Majola lauds Proteas' elevation

DURBAN: Cricket South Africa on Friday paid glowing tributes to its cricket team which was elevated to the number one position in One-dayers following their 4-1 ODI series victory against Australia.
"Very few experts gave the Proteas much chance of success on this tour, but they return home as heroes having won the Test and ODI series in convincing fashion against the world champions in their own backyard," said CSA chief executive officer Gerald Majola.
"The historic Test win was something very special under Graeme Smith's great captaincy and now the cherry on the top comes under Johan Botha's captaincy in the ODIs with this series win and the world number one ranking," he said.
Majola was happy with the fact that the series Down Under threw up a number of exciting prospects for the future.
"What bodes particularly well for the future of South African cricket is that a number of young players such as Dale Steyn, Hashim Amla, JP Duminy, AB de Villiers, Wayne Parnell and Lonwabo Tsotsobe have emerged as world stars in one of the toughest arenas on the world cricketing circuit."
The CEO was effusive in his praise for the inspirational leadership of Graeme Smith and Johan Botha and coach Micky Arthur's guidance in fashioning South Africa's triumphs.
"The inspirational captaincy of Smith and Botha also adds considerably to the talent now available to South African cricket. The squad is backed up by an outstanding management team under Arthur and a national selection panel headed by the legendary Mike Procter," Majola said in a CSA statement.
"These stunning victories will not take the Proteas' feet off the ground because they know the Australians are going to fight back to regain their pride and their status in world cricket."