When a player is new to international cricket, especially Test cricket, there’s a lot of pressure to prove their mettle early on in their career. If they don’t put up satisfying performances, there are high chances that they might be axed from the team sooner than later.
However, some high-calibre players take the cricketing landscape by storm and leave a lasting impression. Graeme Smith was one such batter who garnered eyeballs for his exceptional batting outings in the Test format.
The former South African captain was an aggressive batter with a flurry of shots in his arsenal and a hunger for scoring runs. He made his Test debut in March 2002 and played a gutsy knock of 68 in the second innings against Australia.
But it was in his third Test that Smith brought up his first-ever Test hundred, which he later converted into a double. And he went on to create a ravishing record in his next 9 Tests.
Which record? Converting his first 4 Test centuries into 150+ scores!
Scoring hundreds and converting them into big scores is a herculean task in Tests, but Smith did it with ease. So, in this amazing cricket fact, we’ll glance at Graeme Smith’s first 4 Test centuries, which he extended beyond 150+ scores.
List of All Amazing Cricket Facts Articles
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ACF 2: Ashwin’s clean sweep against Australia in 2013
ACF 3: When Kapil Dev hit 4 Sixes in a row to avoid the follow-on!
ACF 4: Anil Kumble vs batsmen at nervous 90s
ACF 5: Mohammad Azharuddin holds the World Record of 3 Consecutive Centuries in First Three Tests
ACF 6: When Jasprit Bumrah scored 35 runs off Stuart Broad’s Over in a Test Match
ACF 7: Glenn McGrath Dismissed 104 Batsmen on a Duck in Tests
ACF 8: Glenn McGrath took Wickets on his Last Balls in Test and T20I
ACF 9: The Timeless Test – The Longest Cricket Match that lasted 12 Days
ACF 10: When Mohammad Sami Bowled the Longest Over in Cricket
ACF 11: When Bangladesh Lost 21 Consecutive Test Matches
ACF 12: When Kumar Sangakkara Scored Four Consecutive Centuries in ODI
ACF 13: When Don Bradman Scored 309 Runs in a Single Day of a Test Match
ACF 14: Graeme Smith Converted First 4 Test Centuries to 150+ Scores
ACF 15: When England Declared their Innings on 0/0!
ACF 16: Picking the First 50 ODI Wickets Within a Year of Debut
ACF-17: The Only 3 Players with a Double of 10000 and 500 Wickets in Cricket
ACF 18: When Pakistan Lost by an Innings After Scoring 500+ Runs
ACF 19: All-Rounders with More-than-one Centuries and Five-wicket Hauls at a Single Venue
ACF 20: India Scored 400-plus Totals in 6 Consecutive Test Innings
ACF 21: 4 Batters Who Scored 10000+ Test Runs in a Particular Batting Position
ACF 22: When Aravinda de Silva Scored 2 Unbeaten Centuries in a Test Match
ACF 23: When Vivian Richards became the fastest player to Score 2000 ODI Runs in Australia
ACF 24: Adam Gilchrist Scored All 16 ODI Centuries in Wins
ACF 25: Highest Partnerships by No. 10 and 11 Batters in Test Cricket
Graeme Smith’s First 4 Test Centuries Converted to 150+ Scores
| Score (Balls) | Against | Venue | Match Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 200 (287) | Bangladesh | East London | 18 Oct 2002 |
| 151 (216) | Pakistan | Cape Town | 2 Jan 2003 |
| 277 (373) | England | Birmingham | 24 Jul 2003 |
| 259 (370) | England | Lord’s | 31 Jul 2003 |
Before Graeme Smith’s extraordinary feat, 5 batters managed to convert their first 3 hundreds to 150+ scores. Smith went one step ahead and became the first batter to convert all of his first 4 tons to 150+ scores, with 3 of them being double hundreds.
The left-hander started his mayhem against Bangladesh in Buffalo Park, where he notched up his maiden Test ton. But he didn’t stop there and further added 100 runs to his tally to make it a perfect 200!
Smith’s second hundred came against Pakistan at Newlands Stadium, where he forged a solid opening stand of 368 runs with Herschelle Gibbs (228). He added 51 more runs and lost his wicket on 151.
Smith’s next 2 centuries were even more special, as he got the captaincy of the team a couple of matches before that. After the dual responsibility of captaincy and opening the batting, one would have felt a lot more pressure. But Smith showed that he could do both with finesse.
His third and fourth hundreds came against England in back-to-back matches. Playing for the first time in English conditions, Smith notched up captain’s knocks, converting both centuries into double centuries.
Also Read | Most 200s by South African Batsmen in Test Cricket
In the series opener against England, he amassed 277 runs in the first innings, which later helped him win the Man of the Match award and draw the match. In the second Test, he scored 259 runs, helping his side declare on 682 runs — South Africa’s highest Test team total — and defeating the hosts by an innings and 92 runs.
What’s special about all these knocks is that he scored them while opening the innings and 2 of them while captaining. Moreover, South Africa didn’t lose a single match, with the Proteas handing their opponents a defeat by a margin of an innings twice.
Smith’s remarkable achievement is a testament to the skills and character he possessed during his playing days. He utilised them quite well to carve a special place for him in the cricketing annals.
When Smith retired in 2014, he garnered 9265 Test runs, 6989 ODI runs, and 982 T20I runs, sitting among the top run-scorers for South Africa. He scored 10 ODI hundreds and 27 Test hundreds — 25 as captain, which is the most.
Moreover, he left the scene as the most successful Test captain and one of the most successful skippers across formats.
List of All Amazing Cricket Facts Articles
ACF 1: A Hat Trick in 3 Overs, 2 Innings, and 2 Days
ACF 2: Ashwin’s clean sweep against Australia in 2013
ACF 3: When Kapil Dev hit 4 Sixes in a row to avoid the follow-on!
ACF 4: Anil Kumble vs batsmen at nervous 90s
ACF 5: Mohammad Azharuddin holds the World Record of 3 Consecutive Centuries in First Three Tests
ACF 6: When Jasprit Bumrah scored 35 runs off Stuart Broad’s Over in a Test Match
ACF 7: Glenn McGrath Dismissed 104 Batsmen on a Duck in Tests
ACF 8: Glenn McGrath took Wickets on his Last Balls in Test and T20I
ACF 9: The Timeless Test – The Longest Cricket Match that lasted 12 Days
ACF 10: When Mohammad Sami Bowled the Longest Over in Cricket
ACF 11: When Bangladesh Lost 21 Consecutive Test Matches
ACF 12: When Kumar Sangakkara Scored Four Consecutive Centuries in ODI
ACF 13: When Don Bradman Scored 309 Runs in a Single Day of a Test Match
ACF 14: Graeme Smith Converted First 4 Test Centuries to 150+ Scores
ACF 15: When England Declared their Innings on 0/0!
ACF 16: Picking the First 50 ODI Wickets Within a Year of Debut
ACF-17: The Only 3 Players with a Double of 10000 and 500 Wickets in Cricket
ACF 18: When Pakistan Lost by an Innings After Scoring 500+ Runs
ACF 19: All-Rounders with More-than-one Centuries and Five-wicket Hauls at a Single Venue
ACF 20: India Scored 400-plus Totals in 6 Consecutive Test Innings
ACF 21: 4 Batters Who Scored 10000+ Test Runs in a Particular Batting Position
ACF 22: When Aravinda de Silva Scored 2 Unbeaten Centuries in a Test Match
ACF 23: When Vivian Richards became the fastest player to Score 2000 ODI Runs in Australia
ACF 24: Adam Gilchrist Scored All 16 ODI Centuries in Wins
ACF 25: Highest Partnerships by No. 10 and 11 Batters in Test Cricket
