Breaking News: Graeme Smith steps down as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757’s T20 captain; Villiers likely successor
Graeme Smith has shocked the cricket world after he decided to quit as the South Africa’s T20 captain. He has also hinted on giving up the ODI captaincy after 2011 World Cup. However, Smith has decided to stay as Test captain and will be open for selection in any format of cricket.
Smith was elevated to the position of captaincy after the 2003 World Cup when Shaun Pollack was removed on account of South Africa’s dismal performance on the home soil. Since then, Smith has been leading the South Africans in all formats. Announcing his decision during a press conference in Johannesburg, he said, “There are several reasons why I have made this important career decision. I am going into my ninth season of international cricket - eight of which have been as captain. It is my intention to play for yet another five or six years and I know in my heart that I can only do that if I give up some of my current responsibilities.”
Smith led South Africa in 2007 World Cup held at the Caribbean and in also three T20 World championships. Despite his strong leadership, South Africa failed to win either of these tournaments however it reached the semi-final stages twice. In the last edition of T20, South Africa’s performance proved to be pathetic as it finished at the bottom of the Super Eights stage. It seems as if the pressure of filling the empty trophy cabinet and his team’s successive failures on the global stage led Smith to make such a decision. He had fuelled the speculations regarding his future when he posted on his July 20’s Twitter: “Captaining South Africa is an honor and a privilege! And I'm so lucky to have had this opportunity. Thank you all for your support.”
This year Smith was plagued by injuries as he was able to play only the Caribbean series completely. A string of arm and hand injuries made him miss matches during both the Indian and Australian tours while in his absence, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Johan-Botha-c67173 assumed the responsibilities of captaincy. Commenting on his prolonged absence from the team, Smith said, “My leadership style was to create an environment where the team could perform without me. There was never any problem when I returned. All the players were decent to me and I just gelled back into captaincy.”
Smith believes that there are a number of players in the South African squad who have leadership qualities and who can assume the responsibilities of captaincy for shorter versions of the game. He also believes that his timing for leaving the ODI captaincy is perfect as it will give the team administration enough time to select a new ODI skipper. He said, "It’s absolutely vital that we maintain continuity in a World Cup season and this major competition also concludes the current cycle of limited over’s cricket. I also feel that making the announcement now will provide the time and development necessary to ensure a smooth transition.”
The most likely successors of Smith could be http://www.senore.com/Cricket/AB-de-Villiers-c887 in T20s while Botha in ODIs. Smith refused to tell who he think will be the best option for South Africa but insisted that he will be more than willing to work with whoever was named the new captain. He is also hoping to repeat the trend set by his predecessor Pollack who played under Smith when he was removed from captaincy. Smith even insisted on guiding the new captain if he ever asked.
This will not be the first time that Smith will be playing under someone else. In IPL, he played under Shane Warne for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Rajasthan-c837 Royals. Both of them combined to give the Royals a championship success during the IPL’s inaugural season. It is unlikely that Smith’s stepping down at the national level will have any effect on his role at the cash-rich IPL and he is expected to play for the same Royals during the upcoming seasons.
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