South Africa's zephyr of hope

Graeme Smith clearly isn't a believer in the old adage that the meek shall inherit the Earth. From the moment he arrived on the scene, to the accompaniment of polite barbs from the Australians, Smith's approach to adversity has bordered on the contemptuous. Trapped between a rock and a hard place, lesser men bemoan their fate. Smith's responses to such tight squeezes, by contrast, has been as sharp as his jaw line.

Graeme Smith - Wisden's young cricketer of the year © AFP

Never was that better illustrated than in January, a few days after being informed that his services wouldn't be required by South Africa's World Cup squad. Smith, in tandem with Herschelle Gibbs, set Newlands alight with an opening partnership of 368 - at more than five an over - against Pakistan. Smith's contribution was 151 from 216 balls, a subtle thumbed-nose to selectors who doubted his limited-over credentials. Sure enough, when Jonty Rhodes dropped out of the squad early on in the tournament, it was Smith they turned to, though his contributions weren't enough to prevent the World Cup hosts leaving their own party early.

After such a debacle, a clearout was inevitable, but Smith's appointment as captain - aged 22 years and 82 days, he was the third-youngest in history after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Waqar Younis - sent ripples of shock through the South African cricket fraternity. One of the first to feel the sting of the new whip was Lance Klusener, whose laid-back approach found no favour with the new regime. With the critics waiting to pounce, Smith took his squad to Bangladesh and won the Test series with ease.

The team left for England, without Klusener and with Bob Woolmer's impassioned defence resounding across the world - "Graeme Smith has not been playing long enough and after five Tests has no right to criticise someone whose track record for South Africa is so good." When they got there, they found an England side that clearly fancied their chances. Nasser Hussain spoke of South Africa being there for the taking, while Smith just gritted his teeth and got on with his preparations.

It was on the opening day of the series at Edgbaston that the riposte was delivered, one so stunning that it ultimately led to Hussain relinquishing the captaincy reins. Smith smacked the wayward England bowlers all across the park as South Africa closed on 398-1. Smith finished with a magnificent 277, but rain restricted the push for victory. But there would be no denying him, or South Africa, a week later at Lord's. This time, Smith's contribution was an equally imposing 259 as South Africa romped to an innings win. Further success came their way at Headingley, as an ebb-and-flow series was drawn 2-2. Though the runs dried up thereafter, Smith still ended the season with a remarkable return of 1200 runs at 75, inclusive of three double-hundreds.

He didn't have the same galvanizing effect on the one-day side, thumped by England in the NatWest Trophy final, and despite having scored 898 runs during the season at 35.92, a first limited-overs hundred has remained tantalisingly out of reach. But his sheer bloody-mindedness should ensure that the aberration is corrected sooner rather than later.

Smith's greatest contribution though has come off the field. In the space of a few months, he has managed to drag the team - and certain team-mates prone to eulogising the dead man - out of the giant shadow cast by Hansie Cronje. Smith's emphatic refusal to join the Cronje Admiration Society was a slap in the face for the pathetic apologists who would rather have South African cricket looking on darkness, and his dynamic combination with Makhaya Ntini at Lord's offered a small glimpse of a brighter future. Few in the history of the game have achieved so much while so young.