South Africa's Graeme Smith to retire from international cricket

Cape Town South African Graeme Smith international crickets longestserving captain sprang a shock on Monday as he announced he would retire from all international cricket after the current third Test against Australia at NewlandsThe 33yearold whose longtime teammate Jacques Kallis retired from test cricket in December though he wants to remain part of the one day side had said only on Friday that he still had things to achieve in international cricketGraeme Smith Pic AFPHowever after another batting failure in the present series he made just five in the first innings on Monday he decided it was time to call it a day and told his teammates of his decisionThis has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my lifeIts a decision that I have been considering since my ankle surgery in April last yearI have a young family to consider and I felt that retiring at Newlands would be the best way to end it because I have called this place home since I was 18 years oldSmith captained South Africa in 108 Test matches including the present match over 11 yearsHe also captained a World XI against Australia in Sydney in 2005 His total of 109 Test captaincies is 16 more than the previous record held by Allan Border of AustraliaHe has captained South Africa to 53 wins beating Australian Ricky Pontings record of 48 wins as a Test captain Under his leadership South Africa lost 27 matches and drew 27 excluding the current TestHis shock announcement came after he told journalists at his preTest press conference on Friday he had no plans to retireThere are still things I want to achieve in the game said Smith who when he first led the side against Bangladesh in 2003 was the third youngest captain in Test historyUnder his leadership South Africa rose to become the number one team in Test cricketIn 38 series of two matches or more he has had 22 series wins and seven losses with nine drawnSouth Africa have not been beaten in a series since Australia beat them in 200809 although they are in danger of defeat in the current third Test in a series which is tied at oneallHis record includes two away series wins against both England and Australia a feat achieved by no other captainBy his own admission it took time for him to mature as captain after being one of the youngest players in the squad when he was appointedWhen he was offered the captaincy his father Graham tried to dissuade him arguing that he would be better qualified for the job when he had gained more experienceSmith though had no hesitation in acceptingI had wanted the job since I was 13 and I honestly believed I could do it he said soon after his appointmentIts been an incredibly special ride he said last season on the eve of his 100th test as captainIt hasnt always been easy There have been some incredibly tough times Ive had to grow to come through those times and to start to enjoy success and to feel comfortable in the position and in myselfSmith said it had been a privilege to lead his country for so longI have always been someone who has left everything out there on the field for my team and for my countryCricket South Africa chief executive Haroon Lorgat said he had been surprised by the decisionAlthough Graemes decision to retire from all forms of international cricket comes as a surprise to all of us we must respect him for deciding to call timeI would like us to remember Graeme for his nerves of steel and his matchwinning performances that were synonymous with some of the most remarkable fourth innings victory chases of all timeSmith captained South Africa in 149 oneday internationals before relinquishing the role in 2010 South Africa won 92 matches under his leadership with 51 losses one tie and five noresultsHe also captained South Africa in 27 Twenty20 internationals winning 18 and losing nineAs a determined lefthanded opening batsman Smith has scored 9262 runs in 117 Tests at an average of 4849 with a second innings against Australia to comeIn 347 international matches across all formats he scored 17228 runs