Graeme Smith was a happy man after beating Bangladesh by an innings and 129 runs in the first Castle Lager Test at Outsurance Park before lunch on the fourth day on Saturday.

"It was our first Test for a while, and everyone got a bit of a run," he said. "Time in the legs is what is important.

"It was quite a difficult wicket, we had to work hard. We had to be disciplined and patient. It was a difficult wicket to force the pace on, and when we tried to do that on the second afternoon, with the middle order, we lost our way a bit. There were one or two careless shots. But 450, 500 was the total we wanted to declare on. We wanted to have a go at Bangladesh that afternoon.

"I also wanted the bowlers to bowl under a bit of pressure. If you get 600, 650 on the board, there's a lot of freedom for them to just bowl, and we created a little bit of pressure there."

Smith was named man of the match for his 157 runs, which helped South Africa to a total of 441 for nine declared.

"For me, it's been a couple of months since I had any time in the middle. "To spend six hours at the crease was crucial. I've been feeling good in my own game for quite a while. I feel I'm in control of everything I've done, and it's just a matter of repeating that and a little bit of luck."

He said his right elbow, which forced him to leave the England tour early, was feeling very stiff after his long spell of batting, but that the pain was much less than it had been.

He praised his bowlers, and said that although Morne Morkel had been somewhat wayward, particularly in the first innings, he thought he was improving.

"Makhaya (Ntini) was very good. His action looks good, he's got energy back in his body, he's got good pace and good bounce back, which is encouraging. He's back to where he was.

"Dale, it's his first outing in a long time in the longer form of the game. He got some good spells and he took eight or nine wickets in the Test, so he'll only get stronger and stronger. His skills are really good.

"Jakes (Jacques Kallis) bowled well and Morne, we'd like him to keep progressing."

The Bangladesh captain, Mohammad Ashraful, was much more subdued. He said a positive that could be taken from the Test was that while the bowlers did not bowl well on the first day, they had come back strongly in the second.

"The wicket was good, and it had a bit of bounce. We're not used to bouncy wickets, and our batsmen have to learn to be patient. The batsmen need to apply themselves more."

The second Test starts at Supersport Park in Centurion on Wednesday.

AFP

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