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Graeme Smith is a legendary South African cricketer, who was known as ‘Biff’ for his ability to smash the ball across the boundary line. He became the youngest South African captain and led the team to numerous astounding victories. After retiring from ODIs in 2011 and from the other formats of international cricket in 2014.
After retirement he has been working as a commentator and in April 2020 was appointed as Cricket South Africa’s permanent Director of Cricket for a two-year term. He was already holding the post albeit on an interim basis since December 2019. However, let’s first get to know about Graeme Smith, the player.
Graeme Craig Smith was born on the 1st of February 1981. A well-built man, he was known for thrashing the ball sending it across the boundary lines. Graeme Smith’s Test debut happened against Australia at Cape Town in March 2002. He formed a destructive opening partnership with Herschelle Gibbs.
Graeme Smith came into the limelight during the tour of England in 2003. In that series, he made consecutive scores of 277 and 259. His 259 run record is the highest in the Lord’s stadium by a foreigner.
Smith’s performance in the England tour earned him the captaincy for the team. He was an outwardly aggressive and demonstrative captain who led his team by example. Leading the Proteas, trying to win back the trust of the South Africans after the Hansie Cronje match-fixing scandal.
His prime glory as captain came during the 2008-09 season Test tour of Australia, where he led his side to a famous victory over the Aussies. Under his leadership, the team repeated the feat once again on their Australian tour of 2012-13. Furthermore, in 2012, Smith led his team to a win against the then No. 1 Test team England and took the honour for themselves.
After his 49th test win against Pakistan in Cape Town, Graeme Smith became the most successful test captain of all times, surpassing Ricky Ponting who had led the Australian team for 48 wins.
Graeme Smith retired from ODIs as captain after the Proteas crashed out of the ICC World Cup 2011 quarterfinals. He announced his retirement from all other formats of international cricket in 2014 during the Test series against Australia.
After his retirement he joined the IPL team Rajasthan Royals under Shane Warne for the first three seasons. Then he played for the next two seasons under Pune Warriors India. From playing five seasons in the IPL Smith he earned a total of $1,750,000.
Smith is also working as a broadcaster. Aside these, he had also been appointed as Director of Cricket for Cricket South Africa in 2020 for a two-year term.
According to SA Promo Magazine Graeme Smith’s net worth stood at over $20 million as of May 2019. He is reportedly the second richest South African athlete after Jacques Kallis.
Apart from being a commentator, Graeme Smith has also become the commissioner of the SA20 league. Thus, although we might not see this legend in action on the field, but still we will have a fare glimpse of him in his various roles.
FAQs
Where was Graeme Smith born?
Smith was born on Johannesburg, Transvaal.
How many test centuries does Graeme Smith have?
Graeme Smith has a total of 27 Test centuries and 5 double centuries in tests.
Is Graeme Smith the youngest South African captain of all time?
Yes. Graeme Smith became the youngest captain of the South African team when he took over as captain at the age of 22 from Shaun Pollock.
