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It almost looked like it was a question of sour grapes, as South Africa captain Graeme Smith [Images] termed the wicket for Monday's ICC [Images] Champions Trophy match against New Zealand [Images] as sub-standard and hit out at the schedule of the tournament.

"The wicket was not up to the standard and deteriorated progressively as the day went on and batting became very difficult increasingly. The ball was turning square and was stopping too," he said after his team's 87-run loss.

"The toss may become crucial in the tournament. The wicket's top broke up. You have to go by gut instinct (on what to do after winning the toss)," said Smith, who top-scored with 42 after asking New Zealand to bat first on winning the toss.

"Robbie (Peterson) bowled well, but it was a spinner's paradise. Even I was turning the ball," he pointed out.

Smith refused to blame poor shot selection by his batsmen for being dismissed for 108 in 34.1 overs while chasing Kiwis' 195.      

"Our shot selection was not all that bad. We needed to grind a bit and get a partnership on. But the wicket changed our game a bit. We did not get a solid start," Smith said.

"We need to regroup before our next match (October 24 against Sri Lanka [Images]). We have got eight days. The schedule could have been better. Even India have a 11-day break between matches. I don't know what the ICC has in mind," he said when asked whether the defeat had severely dented their semi-final hopes.

"All credit to Stephen Fleming [Images]. His innings made the difference. Otherwise, we would have been chasing 120 or 130," he said.

Fleming said Justin Kemp's unbeaten innings of 26 was a positive from the loss.

"He has not played on such wickets much. It would have been a good learning experience," he added.