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'I was invited to speak at breakfast. Everything I said made headlines next day': Smith recalls taking over SA captaincy
The former South Africa captain recalled being handed the leadership role at the age of 22, and the challenges that came with it.
Graeme Smith is widely regarded as one of South Africa's greatest captains. The left-handed batter is the most successful skipper in the longest format of the game (in terms of wins), having led the Proteas to 53 victories in 109 Tests. He is also the only player to have led a side in more than a hundred Test matches, having captained the side from 2003 to 2014.
Smith was named the captain of the team after the side's dismal campaign in the 2003 World Cup at home, when he was 22. Being named captain at such a young age comes with substantial challenges, and Smith recalled the initial few days after he was named the new skipper of the side.
"I learned very quickly. I got the job and I was invited to speak at a breakfast. Everything I said made headlines the next day. I was like, "okay!" I was driving down the road and suddenly, all my comments were on the billboards and I thought, “Wow, okay. I gotta start getting my stuff together because life is a little bit different now. I've got to consider this stuff,” Smith said as he recalled the captaincy stint on a YouTube video posted by cricket.com.
Smith insisted that it was a challenge to lead the South African team as captain as he was handed a leadership role at a very young age, but had the support from the senior players in the side.
“I kind of learned by trial and error. No one put me on the course, CSA didn't offer me an opportunity to develop. It was kind of, yeah, 22-year-old, take it and jump and let's see how you survive! I think where I was fortunate was that there was no friction. I was really fortunate with the senior players. They were also desperate for a change. They wanted something fresh and new. Post Hansie, there was a lot of stuff that needed to work through, and they (senior players) allowed me to grow and they supported me,” said Smith.
