Graeme Smith and South Africa – Going the distance to come full circle!”

Aug 26, 2012 Sports

---

 

Colin E. H. Croft

Amazingly, by beating England in the recent 3-Test cricket series, South Africa has completed the circle!  That ensured that the “Proteas”, as they are known, replacing the old “Springboks”, are rated No. 1 in Test cricket.  What a truly unbelievably, massive effort, given limited time-span!
It was only 20 year ago, 1991/2, that South Africa re-surfaced from isolation in world sports, restarting its emergence as a sporting entity.  SA’s sports were never dead, far from it, but now, it is so very alive!

SA’s swimming results from London Olympics 2012 surprised many, even if especially two swimming gold medals; 100m breaststroke, won by Cameron van der Burgh, and Chad le Clos, edging USA’s hero Michael Phelps, in 200m butterfly; could be expected.  After all, South Africa has magnificent beaches!
Totally unexpected, though, was that they also won at such diverse events as rowing, which, like equestrian, has always been thought of as being upper class, not for ‘blue collar’ athletes.
South Africa’s rowing men’s lightweight four; James Thompson, Matthew Brittain, John Smith and especially lone black man in that crew, Sizwe Ndlovu; broke barriers – racial, class, even economical – to emerge ahead of more recognized and experienced Great Britain and Denmark!
Even now, experiencing rugby in South Africa, as I have many times, in especially old Boer strongholds – Pretoria or Eastern Provinces – is something to behold, with 120,000 verging on delirium, especially if South Africa should beat England, New Zealand, or great nemesis, Australia.
Having played for victorious West Indies, circa 1970/80’s, at Queens Park Oval, with, back then, nearly 35,000 absolutely vociferous patrons, or Melbourne Cricket Ground, with 100,000 people shouting “kill” to Australian players, v West Indies, I know how crowds can make sportsmen sweat really hard.
Nothing can duplicate SA’s rugby euphoria, depicted in director Clint Eastwood’s epic, “Invictus”, with Morgan Freeman as “Madiba” – Nelson Mandela, Matt Damon as SA’s captain, Francois Pienaar, and Mc Neil Hendriks, who gave a performance of a lifetime, as Chester Williams, only black player on that South African ‘Springboks’ rugby team, that, extremely unexpectedly, won 1995’s Rugby World Cup.
As Variety’s film critic Todd Mc Carthy wrote:  ‘Inspirational on the face of it, Clint Eastwood’s film has a predictable trajectory, but every scene brims with surprising details that accumulate into a rich fabric of history, cultural impressions and emotion.’  Somehow, that also describes our own “Fire in Babylon!”
Most of us grew up hearing wonders about South Africa’s massive 1960’s cricket team.  Peter and Graeme Pollock, Ali Bacher, Trevor Goddard, Lee Irvine, Eddie Barlow, Mike Proctor, Barry Richards, all of whom I have met or played against, plowed the way for the new, successful, determined South Africa.
That country’s continuing cricket direction, on the field, at least, comes from one man now; one man only; Graeme “Biff” Craig Smith.  Aged 31, he has shepherded his country’s players with a strength that probably comes from his own inspirations by Madiba.  “Biff” has fully been “The Colossus of Transvaal!”
Smith was just 11 when South African came back to real international cricketing involvement, so his memories would be very fresh and poignant.  By Test debut, at 21, v Australia 2002, Cape Town, under the unfortunate Mark Boucher’s captaincy, everyone recognized that a born leader had arrived!
After that diabolically undermining Hanse Cronje case, with SA’s incumbent captain being found guilty of match fixing, then with SA’s, led by Shaun Pollock, inability to make even the semi-finals while hosting ICC Word Cup 2003, governing Cricket South Africa decided that a pertinent change was very necessary.
That change was to give Graeme Smith overall team captaincy, aged only 22, by May 2003.  It showed that maturity which has emphasized South Africa’s approach to becoming No. 1 in the real cricket world!
Gary Kirsten, who has taken his own circle to be the present victorious coach, having done the same for India, one of the best all-rounders who ever lived, Jacques Kallis, Mark Boucher, Sean Pollock and even Allan Donald, with their extensive experiences and age differential, could have pouted.  They did not!
Instead, all, and those who came afterwards too, from Makhaya Ntini and Herschell Gibbs, to the likes of J.P. Duminy, Hashim Amla, Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and AB De Villiers, have bought into the steadfastness and steel of Graeme Smith, the fully acknowledged leader of this pack!
That Smith has led from the front is an understatement.  He gives no quarter and asks none.  He is not political but so focused that it is very difficult to even try to undermine that visage of success and hope.
Smith has a tremendous record as an opening batsman:  102 Tests, 8314 runs, average 49.78.  He also has 182 ODI’s 6598 runs, average 39.04; and 33 T-2-I’s, 982 runs, average 31.67.
Those are tremendous statistics, especially for one who has to endure pitches, first, everywhere world-wide!
Test’s No. 1 team must endeavor, immediately, to win the one accolade that has eluded them thus far; to win a major world championship competition.  Now must be the time for Graeme Smith.  Enjoy!

---

---