Graeme Smith is often regarded as the greatest Proteas captain of all time, given his record and accomplishments. Although he never won a major trophy during his eleven-year reign as captain, the former left-handed batsman won almost 200 matches across all three formats of the game.
Smith is considered one of the best Test openers of all time, with an average of 48. He made his Test debut for South Africa in 2002 in Cape Town against Australia. In that match, the former left-hander batted at number three and scored 68 runs in the second innings. He was then promoted to open the batting with Herschelle Gibbs against Bangladesh, and the two formed a formidable partnership which lasted nearly a decade.
Graeme Smith was only 22 years and 82 days old when he captained his first match against Bangladesh. Taking over from Shaun Pollock, the man known as ‘Biff’ became the youngest Proteas captain ever. He held the position of test captain until his retirement in 2014.
Graeme Smith captain the Proteas in over 100 Test matches
In the latter part of his captaincy, the Proteas were often the team to beat, having topped the ICC Test and One Day International (ODI) rankings on multiple occasions. He led the Proteas to a 2-0 Test series win over England in 2012, which remains one of his biggest accomplishments.
In 2014, Biff announced his retirement from cricket at 33. Following his retirement, Graeme Smith went into commentary, and in 2019, he was appointed director of Cricket for the South Africa national cricket team. In 2022, Graeme Smith was named as the SA20 League Commissioner.
How good was Smith during his players days?
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