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Former Test Captain Graeme Smith was confirmed Friday as Cricket Director for South Africa, revealing that Quinton de Kock he would not be elevated to the trial captaincy.
Jacques Faul, acting chief executive officer of Cricket South Africa, said Smith had been appointed for a two-year term, which expired in late March 2022. Smith was named as an actor last December.
Smith, 39, captained South Africa in a world record of 108 test matches and 149 one-day international matches. He also captained a World XI in a one-time test against Australia in 2005/06.
He said in a conference call that the debate over the Trial captaincy was one of the challenges he faced during a period when you can’t play cricket due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s not going to be Quinton,” he said, citing de Kock’s responsibility as the country’s captain of limited limits, as well as being the wicketkeeper and a key hitter.
“Quinton will be our white ball captain, but from an aspect of workload and mental capacity we want to keep him fresh. From personal experience, I know that leading the three formats is a challenge and we do not want to overload it.”
Smith gave no indication of the possible replacement after Faf du Plessis’s decision in February to quit the job.
“There is no person you can identify,” he said. “There are a lot of players on a similar level.”
South Africa’s next scheduled test series is in the West Indies in July, but Smith said it had not been completed due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
The Proteas are also due to go to Sri Lanka for a limited tour in June, but Smith said both tours could be postponed.
“We are in talks with the boards of directors of those countries and the decisions must be made very soon,” he said.
Smith said his immediate priority was the T20 World Cup in Australia in October and November, assuming it happened as planned.
He said South Africa hoped to host a Twenty20 series against India in August as part of preparation for the global event. “There are many doubts about what the situation will be by then, but we are in talks with the Cricket Control Board (BCCI) in India,” he said.
Faul said he hoped for more clarity on the status of the T20 World Cup to emerge when the International Cricket Council (ICC) organizes a video discussion between national CEOs next Thursday.
Smith’s temporary appointment last December was at a time of crisis in South African cricket following the suspension of Chief Executive Thabang Moroe, calling for the CSA board to step down and following a poor performance by the national team at the 2019 Cricket World Cup, which was followed by a 3-0 beating in a series of tests in India.
One of Smith’s first moves was to appoint former test player and teammate Mark Boucher as the national head coach for the 2023 World Cup.
The team has had mixed results since Boucher’s appointment, losing the Test and Twenty20 series against England and Australia.
But they finished the 2019/20 season at a peak, beating Australia 3-0 in an ODI series, shortly before cricket closed.
