KEY POINTS:
What a magnificent performance from South African cricket captain Graeme Smith this week. With his team looking in grave danger of losing the third test to Australia, Smith went out to face the Aussie pace bowlers with an injured elbow and a broken hand.
I saw him get that break on the first day of the test match and jolly painful it looked, too. Smith left the field and returned to the SCG with a plaster cast and no intention of batting again.
But as is often the case, the five-day game came down to a nail-biting finish. The scoreboard showed 9-257. There were slightly more than eight overs remaining. South Africa had already won the series but they didn't want to concede a match to the Aussies.
The only chance of salvaging a draw would be if Smith came out to bat and managed to stay in until stumps were drawn. So he removed the plaster cast.
He hadn't brought in his own kit, so Smith borrowed Jacques Kallis' shirt and Paul Harris' hamburger-stained sweater. He was unable to dress himself so his teammates did up his shoes and laced his pads.
And then out he went to face a fired-up Australian bowling attack, who certainly weren't going to show him any quarter.
The softest thing about Ricky Ponting is his teeth and although he and the rest of the ground were impressed with the courage shown by Smith, they simply weren't going to let that get in the way of getting him out.
I'm sure I wasn't alone in wincing every time a ball travelling at 140km/h connected with Smith's bat. The jarring would have caused him terrible pain. However the only concession from Smith was an audible exhalation of breath after each delivery.
And so he stayed, and stayed and even scored a few runs, and for 29 minutes he kept South African hopes alive. However, there was no fairy-tale ending.
With just 10 balls remaining and in fading light, Mitchell Johnson sent a beauty down the pitch and clean bowled the South African captain to give Australia the win.
But the standing ovation from the crowd at the SCG was for Smith, and deservedly so.
It was a memorable and heroic end to a wonderful series.
* www.kerrewoodham.com
