By Nick Mulvenney
SYDNEY Nov 8 (Reuters) – Australian attempts at mind games ahead of the test series against South Africa were at worst irrelevant and at best a motivation to the tourists, captain Graeme Smith said on Thursday.
Individual plans for targeting South African players, including psychological profiling, supposedly derived from an Australian team dossier were published in the Courier-Mail newspaper on Thursday, the eve of the first test at the Gabba.
Smith, however, backed his team, unbeaten on the road in test series for six years and coming to Australia fresh from having earned the number one ranking by beating England in England, to brush off any attempts to get under their skin.
“It doesn’t really make a difference to be honest with you,” Smith told reporters at the Gabba.
“We know in our minds what we’re expecting over the next few days. The most important thing for us was our preparation. I think we’ve done that really well and we’re looking forward to starting tomorrow.
“In terms of that stuff, it’s neither here nor there, it’s all going to start tomorrow.”
Four years ago, South Africa won a tight three-match series 2-1 for their first triumph on Australian soil. That was under the guidance of Mickey Arthur, who now coaches the hosts.
Arthur has obviously shared his knowledge of the South Africans with his new charges and made a few public comments about perceived weaknesses, most notably that top ranked pace bowler Dale Steyn did less well against lefthanders.
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