Smith surpasses Cronje’s captaincy record

JOHANNESBURG - Graeme Smith Saturday surpassed late Hansie Cronje’s record of leading South Africa in most number of One-day Internationals.

Smith achieved the record when he led the side for the 139th time in the second of the five ODIs against India here.

“Smiths achievement is outstanding, especially when it is taken into account that he became captain at the age of 21, only after one full season in international cricket,” said CSA CEO Gerald Majola.

“Graeme has more than justified CSAs faith in his leadership qualities when he was appointed at such a young age, and since then he has grown considerably in stature both as a player and as a captain.

Smith made his ODI captaincy debut against India at Dhaka in 2003.

“It is most fitting that he achieves this extraordinary South African captaincy record against India eight years later.

“He has an ODI average of over 40 and a Test average of over 50, which is remarkable because he has done this on top of being captain in both forms of the game and he has not yet reached 30 years of age.

Majola feels it will be fitting if South Africa wins the World Cup under Smith’s captaincy.

“He has been an essential part of the process that has moulded the Proteas into a formidable unit, and the cherry on the top of his captaincy would certainly be bringing the ICC World Cup,” he said.