Graeme Smith - file photo
ESPNCricinfo is reporting that Graeme Smith, South Africa's and cricket's longest serving captain, has announced he will retire from international cricket at the conclusion of the final Test against Australia in Cape Town.
Smith, 33, is playing his 117th Test match - 110 of which have been as captain - and revealed the news to his team-mates after the third day's play at Newlands. He said finishing on his home ground felt like the perfect ending and that it was something he had been considering since ankle surgery last year.
In the current series, with one innings remaining, Smith has made just 42 runs and has been troubled especially by Mitchell Johnson. He has not scored a half-century for eight innings and if South Africa lose against Australia it will be their first series loss since 2008-09
"This has been the most difficult decision I have ever had to make in my life," he said. "It's a decision that I have been considering since my ankle surgery in April last year. I have a young family to consider, and I felt that retiring at Newlands would be the best way to end it because I have called this place home since I was 18 years-old.
Smith's retirement comes shortly after that of Jacques Kallis who quit Test cricket at the end of last year. Kallis will keep playing one day internationals, however, at least until the next ODI World Cup.
In his 116 test matches, Smith has scored 9257 runs, including 27 centuries and 38 half centuries, with a higest score of 277 and a batting average of 48.72.
He played 197 ODIs, scoring 6989 runs at an average of 37.98, registering 10 hundreds and 47 half-centuries.
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