Graeme Smith - the gentle giant who guards South African cricket

Graeme Smith: All about setting an example

But then again, Smith has his own ways of handling things. With him, you get what you see. Captaincy was forced on to him at a tender age of 22, with him being only 8 Test matches and 22 ODIs old. Taking over a broken side from Shaun Pollock after the 2003 debacle, he knew only one way to lead – from the front. And that’s what he did.

After taking over the reins, he went on an amazing run of form that saw him play two record-breaking innings. However, things went south the very next year as South Africa went into a free-fall, losing ten Test matches in a row. The defeats caused a major rift in the team and the young captain saw some serious in-fighting among the Proteas’ ranks.

Any captain would have crumbled, but not Smith. Just like his steely resolve during batting, he fought back, got rid of the players who were a threat to the team’s morale and started rebuilding. From thereon, South Africa went on an upswing and more importantly, held on to it.

That period saw South Africa rise to the number one spot in ODIs and also witnessed the epic match against Australia where Smith’s side chased down a record breaking 434. Although Herschelle Gibbs played the defining innings, Smith’s whirlwind essay of 90 from 55 balls at the top blunted the Aussie attack.

There were failures as well. South Africa were skittled out of their ODI perch by Australia and they failed yet again in their pursuit of winning a major ICC trophy when they were knocked out of the 2007 World Cup.

Despite the disappointments, Smith continued with his counter-punching methods and moulded the Proteas into a world-beating Test unit. In 2008, Smith became the first captain to lead South Africa to a series win in Australia. In 2012, his team toppled England from the numero uno position in Test cricket and in the process, Smith, unintentionally, became responsible for sealing the fate of three English captains.

There’s immense talent in the Proteas’ tank and no one ever doubted their ability. They have the flair of Amla, the solidity of Jacques Kallis, the spunk of de Villiers, the fire of Steyn and the madness of Tahir, but most importantly, the steel of Graeme Smith holds the framework together for the machine to work flawlessly.

That’s the greatest achievement of Graeme Smith. Even after such remarkable stats at the Test level, his name will never feature in the “all the greats” discussions, but the stamp of authority that he has already left on South African cricket will always be a talking point in times to come.

South Africa is a country that has been blessed with natural talent but the Proteas have also been cursed with a tradition of in-fighting, politics and a quota system. It’s easy to captain a side that has Dale Steyn running in at 140 clicks an hour, but it’s very difficult to lead a nation that lets its economic and political issues percolate into its sporting culture.

Smith, with his upfront and strong leadership, created an atmosphere of unity and oneness that helped in extracting that extra bit out of the entire squad. It’s one thing to have Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir play for your side, but it’s an entirely different thing to make them work hand in hand with Philander and Peterson.

That’s why, when Smith says that his team should get more respect, the cricket world should doff their hats off in acknowledgement. Graeme Smith has built this side over the last decade, bit by bit. He had a tough legacy to follow, but just like his unattractive yet gutsy batting, he has punched his way to success.

He may not be the greatest to watch, but Graeme Smith is all about setting examples. Be it facing Mitch Johnson with a broken hand or scripting a marathon comeback with yet another determined double hundred in the UAE heat, Smith had done it all with a square jawed resolve.

They don’t call him the “Biff” for nothing.