from supercricket.co.za August 11 2002 (thanks Jenny)
Shaun Pollock admitted on Sunday that his team were grateful for the chance to
forget the messy politics that made last season so hard for his team mates during a miserable summer of
defeat against Australia.
"The hurt of what happened for those three months has sunk in now and the boys are determined
to get things back on track. We are proud and we don't like losing; we badly want to get turn
things around," Pollock said after the team's final practise session ahead of Monday's opening match
against pakistan in the Morocco Cup.
"We discussed, as a team, the way forward as far as the off field issues are concerned and we
know we have to focus on our job which is to play winning cricket. All credit to the UCB who have
gone a long way towards resolving many of the issues from last season. They have gone out of
their way to put the players' minds at ease. If we are comfortable with what is happening
off the field then we can give our full attention to what we're doing on the field," Pollock said.
Pakistan, of course, are not unfamiliar opposition against whom to start the new season: "We play
each other so many times in international cricket these days that we know exactly what to expect
from each other. We certainly haven't forgotten how many brilliant players they have in their line-up
and how many of them can turn in match winning performances. We also know we're going to have
to be on top of our game immediately because they're a dangerous team."
More unknown, of course, is the pitch at the Tangiers Cricket Stadium which has never staged an
international match before. "It looks like a good, subcontinental style wicket. Not much grass cover
and rolled hard. You can always be surprised, of course, because we've played on a few Sharjah
wickets that have 'done a bit' for the seamers so we'll just have to wait and see. We would have
preferred to play in the second game but Pakistan are in the same boat as us."
"The ground itself is really impressive. The outfield has a lush covering of grass which is always
important - it stops Jonty from getting 'roasties' (grass burns) - but generally, for a brand new
stadium like this to have done so much work to be ready for international cricket is a superb effort,"
Pollock said.
It has been a long time since a South African team took to the field without the clutter of political
uncertainty distracting them from the game. Pollock, at least, seems confident that will make a
difference.