MICHAEL Clarke yesterday dismissed the alleged Australian "secret dossier" on the South African cricket team as obviousness and fiction.
Graeme Smith said the document did not affect his side's preparations for the test series, which started in Brisbane early this morning.
Times Media reported yesterday that what had been touted as Australia's game-plan was about to be laid bare in newspaper reports. The articles were duly published.
But alarm bells are ringing over the authenticity of the report because of a similar situation in 2002, when notes written by then Australian coach John Buchanan on how to nullify individual Proteas and apparently meant for Aussie eyes only found their way under the hotel room doors of SA players.
The tactics were fake and planted to put SA off the scent of what the Aussies were actually planning.
Asked if he thought a version of the Buchanan trick was being played, Smith said he did not know. But he added that what was in the newspapers was "nothing really new; nothing we didn't expect".
"All of us have played enough against Australia, and we know what it's going to take to be victorious here," Smith said.
"We are preparing tactically and doing our work in the nets anyway. It hasn't made a big difference to us." However, he added that the reports had "touched the motivation springs for us".
On SA's game-plan, Smith said, "We're try to keep it in the guys' heads as much as possible so dossiers aren't left lying around."
Clarke denied knowledge of how the "dossier" hit the headlines, and seemed bemused by its contents.
"There's certainly information in there that's common knowledge about the SA team, and there's some other stuff that was interesting to read - stuff that we certainly haven't spoken about," Clarke said.
"We have plans for every opposition we play against and it's no different against SA. But we as a team don't have an official dossier.
"We look at footage, we look at opposition players, we study opposition strengths and weaknesses as a bowling group and a batting group."
Secret dossier spices up test
MICHAEL Clarke yesterday dismissed the alleged Australian "secret dossier" on the South African cricket team as obviousness and fiction.
Graeme Smith said the document did not affect his side's preparations for the test series, which started in Brisbane early this morning.
Times Media reported yesterday that what had been touted as Australia's game-plan was about to be laid bare in newspaper reports. The articles were duly published.
But alarm bells are ringing over the authenticity of the report because of a similar situation in 2002, when notes written by then Australian coach John Buchanan on how to nullify individual Proteas and apparently meant for Aussie eyes only found their way under the hotel room doors of SA players.
The tactics were fake and planted to put SA off the scent of what the Aussies were actually planning.
Asked if he thought a version of the Buchanan trick was being played, Smith said he did not know. But he added that what was in the newspapers was "nothing really new; nothing we didn't expect".
"All of us have played enough against Australia, and we know what it's going to take to be victorious here," Smith said.
"We are preparing tactically and doing our work in the nets anyway. It hasn't made a big difference to us." However, he added that the reports had "touched the motivation springs for us".
On SA's game-plan, Smith said, "We're try to keep it in the guys' heads as much as possible so dossiers aren't left lying around."
Clarke denied knowledge of how the "dossier" hit the headlines, and seemed bemused by its contents.
"There's certainly information in there that's common knowledge about the SA team, and there's some other stuff that was interesting to read - stuff that we certainly haven't spoken about," Clarke said.
"We have plans for every opposition we play against and it's no different against SA. But we as a team don't have an official dossier.
"We look at footage, we look at opposition players, we study opposition strengths and weaknesses as a bowling group and a batting group."
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