KEY POINTS:
I never was a big fan of Graeme Smith. I don't imagine it bothered him too much either.
This is a man who at various times has got the likes of (deep breath) Kevin Pietersen, Stephen Fleming, Dwayne Bravo, Michael Vaughan, Inzamam ul-Haq, all of Australia and a
sizeable portion of the population of his own country offside, so you suspect this camel's back can take a few more straws.
His mouth appeared nearly as broad as his shoulders and what came out of it was not nearly often enough subjected to an internal censor. He didn't so much speak as blurt.
At the crease, he was respected but hard to love, much in the same mould as Matthew Hayden but less prolific. If David Gower was the embodiment of left-handed classicism, Smith was his antithesis - Sonny Bolstad with a bat.
But despite all that, this column unreservedly acknowledges the South African skipper as the best cricketer of 2008. The most important cricketer too, no less. His performance against Australia at the MCG was confirmation rather than the clincher. That particular test was a personal triumph for the man many would rate as Smith's closest rival for the honour - Dale Steyn - but was not enough to tip out the indomitable captain.
While Australia had already lost in India, it was South Africa who officially ended the hegemony by rolling them at home.
Smith has played an integral part in it, scoring a crucial century in their massive fourth innings chase at the WACA and scoring back-to-back fifties in Melbourne.
He has captained more imaginatively than the Australians believed he could and the trap he set for Ricky Ponting when his opposite was on 99 at the MCG was priceless. Players such as Paul Harris, Hashim Amla and Steyn have blossomed under him and coach Mickey Arthur.
Some bald statistics. Smith scored six centuries in 2008 while compiling 1656 runs at an average of 72. Only Mohammad Yousuf (2006) and Vivian Richards (1976) have scored more in a calendar year. Virender Sehwag got closest in '08 but was still 194 runs shy of his aggregate. But that only tells half the story.
Smith has learned to soften his tone, just like he surprised the Channel Nine commentators when they discovered he had learned to play with soft hands. When Pietersen called him a "muppet" it was he, not Smith, who ended up looking like Gonzo. When Australian coach Tim Nielsen went off on one on the eve of this series, Smith retained a dignified air, knowing he who laughs last laughs loudest.
Not that we should expect too many smirks from the 'new' Smith. He seems to have learned humility and he wears it well.
Given the captaincy as a 22-year-old test neo-phyte, Smith had to learn on the job.
There was little context for him to fall back on when the big decisions had to be made, as he had experienced so little test cricket playing under anybody else.
Add to that he was a 'child' leader in a dressing room full of men who likely thought they knew more about the game than he and it is remarkable he came through it almost unscathed.
When Fleming bollocked him in a premeditated on-field attack in New Zealand four years ago, Smith responded by inviting the talisman to dinner with him. He wanted to learn; he's learned all right but not straight away.
The Australians roughed him up three years ago when he naively tried to engage them in a war of words, prompting Ponting to deliver a killer sledge when he was batting in Durban: "We get in your head, don't we?" Smith would have been a fool to argue.
The best thing about Smith's team beating Australia, apart from the sweet, personal revenge, apart from extending the schadenfreude, was the picture it provided on the balcony: there were white South Africans,
Afrikaner and English, hugging black, hugging coloured and, in Amla, hugging a devout Muslim. All without any sense of self-consciousness.
Nobody, well nobody bar the bravest of visionaries, could have envisaged that picture even 20 years ago.
It was an outpouring of emotion that spoke of a unity within the Proteas, a sense that was only enhanced when you saw the way the team gathered at the fence, for example, when tyro Jean-Paul Duminy was on the verge of bringing up his epic century.
Smith's influence in fostering this unity should not be underestimated. When thousands of his disenchanted white countrymen left the republic, Smith stayed.
He seemed to grasp the reasoning behind the quotas and while their implementation has potentially stalled South Africa's progress, they are reaping the benefits now and can speak about ending them, safe in the knowledge there is a production line of talented black and coloured players coming through the system.
Like South Africa itself, he has the touch of chameleon about him.
And with South Africa looking every bit the best team in the world, you can bet life is a barrel of laughs for Smith.
FIVE PRIMED FOR A BIG 2009
1. JP Duminy (South Africa)
The talented southpaw had already marked himself as a batsman of promise in the one-day game but such is South Africa's batting strength it took an injury to the ultra-reliable Ashwell Prince for Duminy, 24, to get a look-in in a test. A shaky first innings when he was 'sawn off' has been quickly forgotten with two match-winning innings. The game's next superstar, perhaps?
2. Mitchell Johnson (Australia)
He was rather erroneously referred to in these pages as "distinctly average" not-so-many moons ago, a description that had the inbox ringing when he proceeded to tear through New Zealand in the two-test whitewash. He messed South Africa up, too, before they regained their poise and he appeals now as the most exciting fast bowler on the planet not named Dale. The 27-year-old can bat too. As Andrew Symonds and Shane Watson falter, might Johnson be groomed as a genuine allrounder?
3. Yuvraj Singh (India)
At 26, Yuvraj appeared almost washed up, particularly as a test player. A questionable work ethic married to some poor form seemed likely to leave him with the dreaded 'unfulfilled talent' tag. But Sourav Ganguly's retirement and the likely imminent retirements of Sachin Tendulkar, VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid will throw the spotlight back on this prodigious talent.
4. Brendon McCullum
At 27 and nearing the peak years of his career, McCullum is due one of those defining years where the word "promise" can be banished forever. He is already established as one of the best, if not the best, glovemen in the international game but his batting numbers have flattered to deceive. He knows that because he is acutely aware of his place in the game and wants to set a legacy. Only test and ODI centuries this year will redress the balance.
5. Shakib Al Hasan (Bangladesh)
Not just a token gesture for the little guys. Shakib, with 7-36 against New Zealand to his name, has the right stuff to become a world-class player, perhaps the first player you could really say that about since the Deshis were prematurely elevated to test status. A left-arm spinner predominantly, Shakib has the technique to score test centuries and it is surely only a matter of time before the 21-year-old takes his place in Bangladesh's top four.
