Name:

Smith, Graeme C

Nickname:

Smithy

Date of Birth:

01 Feb 1981

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

Johannesburg

Career:

Test: 2002 - 2014
ODI: 2002 - 2013
T20: 2005 - 2011

Teams:

South Africa (Country)
Rajasthan Royals (IPL)

Legends in Profile: Graeme Smith captain at 22, achieved many successes

Graeme Smith: Captain of South Africa at 22

Graeme Smith was born on February 1, 1981 in Johannesburg, Transvaal.

He was a forceful left handed opening batsman and bowled flat, fast off spin.

Smith made his first class debut in 1999 and made his Test debut against Australia in 2002 batting at No 3.

After Shaun Pollock's resignation following the disastrous home World Cup in 2003, Smith was handed the captaincy at a young age of 22 for the tour to England in 2003. Despite being subject to undue pressure from his opposite captain Mike Atherton, Smith scored 2 double centuries and got his captaincy off to a good start.

Playing in his 112th Test, Smith became only the second South African to pass 9,000 runs in Test cricket. He was involved in 4 triple century partnerships - 3 with Herschelle Gibbs and 1 with Neil McKenzie, a world record opening partnership of 415 against Bangladesh.

His proudest moment was when he led South Africa to a first ever series win in Australia in 2008/09. He was much lauded for batting with a broken hand in the final Test in Sydney in an attempt to save his team from defeat.

In a surprise move, Smith retired from international cricket in March 2014. He had just turned 33 when he bowed out playing his last Test, against Australia Newlands

Overall, Smith led South Africa for over 10 years. He skippered the team in 109 Tests, the next nearest is Border who captained 93 Tests. He won 53 Tests and boasts one of finest away from home win records in history (23 wins in 56 Tests).

Source: CricketCrowd Staff Reporter