#8 Graeme Smith (South Africa)
Earmarked for captaincy from a very young age, Graeme Smith repaid the faith shown in him by the South African selectors with an illustrious career that saw him emerge as not just one of the greatest skippers in the history of the game but also as a highly successful opening batsman for the Proteas.
He was prolific in the slip cordon as well and led his side with distinction through his long tenure as captain that saw South Africa enjoy plenty of success, especially away from home making themselves a hard side to beat.
Smith made his Test debut against Australia at Newlands in 2002 and went on to score 9265 runs from 117 Tests - 109 of which were as skipper of the side - at an average of 48.25 with 27 hundreds to his name before bidding farewell to the game nearly 12 years later against the same opposition and at the same venue.
Smith never let the burden of captaincy affect his performances, In fact, South Africa never lost a Test match in which Smith scored a hundred or more thus proving how well he led the side from the front.
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