Smith laughs off Waugh146;s 145;chokers146; tag

Despite retiring more than three years ago, the spectre of Steve Waugh still follows the South African cricket team.

Despite retiring more than three years ago, the spectre of Steve Waugh still follows the South African cricket team.

Waugh labelled South Africa 8220;chokers8221; at the 1999 World Cup, and was vindicated when Herschelle Gibbs dropped him on 56 as he went on to celebrate by throwing the ball in the air at Headingley, England.

Waugh made 120 not out as Australia won and advanced to the semi-finals to again play South Africa, while cricketing legend has it that he told Gibbs he8217;d just dropped the World Cup. Heading into the last over of the semi-final with South Africa requiring 9 runs to win with one wicket left, Lance Klusener hit swing bowler Damien Fleming for two fours off his first two balls to tie the scores.

But Allan Donald was inexplicably run-out two balls later for Australia to advance to the final, and consolidate South Africa8217;s reputation for seizing up under pressure. That reputation was affirmed in 2003 when Shaun Pollock miscalculated what was needed under the Duckworth-Lewis system in a rain-interrupted group match, and South Africa tied with Sri Lanka to fail to qualify for the second stage.

But it was the ghost of Waugh and his eight-year-old description that dominated South Africa8217;s news conference on Sunday on the eve of the opening ceremony.

8220;The chokers tag is something we have always struggled to get rid of, which was given to us by an individual,8221; captain Graeme Smith said.

Last week, Donald admitted that their habit of making 8220;arrogant mistakes8221; could jeopardise South Africa8217;s chances of winning a maiden World Cup title. But Smith played down the effect of Waugh8217;s slur.

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8220;That word is quite a laughable word, except when you are eating spare ribs or something like that,8221; he joked. 8220;It is something this team has found quite amusing at times.8221;

Helped by Australia8217;s five-match losing streak, South Africa became the top-ranked limited-overs team by routing Pakistan 4-0 last month and Smith refuses to inherit the legacy of his predecessors.

8220;This is a team that is separated from a lot of other disappointments,8221; he said. 8220;We have moved away from that and learnt from a lot of those things. We have a great mixture: we have got the players, the environment. With that, you need a bit of luck along the way.8221;