Graeme Smith South Africa (SA)
Batting style	Left-handed batsman (LHB)
Bowling type	Off spin (OB)
	Tests	ODIs
Matches	54	113
Runs scored	4285	4124
Batting average	47.08	40.00
100s/50s	11/18	6/27
Top score	277	134*
Balls bowled	1265	954
Wickets	8	18
Bowling average	93.75	52.83
5 wickets in innings	-	-
10 wickets in match	-	n/a
Best bowling	2/145	3/30
Catches/stumpings	65/-	53/-
As of March 29, 2007 Source: Cricinfo.com Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... Image File history File links Cricket_no_pic. ... Warwickshire batsman Mike Powell A batsman in the sport of cricket is, depending on context: Any player in the act of batting. ... In the sport of cricket there are two categories of bowler: pace bowler and spin bowler. ... Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers to spin the ball from a right-handed batsmans off side to the leg side (that is, towards the... A Test match in progress. ... One-day International (ODI) is a form of cricket, which is played over 50 overs per side between two national cricket teams. ... Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. ... Bold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textBold textA delivery or ball in cricket is a single action of bowling a... M*A*S*H, see Sticky Wicket (M*A*S*H episode). ... Bowling average is a statistic measuring the performance of bowlers in the sport of cricket. ... An innings, or inning, is a fixed-length segment of a game in any of a variety of sports – most notably baseball and cricket – during which one team attempts to score while the other team attempts to prevent the first from scoring. ... In the sport of cricket, the term stump has three different meanings: 1. ... March 29 is the 88th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (89th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ...

Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981 in Johannesburg) is a cricketer who became the youngest ever player to captain the South African cricket team at the age of 22 years when he was selected to take over from Shaun Pollock after the 2003 Cricket World Cup. He is a tall and strongly built left handed opening batsman who is usually very leg-side orientated at the crease. He is also an occasional off spin bowler. February 1 is the 32nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ... The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas, is a national cricket team representing South Africa. ... Shaun Maclean Pollock (born July 16, 1973 in Port Elizabeth) is a South African bowling all-rounder. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Off spin is a type of bowling in the sport of cricket which is bowled by an off spinner, a right-handed spin bowler who uses his or her fingers to spin the ball from a right-handed batsmans off side to the leg side (that is, towards the...

Early Years

Smith grew up in Houghton, Johannesburg and was a prolific run scorer in school cricket at the King Edward School in Johannesburg. He played 3 'Tests' for South Africa Under-19's and 7 one dayers for them. He was unsuccessful in the Tests, only managing one fifty but managed 5 half centuries in the shorter form which gave him an average of 84 from his 7 games. City motto: Unity in Development Province Gauteng Mayor Amos Masondo Area  - % water 1,644 km² 0. ...

He made his Test debut for South Africa in 2002 in Cape Town against Australia, batting at number three. The second innings of the match saw him notch his first half-century.

Career Highlights

Graeme Smith's career performance graph.

He showed his talent in the tour of England in 2003 when he made double centuries in consecutive Test matches: a national record of 277 at Edgbaston Stadium, and 259 at Lord's Cricket Ground. His score of 259 at Lord's is, in fact, the highest score at the ground by a foreign player. The previous record was 254 by Sir Donald Bradman. These performances prompted Alec Stewart to call him "the most impressive 22-year-old I have seen in cricket" [1]. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (963x492, 5 KB) Summary This graph details the Test Match performance of Graeme Smith. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (963x492, 5 KB) Summary This graph details the Test Match performance of Graeme Smith. ... Motto (French) God and my right Anthem God Save the King (Queen) England() – on the European continent() – in the United Kingdom() Capital (and largest city) London (de facto) Official languages English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  -  Queen Queen Elizabeth II  -  Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification  -  by Athelstan 967  Area... A Test match in progress. ... Edgbaston Stadium is a cricket venue in Birmingham, England. ... The Pavilion The Grand Stand Match in progress The Media Centre at Lords Cricket Ground This memorial stone to Lord Harris is in the Harris Garden at Lords Lords Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in St Johns Wood in London, at grid reference TQ268827. ... Sir Donald George Bradman (August 27, 1908 - February 25, 2001) was an Australian cricket player who is universally regarded as the greatest batsman of all time, and one of Australias greatest popular heroes. ... Alec James Stewart OBE (born 8 April 1963 in Merton, Surrey) is a retired English cricketer, a right-handed batsman-wicketkeeper and former captain of the English cricket team. ...

He joined English county Somerset as captain for part of the 2005 season and scored a century in their notable victory over tourists Australia. Against Leicestershire at Taunton he smashed his maiden first class triple hundred with 311 off just 255 balls. The innings included 11 sixes. He also hit 105 in the Twenty20 Cup, to become one of only 11 players to have hit a century in the Twenty20 era so far. Somerset is a county in the south-west of England. ... The Twenty20 Cup is a cricket competition for English county clubs. ...

Despite receiving much criticism when he was initially chosen to captain South Africa, Smith has matured into a capable Test and ODI captain. His growth in the role was evidenced when he was selected to captain the ICC World XI in the ICC Super Series Test Match between the ICC World XI and Australia in October 2005.

South Africa's tour of Australia, and Australia's subsequent return tour in the 2005/06 season were disappointments for Smith, as they succumbed to a 2-0 defeat in Australia, then a 3-0 whitewash at home. Racial abuse of players in Perth, and media inflamtion of comments between Smith and his Australian counterpart Ricky Ponting overshadowed much of the tour.

Pride was salvaged when Smith led from the front in South Africa's famous win over Australia in an One Day International at Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg, on March 12, 2006. Australia set South Africa a world record 434-4 from 50 overs, which was eclipsed by South Africa who achieved 438-9 with a ball to spare. The match still holds a multitude of records, most significantly the highest successful run chase in a One-Day International. Smith played a vital role in setting up the victory. He scored a blazing 90 runs off only 55 balls and was involved in a second wicket partnership of 187 runs with Herschelle Gibbs. He has also had success in partnership with Gibbs in Test cricket, sharing stands of over 300 with him three times. They are the only pair in Test cricket to have done this. A One-day International (ODI) cricket match is a one-day cricket match played between two international teams each representing a particular country. ... Wanderers Stadium is a stadium situated just south of Sandton in Illovo, Johannesburg, Gauteng Province, South Africa. ... March 12 is the 71st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (72nd in leap years). ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Herschelle Herman Gibbs (born 23 February 1974 in Cape Town) is a South African cricketer, more specifically a batsman. ...

On the 3rd of January 2007 against India at Cape Town, Smith brought up his 4000th Test run. He is the second youngest player in Test history to reach the milestone at 25 years and 336 days behind Sachin Tendulkar (24 years and 224 days). [2]. Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar   (Marathi: सचिन तेंडुलकर; born 24 April 1973) is a current Indian cricketer who was rated by Wisden (2002) as the second greatest Test batsman ever[1] after Sir Don Bradman. ...

In the 1st ODI against Pakistan on the 4th of February, Smith hit an over of Naved-ul-Hasan for 27 runs and became the first player in ODI history to hit 6 fours off an over.[3] Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (b. ...

As captain he led the South African cricket team to 17 consecutive undefeated matches in One Day Internationals in 2005. In early 2007 Smith's South Africans replaced Australia on top of the offical ICC rankings for ODI cricket, although they have since reverted to second after mixed results in the 2007 ICC World Cup thus far.

In the 2007 World Cup he started the tournament with 4 successive 50's, a feat never before achieved by a captain[4].

Personality and Controversies

Smith has earned a reputation as a hard-edged cricketer with a penchant for stating his mind and a tendency towards arrogance. Smith was once accused by West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo of racial abuse, but was cleared of those allegations. He has, however, been on the receiving end of fines from the International Cricket Council for various infringements. Dwayne James John Bravo (born October 7, 1983 in Trinidad and Tobago) is a West Indian cricketer. ... ICC logo The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the governing body for international Test match and One-day International cricket. ...

He has a frosty relationship with Australian players as has levelled accusations of arrogance and "over sledging" their opposition, especially himself, in the past. Despite this, Smith and the Australian players have a mutual respect for each other, in the knowledge that they are all fierce competitors with a "win at all cost" attitude.

He is also at loggerheads with former South African, now English star batsman Kevin Pietersen. Smith, who is forever passionate about supporting his nation, brands Pietersen a traitor for abandoning his native country. Pietersen is a staunch critique of South African cricket over it's "racist" selection policies, hence often resulting in constant sledging between the two fiery cricketers.

External links

• Cricinfo profile

	South Africa squad - 2007 Cricket World Cup
1 Bosman | 2 Boucher | 3 De Villiers | 4 Gibbs | 5 Hall | 6 Kallis | 7 Kemp | 8 Langeveldt | 9 Nel | 10 Ntini | 11 Peterson | 12 Pollock | 13 Prince | 14 Smith | 15 Telemachus | Coach: Arthur Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... The South African cricket team, also known as The Proteas, is a national cricket team representing South Africa. ... The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup is a mens cricket tournament currently taking place in the West Indies, using the sports one-day international format; it started on 13 March and will run to 28 April 2007. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_South_Africa. ... Lungile Loots Bosman (born 14 April 1977 in Kimberley, Cape Province) is a South African cricketer. ... Mark Verdon Boucher (born December 3, 1976 in East London, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa) is a South African cricketer. ... Abraham Benjamin de Villiers (b. ... Herschelle Herman Gibbs (born 23 February 1974 in Cape Town) is a South African cricketer, more specifically a batsman. ... Andrew James Hall (born July 31, 1975, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa) is a South African cricketer and member of the South African cricket team since 1999. ... Jacques Henry Kallis (born 16 October 1975 in Cape Town) is a South African cricketer. ... Justin Miles Kemp (born 2 October 1977, Queenstown, Cape Province, South Africa) is a South African cricketer who has played Test and ODI cricket for South Africa since the 2000–01 season. ... Charl Langeveldt is a South African ODI (One Day International) and Test cricketer. ... Andre Nel (born 15 July 1977, Germiston, Transvaal) is a South African cricketer who has played 15 Tests and 43 ODIs as a fast bowler. ... Makhaya Ntini (born 6 July 1977 in Eastern Cape Province) is a South African cricketer, the first black player to play for the South African team. ... Robin John Peterson (b. ... Shaun Maclean Pollock (born July 16, 1973 in Port Elizabeth) is a South African bowling all-rounder. ... Ashwell Gavin Prince (born May 28, 1977, Port Elizabeth, Cape Province) is a cricketer who plays Test and One-day International cricket for South Africa. ... Roger Telemachus (b. ... John Michael (Mickey) Arthur is the current coach of the South African National Cricket team. ...