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The Rediff Interview / Goolam Rajah

'India is a challenging assignment, so the drive is even more intense, to succeed'

Do you agree with the policy of reservations, or do you think the team should be picked purely on merit?

I believe that at the national level it should be purely on merit. However, I also believe that you should have strong support structures to give opportunities to people who are underprivileged. I believe that at the provincial level, I wouldn't have a problem with the quota system.

Have you during the apartheid years come across incidents that indicated the gulf between the whites and the coloureds?

Yes, many of them. It wasn't easy being a non-white in South Africa in the sixties and seventies and even in the eighties. I have had incidents where I was interrogated by the security police for days on end, I know from experience that if you were non-white you couldn't get into medical school, which meant I had to go to England to study. Sure, there have been many incidents, and they hurt. I demonstrated outside the Wanderers once and was locked up in a police van and was hit on the head with a bat. So yes, I do have some unpleasant memories but I think all that is in the past. What I do believe, and what I tell my children, is that one must never forget what happened to you, but must learn to forgive. And I think our ex-president Mr Nelson Mandela is the perfect example; he has demonstrated that after being locked up for 27 years he could even forgive the people who did that to him. We will never forget what happened to us, but we will forgive.

Is there any qualitative change in thinking in South Africa?

I think South Africa now and South Africa in the past are two different places. The very fact that I am manager of an almost all-white South African team is an example of what I am saying. I can't believe the country has changed as much as it has. From a racist society, we have turned into a full-fledged democracy. I can only attribute this to an act of god -- if you are looking for a miracle in our time this has to be it. I think it is a complete transformation; South Africa has in one jump gone from night to day.

To get back to cricket, how has Graham Ford adapted to the team, after Bob Woolmer's successful tenure as coach?

I think that over a short space of time, Woolmer is not an easy act to follow. Bob has done wonderful work with our team over the past 4-5 years; I have the greatest respect for Bob as coach. Equally, I have a lot of respect for Graham Ford. Like I said, Woolmer was not going to be an easy act to follow -- whoever took over, would have found it difficult to step out of the Woolmer shadow. Two very strong qualities that Graham possesses is his passion for the game and his ability to be a workaholic. He gives in more than 100 per cent in his job, he is totally committed and highly respected by the team. So while he may not have the background of a Bob Woolmer, he more than makes up for it in terms of commitment, dedication and I think makes his passion to do the job and do it well.

Bob Woolmer was always into technology; Ford seems to have inherited that legacy?'

When we went to New Zealand, the board appointed Ford to go over with Woolmer, Graham also went with the team to the World Cup, though Woolmer was the coach. So there was a sense of continuity, and the result was that when he took over, he was already comfortable with the working formula, it didn't come to him as something new. And yes, he is technically minded, so he is continuing the policies instilled by Woolmer.

In the World Cup, Hansie Cronje tried the earpiece. And Woolmer more recently suggested instructions being sent out through digital watches, which is a plan he is supposedly trying in his county. What is your take on this?

Five years ago, if I had told you about a third umpire, you would have said that I was drunk, or on drugs -- but today, it is a fact of life. I respect the ICC ruling on the subject of earpieces. Obviously anything new can be tried out at the top, it has to first be tried at a lower level. I believe these things have a value, and I think that every country should have access to these developments; it is not and should not be exclusive to South Africa alone. The third umpire was a good concept; similarly, earpieces, wrist watches, camera on the helmet of the batsman, whatever it is, I don't have a problem with it.

What is your reading about the dearth of spinners in South Africa?

It is difficult to say, but my feeling is that if you look at the type of wickets you have and the type of wickets in our land, there is not much opportunity for the slow bowlers in our part of the world. Fortunately or unfortunately it will land in many respects on creating opportunities for slow bowlers. If I was a young cricketer in school today, given the wickets I would be playing on, I guess I would be inclined to become a pace bowler.

Having said that, we also had good spinners in the past, but I think we are going through a different phase of our cricket, for the next few years the emphasis could be on seam bowling. But then again, having said that, we also had good spin bowlers in the past, and who knows what can happen tomorrow? I think besides wickets, we also lack role models for aspiring spinners, someone like say Shane Warne. We have role models for aspiring quicks, people want to emulate the Donalds and Pollocks. Or see your country, everyone wants to be Sachin Tendulkar. So to develop spinners, we need role models coming up in that field.

Everyone says the tour of India is tough -- what was the team's thinking, coming here?

Obviously, since we want to be known as a good team, we would like to win everywhere and India is no exception. We always play to win, wherever we are. And yes, India is a challenging assignment, so the drive is even more intense, to succeed. The fact that Allan Donald is here, for instance, is a sign of his passion for the game, his desire to win. And having said that, a win here is not easy. Given the conditions and the type of wickets, it is always a challenge playing here. And that fuels the desire to do well, because you know the odds are against you.

India produces turning tracks, South Africa produces quick tracks. You think that is how it should be, that home teams should prepare tracks that suit them?

I think wherever we are, the tracks should be the kind where everyone has a chance. For me a good Test wicket should have bounce on the first two days, turn a bit on day three and the turn will become progressive as the Test goes on. That for me is a good Test wicket, and whichever team is best suited to those conditions deserves to win. I don't want to prescriptive, but I want to leave you with a thought -- if you look at India's home record, they have something to be very proud of. At the same time, when you look at the away record, it hasn't been quite as good. Maybe there is a lesson there for you. Maybe there is something in there for you to think about.

But by the same token, back in SA you play on hard, bouncy wickets -- isn't your team in the same danger, of being good only on one kind of track?

Not at all. Not all of them. For instance, at Port Elizabeth you are apt to get a square turner. Sure, our wickets are quicker than yours, but if you notice, by days four and five there is a fair among of turn there.

Do you see SA as favourites to win this tour, both Tests and ODIs? Can any touring side ever be considered a favourite in India? Not even after our defeat in Australia?

Yes, unfortunately you didn't have a good tour of Australia and maybe I can even see why. But then, the Indian team is always a different proposition in India, it is not going to be easy by any means.

And finally, the old chestnut -- do you suppose one-day cricket is ruining Test cricket?

I have my own views of one-day cricket. I think there is a need for it. I come from an older generation so I love my Test cricket, but I also respect the need for one-day cricket. Unfortunately, you can't divorce one from the other. The younger generation today is more into one-day cricket, just as there is an older generation that loves Tests. so you do need both forms of the game equally.

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