By Zaahier Adams
South Africa cricket captain Graeme Smith will today sit alongside former coach Mickey Arthur to deny allegations that a rift between the pair led to Arthur's resignation.
Arthur, Smith and Cricket South Africa chief executive Gerald Majola will address the media in East London this morning to discuss the details surrounding Arthur's resignation after five years as Proteas coach.
It has been widely speculated that Arthur's relationship with Smith had "deteriorated irreparably".
But it is understood that Smith is upset by these allegations and will today deny all knowledge of a rift between him and Arthur.
Instead, it appears that pressure from the CSA board is the real reason for Arthur stepping down as well as his repeated disagreements with South African convener of selectors Mike Procter, who is also set to be axed soon.
Smith and Arthur have reportedly disagreed on team strategy in the past, most notably ahead of the fourth and final Test against England at the Wanderers, when Arthur claimed South Africa needed to "gamble" before Smith hit back, saying his team needed to be "precise".
Arthur later explained this as part of a "media strategy" devised by team management to steer England down the wrong path. It seemed to work as South Africa's tactic of playing five bowlers on a green Wanderers pitch saw the Proteas level the series 1-1 in Johannesburg.
Under Arthur's helm, South Africa rose to No 1 in the world in both Test and limited-overs cricket, won their first Test series in Australia and also won a Test series in England for the first time since unity was achieved in 1991.
But the major blot on Arthur's resumé was his inability to guide South Africa to a major International Cricket Council limited-overs title, with first-round failures at the inaugural Twenty20 World Championships in 2007 and the Champions Trophy last year - both on home soil - the lowest points. Arthur also failed to rid South Africa of their "chokers" tag as his teams lost in the semi-finals of the Champions Trophy in India in 2006, the Caribbean World Cup in 2007, and the Twenty20 World Championship in England last year.
After a dismal home summer in 2009-10, where South Africa failed to beat England in either the T20, ODI or Test series, Arthur was under pressure from the CSA executive board, prompting a board meeting last Tuesday to discuss his future. It is understood the contractual targets Arthur needed to achieve included series victories over England in both the one-day and Test matches.
It is believed Arthur was given backing to tour India before events unfolded over the weekend when it was mutually decided that the former Free State opening batsman was no longer equipped to lead South Africa to the next level, especially with another major ICC tournament, the T20 World Championship, on the horizon.
Procter has been guilty of some glaring errors, most notably calling up former Pakistan leg-spinner Imran Tahir for the tour to India, without checking whether issues around Tahir's residency qualifications had been sorted out. Tahir was later withdrawn from the squad, which Majola termed an "embarrassment".
If there was any "rift" to speak of, it would be more the breakdown of the relationship between Arthur and Procter, although the selection chief denied this yesterday to the media.
"We've not had problems, but as selectors we often had differences of opinion.
"There were moments during the last Test series which we overcame, but nothing serious," said Procter.
While there is always discussion when choosing teams, the non-selection of Ashwell Prince after the vice-captain had recovered from injury upon the return from Australia, the axing of Morne Morkel last year, and the selection of Lonwabo Tsotsobe ahead of Cape Cobras star Charl Langeveldt for the upcoming tour to India, are all known to have upset Arthur.
Former Proteas captain Kepler Wessels, who is being widely tipped as Arthur's long-term successor, believes South African cricket owes Arthur a huge debt of gratitude.
"Mickey did a really good job as coach of South Africa. He took South Africa to No 1 in both forms of the game. He's a good coach, and I'm sure that he will be short-listed for many other jobs," Wessels told the Cape Times yesterday.
Corrie van Zyl, former Eagles coach and fast bowler, will be temporarily in charge of the Proteas for the tour to India.