ICC Hall of Fame

At 22, when most international cricketers are vying for a place in the XI, Graeme Smith was tasked with lifting South Africa’s fortunes after the loss of big-name players like Allan Donald, Jonty Rhodes and Daryll Cullinan.

After the captaincy challenge was hurled at Smith in 2003, making him the youngest-ever South African to lead the Men’s side, the left-handed opener took to the task of reversing South Africa’s downturns with a fervour. The batter smashed back-to-back double hundreds (277 and 259) against England in just his 11th and 12th Tests in the same year, which saw Smith being included in the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year in 2005.

The Proteas’ grit and courage were, however, best in show Down Under, when they handed Australia their first-ever home Test series defeat since the 1992/93. Smith marshalled the troops with aplomb while also smashing a match-winning hundred at the WACA and scoring fighting twin 50s in Melbourne. Smith had a year to remember, finding a place in the ICC Men’s Test Team of the Year and scoring 1656 runs in 2008, the fourth-most by any Men’s player in a calendar year.

His captaincy exploits were matched by his batting brilliance, and the left-hander ended with the most wins as a Test captain (53) while also finishing with 17,236 runs in international cricket.