Death threats haunt South Africans

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Durban: The South African team, which made it to the semi-final of the World Cup, has been receiving death threats since they returned here from the West Indies, skipper Graeme Smith has disclosed.

"We are still recovering from our semifinal defeat to Australia and the threats are hard to deal with," Smith said, adding that they have been forced to be cautious.

In an interview to the local 702 Radio Talk Show station, Smith said his team was disappointed and were concerned about the reception.

He said he did not want to experience the same treatment that India had received when they returned home after being beaten in the preliminary stage.

Smith's statement about the reception led to widespread protest, forcing the South African skipper to issue a clarification.

"I hope these remarks were not misconstrued when I was referring to the reception India got when they returned home from the tournament and reports of incidence of violence that occurred in that country," Smith said in the statement.

He, however, admitted that the team's semifinal defeat had upset the supporters.

"CSA had received calls and e-mails from upset fans about the Proteas performance at the ICC Cricket World Cup in the West Indies.

"You can imagine how we felt coming back home. It was a disappointing period for all of us and our fans. Right now we can only work on improving on the lessons and challenges learnt from our experience," he said.

Smith still thanked the supporters for "supporting us throughout the season, which was one of the most successful yet in the Proteas' history."