4 Mar 2014

New era looms for South African cricket

6:41 pm on 4 March 2014

South African cricket captain Graeme Smith has announced he will retire at the end of his side's series-deciding third Test against Australia in Cape Town.

The 33-year-old broke the news to teammates after today's third day of the Third Test at Newlands, the 116-test veteran describing it as the most difficult decision of his life.

Smith says he'd been considering retirement since having ankle surgery in April last year.

He cited his young family as a major factor in his decision and says he felt Newlands would be the ideal place to retire as he's called the stadium home since he was 18 years old.

Smith has scored 9257 runs at an average of 48.72 during his 12-year Test career.

He's retiring just nine weeks after allrounder Jacques Kallis stepped away from the game.