By Brenden Nel, PA International, Johannesburg

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Dropped South African captain Shaun Pollock is a scapegoat for administrators trying to protect their own positions, according to former Proteas coach Graham Ford.

The United Cricket Board "relieved" Pollock of the captaincy on Saturday night following the host country's early exit from the World Cup, a tournament they had been second-favourites to win but where performances failed to match expectations.

Ford, axed by the same administrators after South Africa lost their last home and away Test series to Australia 5-1, said he was "absolutely stunned" by the UCB's decision on Pollock.

"I guess when you are an administrator in this mess, you have to make sure of your position by blaming somebody else," Ford told PA International.

"In this case it is Polly and they are doing that by having a go at him. It comes more down to survival than anything else."

Ford believes the limitations Pollock had to deal with were not fully appreciated by the UCB.

"I found him to be tactically pretty sharp when we worked together," Ford added.

"And he is very passionate about South African cricket.

"Perhaps the only weakness that he had was that he was ruled by his emotions and that was something he was working on.

"He was getting better at it and he had come through a good learning curve. To throw him away now is pointless."

Pollock had a tough act to follow.

Hansie Cronje, despite having left the game in disgrace for giving information to bookmakers, is remembered for having been a strong captain.

"A lot of the criticism has been unfair in the comparisons to Hansie Cronje," Ford said.

"Hansie had the privilege of an excellent bowling line-up. Pollock has a line-up that struggles to bowl 140km/h and it's not that easy to play without firepower.

"The comparisons are unfair especially with other limitations placed on 'Polly'. He was very much misunderstood."

Pollock, 29, took over the leadership of his country from the late Cronje in the middle of 2000.

However, on recommendation of the selectors and national cricket committee, the United Cricket Board of South Africa ended his tenure shy of a three-year reign.

"I'm not prepared to comment on it now," he told PA International. "I will be hosting a press conference tomorrow (Sunday) where I will react in the according manner."

Former selector Pat Symcox, who resigned shortly after the World Cup fiasco, citing a conflict of interests with his media work, called it "a sad day for South African cricket".

Symcox agreed that it was unfair to blame Pollock for the failure in the World Cup and questioned the timing of the announcement.

"I was not part of the process today after resigning," Symcox told PA International.

"Shaun has always been a great servant for South Africa and it is very sad for South African cricket.

"I am also not convinced the process has been followed correctly.

"Perhaps the United Cricket Board should have been more respectful that the World Cup is still in motion and that emotions are still running pretty high.

"It seems like a knee-jerk reaction to me."

Symcox added: "It seems that the captaincy will become a poisoned chalice from now on."

The favourite to replace Pollock seems to be opener Graeme Smith, who has not even captained his province and was only called into the World Cup campaign when Jonty Rhodes picked up an injury.

But Ford believes the selectors would be making a major mistake if they appoint the 21-year old Smith as their national captain.

"You have major problems with experience," Ford said.

"If you look at the Aussie side, most of their replacements are close to 30 and have been through the mill.

"To have a captain just past 20 worries me.

"At that age you are still trying to find your feet and to be successful you need to have the respect of the opposition, never mind your team-mates.

"It's a big ask for such a youngster and things can quickly fall apart."