Smith named S/African captain

CAPE TOWN: Opening batsman Graeme Smith was confirmed as Shaun Pollock’s successor as South African captain when the United Cricket Board announced a revamped touring squad yesterday.

Pollock was unceremoniously dumped as Proteas skipper on Saturday, when the UCB released a statement saying the 29-year-old allrounder had been “relieved” of the captaincy. “I have spoken to Graeme and I have wished him well. I believe he has a lot of potential and could be a great captain for the country and he will have my full support,” said Pollock. Pollock, a second-generation South African international who replaced disgraced Hansie Cronje as captain in April 2000, had refused to resign, forcing the UCB to fire him. He had been the target of harsh criticism since South Africa’s first-round exit from the World Cup.

Smith will lead a South Africa squad missing four veterans on upcoming tours to Sharjah and Bangladesh. Opener Gary Kirsten, 35, has retired from One-Day international cricket, following the departure of veteran paceman Allan Donald and Jonty Rhodes. Lance Klusener was not considered for the touring squad. Smith, 22, is the youngest skipper in international cricket and the seventh captain of South Africa since their reintroduction in 1991 following the apartheid era. He wasn’t daunted by being among the youngest in the team and being captain. “It is something I enjoy and thrive on and I think it will effect me in a positive way,” Smith said. “Passion, discipline and togetherness is something I want to install into the national team.” He has little experience as a captain in First-Class cricket, although he did lead a South Africa “A” team on a tour of Zimbabwe earlier in the year.

The left-handed opener made his Test debut during the 2-1 series loss to Australia in South Africa last year. Smith wasn’t included in South Africa’s original squad for the World Cup but was drafted in as a replacement for the injured Rhodes. South Africa have risen to No. 1 in the international Test rankings, although former No. 1 Australia have two series in hand. Smith is relatively new in the team and has not yet made a major tour with the Proteas, who are set to tour Sharjah, Bangladesh and England later this year under his leadership. However, in only eight Tests, he has shown himself to be a formidable competitor, averaging 55.09 with two centuries — including a double hundred against Bangladesh — to his credit. In 22 One-Day Internationals, he has an average of 41.14. The South African squad, which leaves March 28 for Sharjah, was announced in Cape Town yesterday.

Squad: Graeme Smith (captain), Paul Adams, Mark Boucher, Allan Dawson, Boeta Dippenaar, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Jacques Kallis, Neil McKenzie, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Jacques Rudolph, Charl Willoughby.