On this day in 2003, Graeme Smith scored the first of his back-to-back double hundreds against England.
Graeme Smith went into the first Test against England at Edgbaston under a bit of pressure. In what was just his third Test as captain, the 22-year-old failed to contribute with the bat in the two Tests against Bangladesh leading up to that point, but he responded emphatically, putting on 338-run stand with Herschelle Gibbs at 4.5 an over. Gibbs fell for 179, but Smith kept going, bringing up a second career double hundred in just his 11th Test. He went on to score 277, which was then the highest individual total by a South African. His side posted 594-5 dec, but had to settle for the draw.
The next Test at Lord’s saw another mammoth first-innings total, and this time it resulted in an even larger innings and 92-run victory. The man to lead the way? Smith, once again, produced a double century and a 257-run stand with Gary Kirsten. The match was also remembered for Makhaya Ntini’s 10-wicket haul in this match, as he enjoyed the joint-Man-of-the-Match award with Smith.
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