South Africa skipper Graeme Smith: We were outplayed by Pakistan

Abu Dhabi: South Africa skipper Graeme Smith revealed that he was not used to being in this “position often” after being stunned by Pakistan in the first Test.

“I’m extremely disappointed sitting here and I think perspective is always important and we have been outplayed before the completion of four days,” said a dejected-looking Smith during the post-match press briefing after his side suffered a shock seven-wicket loss on Thursday.

The skipper accepted that Pakistan were always in control of proceedings and never allowed his team to script a comeback.

“Right from the first session, Pakistan have been ahead of the game. Even though we showed character to fight until the end, from the skill perspective I think Pakistan have been better than us and we have to be honest about that,” said Smith, whose team had not lost a single match in 15 Tests before this.

“Look, I think from the first innings they started putting us under pressure. The morning session was tough and [Mohammad] Irfan bowled really well. The stats tell you in the morning session you can lose a few wickets here,” revealed Smith, adding that his team fought well to get into a good position after losing early wickets in the first innings.

“We were around 199 odd for 4, then we had a collapse which was disappointing. We would have managed to pushed on, certainly to 300 or 350, and that would have give us a good chance.

“Then when you don’t get into that position, then you have to play some outstanding cricket to come back. We didn’t get wickets with the new ball and they got a very good partnership and life was tough for us,” said Smith, who denied that his team was under-prepared for this series.

“With the preparation time we had, I think we maximised everything. We have not played in six months, that’s a fair assessment, but since the Champions League, we have been together and the guys have worked extremely hard,” said Smith, whose side now have just five days to get his side ready for the do-or-die second Test.

“The loss has definitely hurt us and the team has [the] ability to do well. I think [based on] the standards that we set for ourselves, this loss is disappointing for us.

“In this period of time, you need to have good discussions. You need to have a good discussion in terms of support and planning. How you are going to be better in the next Test, from the tactical point of view and the skills point of view? We have to make sure we are not emotional and we are clever on how we do things.”