Proteas captain Graeme Smith says his team will deserve all the criticism that will come their way after losing the first Sunfoil Test against Australia by 281 runs with a day to spare at SuperSport Park in Centurion. Smith says his team will need to train well and make smart decisions ahead of the second Test in Port Elizabeth this week…….

Smith says the only way for his team is to respond in the strongest way possible……

Smith does not think that the loss would have dented his team but said that the Australians won the big moments in the game aided by fast bowler Mitchell Johnson who took 12 wickets in the match……

Johnson’s 12 wickets were helped by an unpredictable surface according to Smith but he conceded that Johnson is bowling well and that the Proteas top order need to improve drastically……

Australian captain Michael Clarke says his team have played as good a cricket as they did in the Ashes series and that credit must go to both batsmen and bowlers for a team effort that earned them victory……

Clarke has urged his team to continue playing as well as they did as playing a series in South Africa against the Proteas still remains the ultimate challenge for his team……

Johnson says that the first Test was far from being the perfect performance even though he earned himself his best bowling figures against the Proteas with his 12 wickets for 127 runs. Johnson believes that there is still room for improvement……

Clarke did not want to speculate on what was going on in the Proteas dressing room after the game but lauded Johnson and said that the rest of his team will need to improve if they were to stay abreast of the Proteas in the remaining two Tests…Journalist: Vata Ngobeni