End of an era as Graeme Smith retires from test cricket
South Africa captain will be missed for his prowess with the bat and his leadership
He was seen as a brash, arrogant and aloof South African but no one can dispute the impact Graeme Smith had on the world stage as he became the most successful captain in test history.
Smith announced his sudden retirement from international cricket on Monday.
It was he who resurrected the team after a match-fixing scandal involving former skipper Hansie Cronje and a disastrous World Cup on home soil in 2003.
Given control of the underperforming and fiercely criticised national team at 22, he went on to play over 100 tests. He was captain for more than a decade and established South Africa as the No 1 test team in the world, although he couldn't end their long wait for a World Cup title.
This has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life
"This has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life," Smith said in a statement via Cricket South Africa.
His decision, just nine weeks after Jacques Kallis quit, will usher in a new era for South African cricket, which now finds itself shorn of experience and potentially in a leadership crisis. The 33-year-old's runs at the top of the order will be missed but so too will his strength of character and grit in adversity.