Date-stamped : 13 Dec95 - 10:35 Electronic Telegraph Wednesday 13 December 1995 S Africa tour: Smith ready to deliver the perfect present By Christopher Martin-Jenkins in Durban THE eclipse of Mark Ramprakash and Darren Gough`s hamstring inju- ry mean that England must make two changes for the third Test starting here tomorrow, a game which Robin Smith describes as the pinnacle of his career. Returning to the city where he spent the first 20 years of his life, Smith is confident that he is batting well enough to present his British-born parents, John and Joy, with the present of a Test century when they celebrate their 40th wedding an- niversary in Durban on Friday. After Test scores of 43, 52 and 44 at No 6, Smith feels he is due a major innings in a match he describes in emotional terms as "the most exciting prospect of my life". He watched cricket as a boy from a deckchair on "Castle Corner" on the Test ground at Kingsmead and played there for Natal Schools and Natal before following his elder brother, Christopher, to Southampton and making a decision with which he now feels completely comfort- able. "I still have a lot of friends here and great affection for South Africa," he said after a typically vigorous net yesterday. "If we don`t win the World Cup I hope South Africa do, but England is home now. I`ve married an Englsh lady, we`ve got two chil- dren there and I have not the slightest regret." It could be argued Smith should bat at No 3 tomorrow, but that, he says, is not a matter which has been discussed. So John Craw- ley will take over from Ramprakash and, whatever Smith`s for- tunes, nothing would be better news for England than Crawley`s success in that role. Who will take Gough`s place is a matter less simply solved. Mark Ilott had food poisoning sufficiently badly to miss nets yester- day, which might help to narrow the decision to a choice between Peter Martin and Richard Illingworth. As England`s generals were reminded at Johannesburg, however, it is dangerous to judge a pitch until the morning of the match This will depend, of course, on how Mike Atherton and Raymond Il- lingworth interpret the conditions. After two Tests in which the captains and selectors of both sides have misread the pitch bad- ly, Atherton and Hansie Cronje would probably be happier to lose the toss this time. Forty-eight hours before the game, taking into account its pecu- liarly timed start at 9.35am, a winning captain would simply have to have defied historical precedent and put the opposition in. There had been overnight rain, conditions were humid and cloudy and a flock of sheep would have relished the prospect of being offered breakfast on the pitch. As England`s generals were reminded at Johannesburg, however, it is dangerous to judge a pitch, or the South African weather, un- til the morning of the match. Pre-conceived notions are espe- cially unwise when guidance is sought from as inscrutable a source as Phil Russell, Derbyshire`s long-time player and coach, who is in charge of preparations for a Test here for the fourth time. Russell says he may mow the pitch today and perhaps again tomorrow morning, but that if the sun shines he equally well may not. Grassy or not, I trust the look of the pitch will not in itself lead Atherton and Ray Illingworth into abandoning their in- stincts for the second match in succession. Both are happier with a balanced attack, which means at least one specialist spinner, and Atherton especially is always reluctant not to bat first in a five-day game. He should choose Richard Illingworth and bat first. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Dave L (dgl@zeppo.geosurv.gov.nf.ca)