SA gets behind Smith
The first day of the first Sunfoil test between the Proteas and Pakistan on Friday at the Bidvest Wanderers Stadium will be a historic occasion for South African test captain, Graeme Smith.
He will become the first player in the history of the sport to captain a team in 100 tests, having led the Proteas in 98 tests to date and also captained the World XI against Australia.
To celebrate this occasion, Cricket South Africa with its sponsors has lined up a host of activities in honour of Smith.
Fans are also encouraged to be part of the celebrations.
On Tuesday, between noon and 1pm, fans can meet Smith and some of his Proteas teammates at the Adidas store in Sandton City. There will also be an opportunity to sign a massive Proteas replica jersey which will be handed over to Smith during the test match.
On match day, a roving camera will capture messages from fans which will be played on the big screen at the stadium as well as on CSA’s social media platforms.
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“This is a truly remarkable achievement,” commented CSA Acting CEO, Jacques Faul.
“Graeme is a true South African hero and we must celebrate this achievement in style. He took over as captain at a difficult time just after the 2003 ICC World Cup and has been in this most demanding of jobs for almost a decade now.
"His leadership has been unwavering and inspirational not just to his players but to the nation and he has been one of the few captains whose career statistics in the demanding job of opening batsman have been unaffected by his leadership responsibilities.
“ I want to urge fans to come to the stadium and be part of this Proudly South African Friday and support a hero who leads a proud South African team,” added Faul.
Ticket prices for the first test range from R20 to R50. Tickets can be purchased through www.ticketpros.co.za, at the stadium ticket office or at Postnet outlets.
Smith will also be celebrating his 32nd birthday on Friday. Fans can participate in the mass birthday song planned for the skipper during one of the breaks.
Fans can also get their messages of support aired on the big screen and are encouraged to tweet all messages of support and congratulations with the #biff100 hashtag.
