Smith Apologises For Poor Display
Smith - booed off the pitch.
South Africa captain Graeme Smith apologised to the Trent Bridge crowd after his side were rolled over with embarrassing ease by Kevin Pietersen's rampant England.
A resounding 10-wicket win in a match which lasted only 37.1 overs out of a possible 100 put Pietersen's side 2-0 up in the five-match NatWest Series and left Smith struggling for explanations.
Smith's side completed an historic win in the Test series between the sides but their dismal 83 all out - knocked off in under 15 overs by England openers Matthew Prior and Ian Bell - left him with no excuses.
"We can only apologise for a poor performance," Smith told Sky Sports 1.
"People have paid good money to come to the ground and are rightly angry not to get a proper game.
"But we must give credit to England. We didn't apply ourselves and it starts rolling before you know it. Kevin and his team deserve victory.
"It's just not good enough on the field at the moment. We're not playing to the standard we know we are capable of.
"England are playing a dominant brand of cricket but for us this is a tough pill to swallow."
A triumphant Pietersen was delighted with his side's achievements but warned against complacency.
"Today was very special but we are a long way from finishing this series - games three, four and five are important.
"We need to get ourselves right and enjoy this evening because wins like this are very, very special.
"I'm not going to stand here and say this is the best team we've had and it's the start of great things, but if we keep training hard I'm sure we won't be too far wide of the mark."
Nottinghamshire seamer Stuart Broad took five for 23 in front on his home crowd to set up the win.
He added: "Obviously I'm delighted. The bowlers put their hands up and to bowl them out for 80-odd was great, as was the way Belly and Matty knocked them off.
"There's a long way to go in this series but we are playing good cricket."
England coach Peter Moores believes the victory is testament to the change in roles that some players have been asked to perform in the one-day side.
"It was one of those days for South Africa but we bowled exceptionally well. There was hardly a ball below 86mph which created real pressure," Moores told Sky Sports 1.
"Because the bowlers are tall with bounce and pace it's difficult to bully those kind of bowlers early on.
"It is an exciting team on paper and Steve (Harmison) coming out of retirement has been a real boost. We have had roughly the same players for the last 18 months but the roles are changing slightly.
"It looks like a side with depth with bowling and batting as well as fielding so we must not let up ahead of The Oval.
"It is a great start for Kevin - he is loving it - and he is seeing life through the captain's lens in the right way. Hopefully, long may it continue."
Moores added: "Matt Prior also kept well - took a spectacular catch - and took six catches as well as making runs at the top with Ian Bell.
"Both Matt and Ian are coming back to do a role they have done before and obviously it is a tough job which they are getting used to.
"Sometimes we maybe ask a bit too much because the ball does nip around and as an opener you have to dig and that takes a lot of mental strength."