In 2009 he became the first South African captain to win a series in Australia to achieve the world number one ranking, a feat he achieved twice in his career.
And yet, despite his own narration and highlight reel, he is the architect of a new T20 franchise competition that could give a chronological look to Test cricket in his country.
The SA20, set to launch on January 10 next year, comes at a time when South Africa’s Test future hangs in the balance after the Future Tours program limited the Proteas to just 28 Tests over the next four years.
In comparison, England will play 43, Australia 40 and India 38.
“A lot of traditionalists are scared of how [the competition] will affect world sport,” Smith told a Sunlight coffee shop in Cape Town. “But why can’t South Africa have its own league? Why is it wrong? All the top teams around the world have their own.
“South African cricket now has a seat at the table. World cricket cannot watch South Africa fade away.”
Graeme Smith, officially SA20’s ‘commissioner’, admits that the competition can be viewed through the lens of a culture war.
The global program has never been more limited. Red-ball cricket is on the decline with only a handful of teams having enough resources to stage a series of three matches or more.
Of the three big countries, India, Australia and England, extensive tours lasting several months are now a relic of a bygone era.
“Every nation has to adjust,” Smith says. “Every country is also putting itself first, and that’s understandable. The ICC [International Cricket Council] is essentially an event-organizing organization.
“The pressure on the schedule comes from two sides, first from the ICC event in October and November, and then from the [Indian Premier League] in March to May. It doesn’t leave much time for bilateral tours which won’t provide enough financial stability anyway. does not do.
“It is a changing environment. Franchise cricket is on the rise. But there is no reason why it cannot work with international cricket. Playing for your country will always be the pinnacle, but I firmly believe that if in South African cricket, It doesn’t, they will lose players in other leagues and you will see that South African cricket has disappeared from the map.
“If we don’t invest in our best players, we won’t see them again.”
Back in South Africa, the tournament has raised other concerns. The six city-based teams are all owned and named by IPL franchise owners.
Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan will play for Rajasthan Royals affiliate Paarl Royals, while Reece Topley will turn his hand for Durban’s Super Giants, an off-shoot of the Lucknow-based outfit.
South African businesses and corporations were involved in a bidding war for ownership of the team but were unsuccessful.
Smith revealed, “We had many parameters and the IPL owners were ahead in every respect.” The BBC’s request to see the list was denied.
“What we didn’t want was a scenario where a team couldn’t pay for the best players,” Smith said. “If one team struggled to keep pace the whole thing would fall flat.
“You want to put together a product that is of a standard that has the greatest chance of succeeding.”
In South Africa’s game, success on the pitch comes in many forms. Winning is important, of course, but 28 years after the end of apartheid, the party’s dismantling of racial standards is vital.
All national and domestic teams under the auspices of Cricket South Africa (CSA) must have at least ‘non-white’ players, ‘Black African’ players and those of South-Asian or mixed-race origin.
SA20 is an independent league and is not oriented towards the same selection goals. And at the player’s auction last month, it had an uncomfortable result.
Temba Bavuma, the South African white-ball captain and still the only black African to score a Test century for South Africa, remained unsold. In fact, there were solid reasons for his ouster as he was battling poor form.
No matter the cause, the optics were a concern and raised questions about the tournament’s social impact on the well-being of the sport in the country.
“I was extremely disappointed for Temba and sent him a message of support,” Smith said. “There were other players who remained unsold and of course you feel for them. But there were many who were picked, who now have a platform to showcase their talent.”
Graeme Smith supports the concept of trickle down economics. He points out that every team owner needs to invest in the on-ground development of South African cricket.