Smith: KP must deal with booing
Graeme Smith insists the onus is on Kevin Pietersen to simply deal with inevitable hostility from partisan crowds in his native country.
The South Africa captain freely admits Friday's final one-day international against England is a match no-one expects to take place, because of the seemingly never-ending rain in Durban.
Should there be play in a fixture the hosts must win to square a series which will otherwise go England's way, the jury is out over the reception Pietersen is likely to be given on what was once his home ground.
The Pietermaritzburg-born batsman was booed, jeered and whistled all the way to the crease and - just a few minutes later - back again in England's victory at Port Elizabeth last weekend.
Smith believes it is something which simply goes with the territory, especially for a player who famously turned his back on South Africa to try his luck with England.
"It happens round the world these days," he admitted.
"I watched Ricky (Ponting) getting booed consistently in England (in last summer's Ashes).
"I think a couple of England fans booed me on Sunday, so it's just something you become used to as an international cricketer.
"Fans are biased towards their teams. You have to learn to have a little bit of a thick skin."
The stakes are clearly that bit higher for Pietersen, whose career went on a dramatic upward curve from the moment he moved to England.
"He's obviously got a history through things that he's done and said, and people are still getting over those emotions," Smith added.
"The crowds have been quite vocal again towards him. Ultimately, I think it's just his job to get on with it and deal with that."
One man unlikely to be booed, despite his differences with Smith during this year's Champions Trophy, is England captain Andrew Strauss - and his opposite number gave him a glowing character reference today.
"Andrew is an intelligent guy, with a lot of common sense," he said.
"He's provided a lot of stability for England and has gone about it the way we have expected.
"He's the guy we expected him to be."
Strauss' imperious batting form has not quite extended into this series - a point not lost on Smith.
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"We've managed to keep a little hold on him in terms of his batting - he still hasn't scored a 50 against South Africa in one-day cricket," he noted, hinting too that the absence of the injured Andrew Flintoff may have given Strauss a more straightforward opportunity to forge a 'new' England.
"It's probably easier for him to manage a team without many big names around, easier to form a better environment probably," Smith concluded.
The South Africa captain appeared borderline resigned, meanwhile, to a washout on Friday - and therefore only his country's second ODI series defeat at home.
"South Africa has proven we have the capabilities of having facilities ready for games," he said.
"But obviously there has been a huge amount of rain around for weeks now, so I think the groundstaff have got their work cut out.
"I know the weather's not great, and no one expects us to play. But as a team, we have to be prepared.
"If we get on the field tomorrow, we have a chance of levelling the series - and that's our focus."
South Africa's predicament is largely of their own making, he admitted.
"We just really haven't performed up to standard in at least two of those games, so we've only got ourselves to blame," he said.
"In PE, knowing that the weather was going to be bad this week, that was always going to be a crucial game - and we never performed well enough. That is our responsibility.
"We've got to live with that and learn from our mistakes. That's the key."
South Africa are unlikely to risk Test pace spearhead Dale Steyn's hamstring strain in awkward conditions.
But wicketkeeper Mark Boucher is expected to be fit, after a minor groin injury.
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