and look at the future. Winning teams don't often change, losing teams do, you have to find a combination that works.

Management on this tour has worked very hard, but in the end it is up to the individual to put into practice what he has been told and learnt. As far as we are concerned we had the best 16 West Indies players here in RSA. Confidence in the middle however is something that is very hard to gain if the team's performance is below what is expected.

I spoke to Hansie Cronje after the game today and told him that this tour has not been a pleasure in terms of results, but it has been a big learning experience. As a captain, on my first away tour, I have learnt a lot from him, and told him as much.

People who watch the way the South Africans played in this series are=20 going to learn a lot about how test cricket should be played.

They played with a plan and pre set goals and never relented. The cricket reserves in South Africa are also very strong. I have played against players who would get a chance in many test playing countries, but here in RSA they do not get a look in to this RSA team.20

After being in Pakistan, and playing England at home, this (RSA) team is a very good test team.

Hansie Cronje:

I am very proud of this team. After we came back from England, we sat down with the UCB Executive and had a long, no holds barred, discussion. From this we set new goals for ourselves. The first result of these goals was the win in Bangladesh. These goals can only be reached if the individuals perform, and as can be seen each player stood up and was counted. Someone always picked the ball up when it was thrown at his feet. The team once again showed its fighting, gutsy abilities.

Before the series we had a look at the West Indies figures and worked on the plan of seeing the two main bowlers Walsh and Ambrose off, and then attacking the backup bowlers. This can been seen by the number of times we were 5 down for a few runs, but then used the backup bowlers to re-build the innings.

We also worked out that there were 3 or 4 batsmen that we had to be very careful of. We put a lot of pressure on them and maybe we were lucky to come through on top, but we stuck to our plans.

We now have to try and keep this level up, but that is Bob Woolmer's problem.

During this series our back up bowlers have come of age. Jacques Kallis has taken a lot of wickets, David Terbrugge bowled very well, and in this game Adams and Klusener did their bit. Gone are the days when Donald and Pollock came off, we started looking at 4 to 5 runs per over. The back-up bowlers need a lot of credit for this win.

Jacques Kallis:

I am very happy that I have had a good series. I set myself goals at the beginning of the season, and am nearly there. I have worked very hard with Bob Woolmer and Duncan Fletcher from Western Province and at the moment want to play as much cricket as possible. Glamorgan is going to be a new challenge but I am looking forward to it. At the moment I still class myself as a batsman who can bowl, and still a long way, by my standards, to being called an all-rounder. I am still 23 and have a lot to learn about my batting and bowling.

Bob Woolmer:

The coming series against New Zealand has been very well worked out. The person who was involved in that needs a medal. It is the exact conditions that we need to prepare for the World Cup. The conditions in New Zealand are very close to what we will encounter in the World Cup. I also rate the New Zealand one day team as being very good, and a good judge as to how we will do in England.

Gulam Rajah:

I have been involved with this team for the last 5 years, and I have seen them mature. The spirit in this team is the best it has ever been, and the unity amongst them has to be seen.