The omission of Neil McKenzie and Morne Morkel from South Africa’s third Test squad against Australia and initially naming Ashwell Prince as opener and captain has upset indisposed skipper Graeme Smith, who hinted at a rift between the selectors and the team management.

This merry-go-round about the captain’s chair has angered Smith, who felt all the efforts to build a strong and united South African team over the past 18 months were laid bare following a Test series defeat to Australia.

“Six months ago, I proposed the idea of a vice-captain to be named across all three teams (Test, one-day and Twenty20),” said Smith. “Although I never envisioned a situation like this when I discussed the idea, this would bring clarity on these types of issues.”

He also expressed disappointment the way McKenzie and Morkel were dropped from the side after losing the three-match Test series 0-2. “It is disappointing, but the saddest thing is that during times like these, you need cool heads,” Smith was quoted as saying by The Australian. “We’ve tried to create that culture in the team and, as a team, I thought we had. From inside the team, we try to deal with the facts and move on from there,” Smith said.