Johannesburg: Dr Ali Bacher, former South Africa captain and the one-time No.1 in the country’s cricket set-up, spoke to The Telegraph on Sunday.

Today, Dr Bacher is chairman of two companies (stellavista and Seniors’ Finance) and an NGO, Right to Care, which handles Aids-related projects.

The following are excerpts

Q An Australia versus New Zealand final, with neither India nor South Africa nor Sri Lanka making the semi-finals... Did you expect the Champions Trophy script to unfold in this manner?

A (Laughs) Before the tournament, I’d told an interviewer that the winner would come from one of the three teams which, as it turned out, didn’t make even the last-four. As you can see, I’ve become quite a pundit!

Who will you be putting your money on in Monday’s final?

Look, I like the underdogs and it would be nice for world cricket if somebody other than the giants, Australia, won... My heart will be with New Zealand, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a good relationship with the Australians.

Gerald Majola, the Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief executive, reacted rather strongly to South Africa’s first-round exit. Would you, too, favour a probe and suchlike?

No, no... That would be taking things too far. If you look at the history of limited overs cricket, from the first World Cup in 1975, you’ll find that no host nation has ever won a world event except Sri Lanka, winners of the 1996 World Cup and joint winners with India, of the 2002 Champions Trophy... That trend continues...

What went wrong with South Africa?

Our bowling let us down.

South Africa, then, are back to being chokers...

That’s not a fair assessment... I’d say we’ve had another hiccup. The match against England was close and, in such matches, you do need some luck... We weren’t lucky in Centurion that night.

Suddenly, there’s much pressure on captain Graeme Smith and coach Mickey Arthur. Would you say that’s rather unfair?

Yes... What I’ll add is that, in the lead up to the Champions Trophy, the coach and the players had been talking too much about doing this and that... It’s always better to allow the performances to talk. Indeed, the less spoken the better... I’m not suggesting one shouldn’t be positive, but don’t go overboard in public.

Team India disappointed you?

Of course, but one has to accept that three key players — (Virender) Sehwag, Yuvraj (Singh) and Zaheer Khan — weren’t in the XI... As for Sachin (Tendulkar) and (Rahul) Dravid, I’m sure they’re approaching the end of their one-day careers. I don’t see much of a future for them.

The Champions Trophy will be remembered for a largely poor response from the public. One reason, as you’ve said, being the spat between CSA and the Gauteng Cricket Board here. Have things really been sorted out between them?

They say so, but I’m not sure.

You’ve been an accomplished administrator and, at one point, were very influential in the ICC. Isn’t today’s lot going overboard with T20? We will, for example, be seeing two World T20s within a year?

When I was in the ICC, as chairman of the development committee, I’d suggested having the 50-over World Cup every two years instead of four, but was told that it had to remain “special...” Now, it’s totally different with the World T20... T20 is here to stay, but has to be carefully controlled and managed by the administrators... They’ve got to ensure that Test cricket, in particular, survives.

What would be your suggestion?

That, at every level, have T20 only at the start and the end of every season... Not in between... In between, in the critical period when the season warms up or the heart of the season, play Tests and ODIs.

In the immediate context, the 50-over game stands threatened...

There’s a problem with the middle overs... It gets dull, gets uninteresting... I don’t, of course, endorse Sachin’s idea of each team having two innings of 25 overs each... (After a pause) Somebody has come to me with a smart suggestion, which will be placed before the appropriate authorities... The suggestion takes care of the middle overs’ boredom... I’m excited about it, but can’t go into specifics.

To talk of Test cricket, would you favour the matches being played over four days and under floodlights?

No.

Getting back to Smith, how do you rate him as captain?

Graeme has improved, he’s very good now... He has a vision and is committed to the game’s integrity... He’s passionate and takes immense pride in playing for South Africa... Remember, he was just 22 when he got the captaincy (after the 2003 World Cup).

Arthur appears to have made a big difference...

He’s a good communicator and is committed to his job.

Briefly, South Africa were No.1 in both Tests and ODIs. How did you react then?

Rankings and numbers don’t mean anything, it’s how you perform in the middle. For me, numbers and rankings are irrelevant.

Has the integration issue, within the team, been settled for good?

It’s off the radar now, but could flare up again once Makhaya Ntini retires... He’s the only Black African in the team as opposed to players of a Coloured or Indian origin.

The successful hosting of the 2003 World Cup was a glowing feather in your cap. Six-and-a-half years on, how do you reflect on that experience?

(Smiles) In the lead up, I’d be up at five every morning and start the day by making notes on what had to be done... I’d pushed myself hard, for I didn’t want to one day wake up thinking I wish I’d done A, B or C things... I didn’t leave anything to chance and worked with such a good support staff.

Who makes for a good administrator?

Somebody with a passion, commitment and vision. I was passionate, about my job and about cricket, seven days a week.

The final one: There are misgivings over security as the 2010 Fifa World Cup draws near. Your thoughts?

I’m confident security won’t be an issue. However, there could be concern about the logistics and how that’s going to work out... I’m told the grounds are fantastic, so the players and fans should have a memorable experience.