The Titans have confirmed they are hot on the trail of former Proteas captain Graeme Smith.

‘I’d really like to be the one to get him to sign a contract,’ Titans chief executive Jacques Faul said, according to reports. And Smith is said to be genuinely considering the offer.

‘Just think what he could mean to a union like us. He is very marketable and with the experience he boasts, he will only be an asset in the change room,’ Faul added.

‘We’ve already expressed interest in him, but with him being [at the World Cup] in Australia, negotiations have halted for the moment. I believe Graeme Smith still has a lot to offer the game.‘

Smith last played a competitive match in May 2014 for Surrey in England. At the time he said he could not complete his three-year deal with Surrey in 2015 after receiving medical advice following knee surgery.

‘I thoroughly enjoyed the privilege of captaining Surrey but due to my injuries in 2013 and 2014 I have been unable to fulfil my role in achieving the goals that both Surrey and I set out to accomplish when I first arrived,’ Smith said.

Smith and his wife Morgan Deane announced last week that they were to get divorced.

Smith retired from international cricket after the final Test against Australia, in Cape Town, during March 2014 and the indications were that the spell with Surrey, where he had a desire to lead the rebuilding of a young team, would be the final stage of his career.