Smith firm on quitting as ODI captain

The left-handed opener has already made it clear that he will hand over the 50-over reins at the end of the World Cup in the sub-continent. Towards the end of last year, Smith also gave up the Twenty20 captaincy, but he will continue to lead the South Africans in Test cricket while being available to play in the limited-overs formats.

Earlier this series, the 29-year-old supplanted Hansie Cronje for the most matches as limited-overs captain. Cronje had led the Proteas in 138 one-day internationals, and the second match of this series, at the Wanderers, was Smith’s 139th, a tribute to his strength of mind and his tactical skills after the captaincy was thrust on his broad shoulders at the very young age of 22 in the aftermath of early elimination in the 2003 World Cup at home.

The Proteas won 99 of 138 matches under Cronje, while Smith’s returns are slightly less impressive, with 86 wins from 141 games. The left-hander is targeting one final hurrah in the World Cup, traditionally a wretched event for South Africa, but added that no matter what, he would be available only as a one-day player from April 2011.

“I am pretty comfortable with where I am,” Smith said on Friday night. “I have made my decisions in terms of where I am going in my career and where the team needs to go. Obviously, the World Cup is the opportunity where I feel I can give it one good go with the guys. I would definitely love to win it.

“But for me, it’s been great, it’s been a long seven years, a lot of good moments,” he reminisced. “People have given me a lot of support, shown a lot of faith in me. I am grateful for that, obviously I would love to end on a positive note. It’s a job I have really respected and honoured; for me to walk out of South Africa with the guys I have got with me now is a really special thing.”