Former South Africa skipper Graeme Smith gets engaged to his girlfriend

Former South African skipper and legendary opener Graeme Smith on Wednesday announced his engagement on Instagram with girlfriend Romy Lanfranchi. The 37-year-old Proteas took to Twitter to announce his engagement, with his ring on his girlfriend’s fingers.

It was a celebratory post, as celebrities and cricketers amongst the fans wished the South African a happy engaged life. Smith has been in a relationship with Romy since 2014. Smith and Romy welcomed their baby boy at the end of the year 2016. Earlier, Smith was married to Irish pop star Morgan Deane and has two children with the singer.

Smith has been a long-standing skipper in South African history with massive wins under his belt. The former skipper has retired from International cricket in 2014, before which he took South Africa to leaps and bounds.

Here’s his tweet

One of the most decorated openers in Tests

The left-hander has been the country’s best Test opener, with 9,265 runs scored in the 117 Tests that he has played for his country. At a near average of 48, the South African is considered one of the best in the longest format of the game. Further, Smith scored 27 centuries and 38 half-centuries in his Test career.

Astonishingly, the 37-year-old was the skipper of the side for 109 of the Test matches that he has played for the country. In the 50 over format though, the left-hander’s form has been a little short of excellence compared to his Test form. In the 197 matches that Smith has played in the 50-over format, the left-hander has scored nearly 6,989 runs at an average of 37.98.

Amongst the runs were 10 centuries and 47 fifties to his 50-over playing career. In the shortest format, however, the left-hander has played only 33 matches for the national side. With 982 runs in the shortest format, Smith proved how he is not a one-format horse in World cricket. After retiring from cricket, the left-hander has actively participated in the analysis box. In the box, he has criticised the Indian skipper Virat Kohli for the decisions he took in the South African tour.

[interaction id=”5bd95bac82434bbab05d97b4″]