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Love him or hate him - we give you Graeme Smith

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Andrew Hughes looks at the fortunes of the latest man to drink from the poisoned chalice that is the South African captaincy - Graeme Smith

The captaincy of the Australian cricket team is handed on like a prized heirloom, with due ceremony and decorum. But for most Test teams, the change from one captain to another reflects a period of prolonged failure, behind the scenes upheaval or perhaps an alleged dalliance with a barmaid.

South Africa's captaincy changes have been particularly traumatic. No one expected that Shaun Pollock would ever inherit the captaincy but all that changed when Hanse Cronje made his 3:00 am call to Ali Bacher back in 2000. Cronje was, in addition to being addicted to money, a powerful presence, an inspirational leader of men who inspired devotion in his teammates.

Pollock was a safe pair of hands, chosen to steer South African cricket through the wreckage of the post King commission world, a task he took on with dignity. When Pollock was sacked after the 2003 World Cup debacle, 22-year-old Graeme Smith was plucked from the ranks. Though he had captained at every level from under 12s upwards, he was still considered by most pundits to be too young. He had to deal with these doubters, with the task of rebuilding a team without many of its old stars, such as Donald, Kirsten and Rhodes, at the same time as learning to be a Test match batsman.

But in his early months, he handled all of that phenomenally well. A better batsman than Cronje ever was, he notched two double centuries on his first tour, to England in 2003. Not an inspirational man manager like Cronje nor a respected experienced hand like Pollock, he led from the front and his determined and aggressive leadership as well as his powerful batting almost demanded respect.

But such a strong start gave rise to even higher expectations, expectations that Smith has not been able to fulfil. It is true that he has been hampered by the ludicrous selection system, under which his team is chosen for him. Most captains would struggle to deal with that but he has soldiered on, despite his frustrations. He has also had fewer world-class players to call upon than his predecessors.

However, he has also had his flaws as captain. As time went on, that aggression too often boiled over into ill discipline. And though he has earned a lot of respect amongst many of his teammates, he has not always been a naturally inclusive captain, a problem exacerbated by the fact that he had no say over the players he was asked to lead. There was talk of cliques at the last World Cup and of a drinking problem in the squad. And there has been persistent criticism that his tactical approach has lacked subtlety and flexibility, both in the World Cup and the Twenty20 World Championships.

Ultimately, he has failed to achieve either a Test series victory against Australia or a major one-day trophy, the two things that would set him above his predecessors. I still expect him to see out his current contract till the spring of 2009, a period that includes two series against the Aussies. A win against the old enemy would be a fitting way to bow out.

In the meantime, he will be looking for revenge when South Africa take on West Indies in the 2nd T20 match at Johannesburg on Friday. The current odds of [1.4] suggest that they are strong favourites, but I think that the [3.35] available about the West Indies is too high in a format that is dangerously unpredictable, particularly when you remember that this is the ground where Chris Gayle battered the South Africans into submission in the opening game of last year's World Championship.

There are other markets available too. For example, you can have [40.0] about a tied match; a good price when you consider that there have already been two ties in only fifty of these matches. And if you fancy a flutter on the number of sixes, you should know that in fourteen Twenty20 matches at this ground, the average number of sixes per game is over ten. Nine sixes or more is currently available at [1.26].

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