Protea Tour Goes Ahead without Coach

February 3 - It was business as usual for the Proteas this week as they headed off for India to begin a month long cricket tour in the country.

The team was thrown a loop when their coach, Mickey Arthur, suddenly retired from the team only days before the tour was to begin.

The tour will consist of a two-match Test series and three-match one day international games.

The team will be led by caretaker boss, Corrie van Zyl who has stepped into Arthur's shoes.

"As far as having a new coach in Corrie is concerned, we have worked together before," said Graeme Smith, Protea captain.

"The players are all going about their work as normal to make sure we are all prepared as best we can be come Saturday."

Mickey Arthur quit after four years in this role as coach, with speculation that he might have been sacked.

It has been said that the coach grew more and more exasperated with the executive committee over the past few years regarding decisions, and there had been much friction over issues such as player placing on the team.

In the meantime, Graeme Smith said that the South African team is not heading for India with the primary motive to overhaul the world's top team from the ICC Test rankings.

"The number one ranking is not really an issue for us," he said. "India have been playing good cricket and that is why they are ranked number one."

"We will concentrate on our own game," he said. "We know that if we perform to our levels and our standards we can put India under a lot of pressure. Any time you come to India it is always very tough, so we probably start as underdogs."

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