A Tale Of Bravery: When Even A Fractured Arm Couldn’t Dent Graeme Smith’s Remarkable Spirit

South Africa has always been one of the most prolific cricket teams in the world because of its masterful players. But post Hansie Kronje’s retirement, their integrity was under question and their performance was constantly deteriorating. During this crunch time, a 22-year-old was handed over the reins to bring back the lost glory. This lad was none other than one of the greatest South African batters of all time, Graeme Smith.

Smith is largely regarded as one of the greatest Test captains ever. Setting a record for most Test appearances as captain, the left-handed batsman has led the Proteas in 109 matches, winning 53 of them.

Even though South Africa had several notable victories under his leadership, the 2-1 Test triumph over the Aussies in the 2008–09 tour stands out because it was South Africa’s first Test series win there.

With the series safely wrapped up in the Proteas’ favour. The contenders moved to the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) for the last Test of the 2008–09 series down under.

Although the final test went to Australia, the match is largely remembered for the South African captain’s display of daring and guts to bring an already dramatic and thrilling series to a close.

In a dead-rubber, while batting in the first innings, the SA skipper received a blow from Mitchell Johnson on his gloves, fracturing his left hand and leaving his elbow sore, forcing him to retire hurt after the Australians scored 445 runs in their first innings

With one fewer player in the lineup, the Proteas could only muster 327 before Australia gave them a 376-run target to chase.

Smith did not come out to open in the second inning because of the fracture in his hand. However, when the visitors lost their ninth wicket, the skipper made a surprise entry into the arena amidst deafening applause from the crowd.

Revisiting the chilling event, Smith recalled, “2009 was just an incredible moment and it wasn’t planned at all. I was packed and ready to go home. I had no playing clothing at the ground. We had won in Australia for the first time ever, it was an incredible time, and we were fighting to save the Test on a deteriorating wicket. I remember looking at the guys in the afternoon, they fought so hard. Makhaya was the last man standing and I was sitting there thinking, ‘he looks kinda lonely!”

“I was thinking, ‘should I? Or should I not?’ My hand was in a cast. I went inside and spoke to Mickey Arthur, he was 100 percent yes (should bat). The physio was 100 percent no (shouldn’t bat). The psychologist stood on the fence, giving me the best of both worlds. Eventually, I committed myself to doing it.”

Though Smith was gutted by the result of the game, the bigger bounty was already won. Amassing 326 runs in the series, Smith was deservingly awarded the Player of the Series award.