Graeme Smith

Country: South Africa
Date of Birth: February 1, 1981
Place of Birth: Johannesburg, Transvaal
Batting Style: Left Handed
Bowling Style: Off break
Skill: Batsman
Teams Played: Africa XI, ICC World XI, Rajasthan Royals, South Africa

Batting Performance

	M	Inn	No	Runs	HS	100s	50s	Avg	SR
Tests	86	151	9	7170	277	21	28	50.49	60.07
ODI	154	152	9	5732	141	8	41	40.08	82.88
T20s	27	27	2	803	89*	0	4	32.12	127.46
IPL	25	25	3	697	91	0	4	31.68	112.97

Bowling & Fielding Performance

	M	Overs	Runs	Mdns	Wkts	Avg	Best	Econ
Tests	86	220.2	805	29	8	100.63	2/145	3.66
ODI	154	171	951	0	18	52.83	3/30	5.56
T20s	27	4	57	0	0	57	0/16	14.25
IPL	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	--

Career Performance

	First Match	Last Match
Tests	March 8, 2002 v Australia at Newlands, Cape Town	June 26, 2010 v West Indies at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown - Barbados
ODIs	March 30, 2002 v Australia at OUTsurance Oval, Bloemfontein	June 3, 2010 v West Indies at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain - Trinidad
T20s	October 21, 2005 v New Zealand at New Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg	May 20, 2010 v West Indies at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, St Peter's, Antigua
IPL	April 24, 2008 v Deccan Chargers at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad	March 15, 2010 v Delhi Daredevils at Sardar Patel Gujarat Stadium, Motera - Ahmedabad

Profile

Graeme Smith made his Test debut for South Africa against Australia in Cape Town in 2002. Batting at number three, the left-hander scored his first half-century in the second innings of the match. Soon he established himself as a prolific run scorer and as an occasional handy off spin bowler.

His ability to dominate the opposition bowlers is well-known. During the tour of England in 2003, Smith scored double centuries consecutively, 277 runs at Edgbaston and 259 at Lord’s. In an ODI against Pakistan, Smith hit 6 fours off an over. The tall southpaw has earned the admiration from all quarters for setting up colossal partnerships with his teammates especially with Herschelle Gibbs. At the youthful age of 22, Smith replaced Shaun Pollock as the captain of South Africa following the unsuccessful World Cup campaign in 2003. Until then, he had very few Tests and ODIs to his credit. His initial stint of captaincy was not exactly superior. In 2004, the South African side lost to India and Sri Lanka in Test series.

In an unforgettable match, Smith captained his side to win against Australia in an ODI in 2006 where the Proteas chased down a mammoth target of 434 with a ball to spare. Smith scored 90 off 55 balls in this match. At his first World Cup in 2007, Smith led his team to the semifinals. Though they were defeated by the Cup favourites Australia in the crucial tie, Smith had scored consistently throughout the tournament amassing 443 runs.

With time, Smith has honed and proved his leadership skills. His accolades include being named Wisden Cricketer of the Year 2004.