Graeme Smith’s century on the fourth day in Perthsent a louder message to Australia than any amount of verbal banter

Brydon Coverdale in Perth20-Dec-2008
The calmer version 2.0 of Graeme Smith © Getty Images
Graeme Smith entered the series quiet, confident and keen to let histeam’s cricket do the talking. His century on the fourth day in Perthsent a louder message to Australia than any amount of verbal banterand despite Australia’s efforts to make a noisy reply with latewickets, Smith’s 108 made a near-record target seem almost manageable.During the past year Smith has built a reputation as a leader whostands up at the big moments. At Lord’s, when South Africa werefollowing-on, his 107 ensured that they escaped with a draw and a brilliantunbeaten 154 at Edgbaston helped them reach their target of 281. It was an innings of sheer class and one that he declared his greatest ever, as it secured South Africa’s first series win in England for 43 years.Their record against Australia is similarly poor. They have not beatenthem in a series since 1969-70 and have never managed the task inAustralia. So when Smith calmly constructed a century at the WACA itgave hope to the South African fans that maybe, just maybe, anotherchapter in their cricketing history was about to be rewritten. But asgood as England can be they are a less daunting opponent thanAustralia at home and 414 is an altogether more frightening targetthan 281.When Smith and Hashim Amla both departed in the final session it leftSouth Africa needing to complete the second-highest chase of all timewithout their key men. They would also have to significantly eclipsetheir previous best chase of 335 against Australia in Durban in2001-02. Smith at least gave them early hope.His talent has been apparent to Australians since he made 68 againstthem on his Test debut at Cape Town in 2002 at the age of 21. Since that day Smith had powered through Test attacks the world over and led his No. 2-ranked side so well that they have not lost a series in twoyears but he had not managed another half-century against Australia.Now Australia have seen two Graeme Smiths visit their shores for Testtours. Version 1.0, released in 2005-06, made a lot of noise, didn’t do what it promised and had a tendency to crash the system. Theupdated edition, Version 2.0, has been nearly three years indevelopment. Like most upgrades it is quieter and smoother, sturdierand longer-lasting.”There was a period for maybe a year I went through one or twotechnical challenges,” Smith said. “More mentally than anything else I think the captaincy in terms of touring big nations at that age, trying to guide a team in the right direction, all those things were on my shoulders.”Growing up, settling down and just mentally being more calm and focused in what I wanted to achieve was certainly a big thing for me. I think I’m much more calm at the crease and focused on what I want to do each ball and to each bowler. It makes a big change for me from the last time I played here.”The coolness was evident when Smith walked to the crease today. He isthe type of batsman who can dominate an attack or can defend as thesituation demands. His task was made more difficult by the clevercaptaincy of Ricky Ponting, who placed Andrew Symonds at shortmidwicket, where Smith likes to pick off runs early in his innings.But Smith was patient. He waited for opportunities, drove straightwhen he could and after going to tea on 34 from 64 balls, he began toopen up.When his century came with a pair of boundaries cut off MitchellJohnson, his celebrations were muted. There were a couple of quick bat-raises and the sort of restrained smile usually reserved for people conscious of their bad teeth, and Smith was back at the crease, determined to bat through the day.It didn’t happen and the loss of Smith and Amla has left the match in the balance. But for a man who has experienced such success around the globe yet such disappointment against Australia, it was a day that confirmed his growth. South Africa might win the match or they may not but at least Smith has ensured they have sent the world’s No. 1 team amessage that cannot be ignored.