Durban: Former South African greats shied away from comparing Graeme Smith’s men to the 1969-70 all-star squad but had no hesitation in acknowledging that the current side is better than the 1990s batch led by Hansie Cronje.

The following are excerpts

Ali Bacher: This is history in the making… How good is the South African team? Certainly after our return to international cricket, the two best teams we had in Test cricket was the one led by the late Hansie Cronje in the late 1990s and this current one. But the records will show this team is better.

Peter Pollock: We are a country that is going through transition so every time we do something good we really hang on to it. This series victory is one of the better moments of South African sport, no question about it.

Mike Procter: This victory will rank as one of the greatest sporting moments in South African history. It just showed the tremendous character of the team because in both the Tests there was no way they could win the game and they ended up winning both matches very comfortably.

Barry Richards: Obviously I’m very proud of the victory. It is a great thing to do it in Australia. Our side was scheduled to tour Australia in 1971 and we would have defeated them easily but it is great that Graeme Smith has done it. Comparing the side I played and the present South African one is like comparing Ben Hogan to Tiger Woods. You just can’t do that.