Smith's off-field problems take centre stage

Minki van der Westhuizen: under the spotlight © Getty Images

It's been a bad few days for Graeme Smith. While England have moved towards a series victory over South Africa, Smith's private life has been dominating many of the county's gossip columns where it is reported that his relationshiop with his high-profile girlfriend Minki van der Westhuizen is in trouble.

So rife was the speculation that van der Westhuizen's spokesman was forced to issue an official announcement denying the stories, while admitting the relationship had its problems. "This is very normal and natural in most relationships," the spokesman said. "The only difference being that with a high-profile relationship such as theirs, the details usually end up in the press. This often doesn't afford them the luxury of being able to approach normal relationship challenges as couples who are not in the spotlight would."

The spokesman then admitted that a split - by the usual mutual consent - had been on the cards but that the pair had "agreed to try to work through their difficulties without necessarily ending their relationship."

The rumours started when Smith admitted on a national radio show that he was no longer seeing van der Westhuizen, but by the end of the next day the rift had been patched up if not healed.