
Honest confessions from a man who was brought down to earth, humbled by the loving embrace and applause of cricket loving fans.
Graeme Smith, the South African skipper who returned home after fracturing his hand in Australia, was so smitten by the admiration and adulation he has been showered with that he has been tempted to make a few confessions.
Smith admitted to being a “show off” who liked to do things his way if only to show he had a better check on things than his critics. In his own words, “I made a lot of mistakes and bumped my head a few times along the way.”
But having received a warm welcome back home, Smith admits to have been humbled by the honour bestowed on him and did not know what he would be in for when he walked out to bat in Sydney despite two incapacitated hands.
He is quoted as saying, “I have never experienced anything like this. It’s completely unexpected and something that brings you back to earth very quickly” when speaking of his arrival at Johannesburg.
He was also in praise of Australian public who he felt gave South Africa a different experience, “What really surprised me was the manner in which the Australian crowd treated us. It was completely different to the last time we were there.” Perhaps it was heroics such as that of Graeme Smith which meant that the bat spoke louder than the tongue that caused the change of heart!
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