Former South African skipper, Graeme Smith has secured a new job for himself. The 38-year-old has been appointed as the Director of Cricket of Cricket South Africa (CSA) for three months until March 2020. The veteran left-hander has prior commitments to the Indian T20 League and will not be continuing in his role post March, as of now.
Smith has captained South Africa in 108 of his 116 Tests and has won a whopping 53 of them while losing 28. His appointment as the Director has been welcomed by the critics and seen as a breath of fresh air given their difficulties in handling the relationship with their players.
Graeme Smith is officially SA's first Director of Cricket! He has only signed a 3-month contract due to a previous commentary contract for the IPL next year. But this is fantastic news! #cricket #ProteaFire #SAvENG pic.twitter.com/Vry1lj0nKH
— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) December 11, 2019
The 38-year-old’s appointment came on the back of controversies that saw Chief Executive, Thabang Moroe being suspended due to the charges of misconduct brought against him.
“I've publicly stated a number of times that I would love to assist CSA in this difficult time, particularly in developing this new role of director of cricket. I'm still as passionate about South African cricket as I ever was and I'm looking forward to getting stuck into the role.” Being an ex-player himself, Smith is expected to ease the woes and help stabilize the position of the board with the players.
“There is a lot of work to be done in the next few weeks and months and my objective will always be to make a positive impact during my tenure.”
Smith’s comments after his appointment denote a clear intent of change that the former skipper is expected to bring in his short stint for the next three months.
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South Africa will be taking the field after a span of almost two months when they host England in a four-match Test series. Smith’s biggest concern will be bringing the team on track after their last outing against India away from home fell flat on their face.
Most of the South African players are currently playing in the Mzansi Super League (MSL) and it will take immense efforts to get them in shape for the series against England starting December 26.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter/ Cricket South Africa
