1) 27 centuries, none in a losing cause.
2) only player with 1000+ runs in successful 4th innings run chases.
3) Most wins by a captain.
4) Lead his country for 100 tests.
5) took over after a disappointing 2003 WC and at the age of 22 was expected to rebuild the team and indeed a nations confidence in its cricket team.
6) Most runs scored whilst captaining a team.
7) His critical role in our 438 chase
8) Achieved 2 series win in Australia. ( first time for SA)
9) first team to win a series in Australia since 91/92 ( can't remember exact date)
10) hasn't lost a test series in 5 years
11) hasn't lost a test series away from home since 2006.
None of this would have been achieved without Smith. Just think how many international captains Smith has seen come and go, then you will realise the toll it takes on players. Not everyone is cut out for captaincy, and 99% of people won't last 10 years in the job. This is especially true when you have the internal politics of CSA. Dealing with Quotas, transformation and an expectant public, isn't the easiest thing to do.
His role can't just be defined in numbers, the culture, the backroom, the winning mentality, the leader and the grooming of young players has come through from Smith and the structures that he was critical in setting up. He is integral in the way we have done things for a decade and he has given us many highlights.
In my mind, we would not be where we are without Smith and his influence over the past decade.
1) Hayden has 30 hundreds and only lost 2 games when he scored a hundred. If one of your openers scores a hundred you are very unlikely to lose. It's just a fact.
2) Good stat. But his average is not great so I could turn it around and say that he was putting us under pressure by failing in the first innings.
3) He has also captained 16 games more than any other player. If he didn't have the most wins I would be very surprised. Just for the record, he captained 32 more games than Ponting and only won 5 more games.
4) That just means SA persisted with him because they felt they had no one better, nothing more.
5) A 1.89 W/L ratio is not great rebuilding. By comparison, Hansie had a 2.45 W/L ratio. I also don't see a world cup in there. A lot about being a great captain is about raising the players when you need to.
6) Again, captained 16 games more than any other player. If he didn't I would be very surprised.
7) One game.
8) Since 2009 Aus have only won 10 series out of 22. Not a great record. That was the season they lost Warne and co. Yes it was a good effort but it was not the same Aus team.
9) The season they lost Warne and co. After that, a lot of teams beat Aus.
10 & 11) Not a bad team record of late. We have had a lot of great players in that time (AB, Amla, Pollock, Kallis, Steyn, etc). I am sure most captains would have won series with those players.
He has had a couple of awesome performances but not that many. In between, there have been a lot of lackluster ones.
His role can be defined by the culture. It's the same culture where he got Jennings fired. It's a culture that has actually limited other strong players joining the team.
Ultimately, what will stand after a captain is his record and unfortunately for him, his record is not great, it's mediocre. A win percentage that would put him in 10th on the list of captains who have captained 40 games or more and a W/L ratio of about the same. With players like those I mentioned above in his team, that's pretty poor. With similar players, Ponting had a win ratio of 14% higher and a W/L ratio almost double Smiths.
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