Graeme Smith

This article is about the South African cricketer. For other persons, see Graeme Smith (disambiguation).

Graeme Smith
Smith on the field against Somerset in July 2012
Personal information
Full name
Graeme Craig Smith
Born (1981-02-01) 1 February 1981 (age 43)
Johannesburg, Transvaal Province, South Africa
NicknameBiff[1]
Height6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
BattingLeft-handed
BowlingRight arm off break
RoleOpening batsman
International information
National side
Test debut (cap 288)8 March 2002 v Australia
Last Test1 March 2014 v Australia
ODI debut (cap 68)30 March 2002 v Australia
Last ODI27 November 2013 v Pakistan
ODI shirt no.15
T20I debut (cap 12)21 October 2005 v New Zealand
Last T20I16 October 2011 v Australia
T20I shirt no.15
Domestic team information
YearsTeam
1999/2000Gauteng
2000Hampshire
2000/01–2003/04Western Province
2004/05–2014Cape Cobras
2005Somerset
2008–2010Rajasthan Royals
2011Pune Warriors India
2013–2014Surrey
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI T20I FC
Matches 117 197 33 165
Runs scored 9,265 6,989 982 12,916
Batting average 48.25 37.98 31.67 48.73
100s/50s 27/38 10/47 0/5 37/51
Top score 277 141 89* 311
Balls bowled 1,418 1,026 24 1,786
Wickets 8 18 0 11
Bowling average 110.62 52.83 – 102.90
5 wickets in innings 0 0 – 0
10 wickets in match 0 0 – 0
Best bowling 2/145 3/30 – 2/145
Catches/stumpings 169/– 105/– 18/– 241/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 18 May 2014

Graeme Craig Smith (born 1 February 1981) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer who played for South Africa in all formats. In 2003, he was appointed captain of the national team, taking over from Shaun Pollock. He held the position of test captain until his retirement in 2014.[2] At 22, he was appointed as South Africa's youngest ever captain. He was the most capped captain ever when he played his (personally not captained) 102nd test against England. He is considered as one of South Africa's greatest ever captains having led South Africa to a record 54 test victories.

A tall, left-handed opening batsman, Smith is regarded as one of the greatest openers of all time. During South Africa's tour of England in 2003, he made double centuries in consecutive Test matches:[3] 277 at Edgbaston,[4] and 259 at Lord's.[5] His 259 at Lord's still holds the record for being the highest score made by a foreign player at this prestigious venue.[6] On 24 October 2013, Smith became the second South African and 12th overall to complete 9,000 runs in test cricket in his 112th test match.[7][8][9] His highest score in ODI cricket which was his 141 he made against England in the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy is also the highest score made by a South African at any tournaments.

Known for the success of his opening partnership with Herschelle Gibbs, South Africa's most prolific ever opening partnership, Smith has the distinction of having been part of all four of South Africa's opening partnerships of over 300 runs:[10] in three of them he was partnered by Gibbs, and in 2008 Smith added 415 for the first wicket with Neil McKenzie against Bangladesh, a world record opening partnership. On 3 March 2014, during the third Test against Australia, he announced his retirement from international cricket.[11]

He was also the overseas player and captain of the English side Surrey. He appeared in his 100th Test against England on 19 July 2012. He captained his 100th career Test match on 1 February 2013, against Pakistan, on his 32nd birthday. He's the only player to captain a side in 100 Tests.[12]

On September 9, 2022, Smith and Kallis announced partnerships with MCW as official ambassadors for cricket.[13]

Most recently, Graeme Smith has been appointed as the SA20 League Commissioner.

  1. ^ Martin, Paul (5 March 2014). "Graeme Smith retires: Brilliant but peculiar 'Biff' bows out at the right time". The Independent. Retrieved 10 February 2019.
  2. ^ "Fourth-innings hero, and captain extraordinaire".
  3. ^ "Individual Scores of 200 and More in an Innings for South Africa in Test Cricket". CricketArchive. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 14 June 2009.
  4. ^ "Scorecard". CricketArchive. 16 April 2008.
  5. ^ "Scorecard". CricketArchive. 16 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Lord's, London – Test matches". ESPNcricinfo. 16 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Smith scores a double, 9000 and equals Bradman. Cricket News. Pakistan v South Africa". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  8. ^ "Smith joins 9,000-run club, gets SA to 460/4 against Pak". Hindustan Times. 24 October 2013. Archived from the original on 27 November 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  9. ^ Featured Columnist (23 October 2013). "5 Captain's Innings from Graeme Smith". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  10. ^ "South Africa Highest Test Partnerships". ESPNcricinfo. 25 June 2008.
  11. ^ "Graeme Smith announces South Africa retirement". ESPNcricinfo. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Graeme Smith is the only player to captain a team in 100 Tests – Slogover". June 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  13. ^ "MCW Partners with Cricket Superstars Jacques Kallis, Graeme Smith". 9 September 2022. Retrieved 9 September 2022.