Smith ruled out of Sri Lanka tour

Ashwell Prince will be South Africa's first black captain © Getty Images

Graeme Smith has been ruled out of South Africa's tour of Sri Lanka meaning that Ashwell Prince will become the country's first coloured captain. Smith tore ligaments in his right ankle when he slipped while running on Saturday in Knysna and could be out of action for up to 12 weeks.

After an X-ray and a scan as well as a consultation with the team physiotherapist Shane Jabaar, Smith was diagnosed with two torn ligaments. He under underwent surgery on Tuesday, at a Pretoria hospital, to repair the damage and

"The stress X-ray conducted by an ankle specialist in Pretoria confirmed that Graeme had torn two ligaments on the lateral side of his ankle," said Shane Jabaar, South Africa's physiotherapist. "He will wear a cast for a period of six weeks. Graeme will be out for a period of eight to twelve weeks depending on rehabilitation."

Haroon Lorgat, the convenor of selections, said Prince will lead South Africa in the two-Test series with the one-day squad and captain being named after the first Test and Lorgat admitted: "This is surely not an ideal way to start our season, but if we are to experience any misfortune during this year, I would rather have it now than later."

Jacques Rudolph, who had a successful tour of Sri Lanka with the A team last year and was surprisingly omitted from the original squad, has been named as the replacement for Smith. South Africa were already without Jacques Kallis for the tour after he underwent surgery on his tennis elbow problem.