Publications
Partners
Rob Houwing, Sport24 chief writer
Cape Town - Embattled Graeme Smith’s first century in 36 one-day international innings for the Proteas against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers on Sunday has seen him earn a swift reversal in sentiment on the fickle forum of Twitter.
LIVE scoring from the Wanderers
The big left-hander, who had shown encouraging signs of a return to form in the prior game in Kimberley after a particularly lean run in the format, blazed his ninth ODI ton and third-best personal score as he reached 125 off 143 balls in the Bullring.
Strangely saddled for some time by a large school of detractors, “Biff” at least ensured he would keep them at bay for a while as he anchored the formidable South African innings of 312 for four, with captain AB de Villiers retaining his own sublime touch against the tourists as he brought up three figures as well.
De Villiers’s unbeaten innings, also of 125, came at an even more blistering strike rate as he faced a mere 98 balls.
S
mith’s fan club on Twitter made sure his back-in-business achievement would not pass unnoticed.
“Graeme Smith take a bow! #Legend,” was the short and sweet reaction of colleague Dale Steyn, the world’s top-ranked
Test fast bowler who has had a late-series break from the ODIs against the Lankans.
“Take a bow Graeme Smith,” echoed Test batsman Jacques Rudolph.
“Well done @GraemeSmith49 on showing some class thru a tough time!” said Springbok rugby wing Bryan Habana.
Former Proteas off-spinner Pat Symcox tweeted: “Congrats @GraemeSmith49. Love your work, man.”
SuperSport pundit and former Proteas player HD Ackerman said: “And that, people, is why you don’t just drop a player.”
Author and investigative news journalist Mandy Wiener observed: “That’s it Biff, bravo. Answer your critics. Now lose some weight and you’ve turned the corner.”
Prolific Twitter sports critic @Followthebounce struck a slightly tempering note: “But seriously, getting over-excited about Smith now is like being happy when an old sports car finally starts in the morning.”
Cape Town - Embattled Graeme Smith’s first century in 36 one-day international innings for the Proteas against Sri Lanka at the Wanderers on Sunday has seen him earn a swift reversal in sentiment on the fickle forum of Twitter.
LIVE scoring from the Wanderers
The big left-hander, who had shown encouraging signs of a return to form in the prior game in Kimberley after a particularly lean run in the format, blazed his ninth ODI ton and third-best personal score as he reached 125 off 143 balls in the Bullring.
Strangely saddled for some time by a large school of detractors, “Biff” at least ensured he would keep them at bay for a while as he anchored the formidable South African innings of 312 for four, with captain AB de Villiers retaining his own sublime touch against the tourists as he brought up three figures as well.
De Villiers’s unbeaten innings, also of 125, came at an even more blistering strike rate as he faced a mere 98 balls.
S
mith’s fan club on Twitter made sure his back-in-business achievement would not pass unnoticed.
“Graeme Smith take a bow! #Legend,” was the short and sweet reaction of colleague Dale Steyn, the world’s top-ranked
Test fast bowler who has had a late-series break from the ODIs against the Lankans.
“Take a bow Graeme Smith,” echoed Test batsman Jacques Rudolph.
“Well done @GraemeSmith49 on showing some class thru a tough time!” said Springbok rugby wing Bryan Habana.
Former Proteas off-spinner Pat Symcox tweeted: “Congrats @GraemeSmith49. Love your work, man.”
SuperSport pundit and former Proteas player HD Ackerman said: “And that, people, is why you don’t just drop a player.”
Author and investigative news journalist Mandy Wiener observed: “That’s it Biff, bravo. Answer your critics. Now lose some weight and you’ve turned the corner.”
Prolific Twitter sports critic @Followthebounce struck a slightly tempering note: “But seriously, getting over-excited about Smith now is like being happy when an old sports car finally starts in the morning.”
