Smith presented

        

    He remembers the way it moved off the seam after Vernon Philander released it, tempting Matt Prior. He remembers the way England's valiant wicketkeeper moved towards it in an effort to drive. He remembers it taking the edge and then flying to him, low down. He remembers holding on. But most of all he remembers how important it was that he did.Vince van der Bijl, who handed over the prize, recalled that every year since 2009, South Africa have finished in second place. There's no better way to explain how often they have been nearly men than that. For the Test side, that has changed.That last over Vernon bowled, when Matt Prior nicked off, there had been a build-up of pressure up to that point and then it just broke. The last day was ebbing and flowing and then the next ball Steven Finn nicked off to Jacques [Kallis] and we were number one. That's the emotional moment that sits with me," Smith said in Johannesburg, where he received the ICC Test mace and a cheque for US$450,000 for him and his team.We feel that we belong in this place," Smith said. "It feels more natural than we had it before. We've earned our right to be there and every player wants to achieve more." South Africa's desire seems to set them apart and has played an important role in their current dominance, which is so overwhelming that if the planned Test Championship had taken place this year, they would have been favourites to win it. In fact, Smith has been holding the mace ever since South Africa took it off England. They travelled with it to Australia where they retained in even though, as Smith put it, "we could have so easily lost touch of something we worked so hard for," and kept it through home series against New Zealand and Pakistan. The difference now is that South Africa are in possession of it at the ICC's cut-off date for the first time.