Captain Smith's biggest challenges

A dramatic weekend of meetings and press conferences may have heralded the dawning of a new era in South African cricket with the appointment of 22-year-old Graeme Smith as national captain. Here's what he will need to succeed in the job.

CREATE TEAM UNITY

- Allan Donald, in announcing his retirement from international cricket, and Shaun Pollock, at his press conference at the weekend, mentioned that the team was a strong unit.

However, one still gets the impression that it has not been the case, especially during the World Cup.

In his first meeting with the media, Smith stressed the point of togetherness.

All the individuals are no doubt focused on one goal and that is to win, yet that won't happen unless all those individuals combine as a unit and perform as one.

Smith showed he could do that when Western Province beat the national side in the first warm-up game before the tournament. Hopefully, now, he can do the same at the highest level.

MOTIVATION

- Smith is a fairly confident character and he needs to ensure that side of his personality rubs off on his teammates.

Although motivation wasn't much of a problem under Pollock, the catastrophic early World Cup exit may linger until the vital tour of England, starting in May.

Smith has a chance during the upcoming tours to Sharjah and Bangladesh - two relatively low-key trips - to enforce his style and will on to the side.

It will be a Test of his "man management" skills how he goes about getting the best out of a group, no doubt, still down after a poor World Cup.

CREATIVITY AND SPONTANEITY

- If there was an element Pollock's captaincy lacked then it was this: The man's leadership was highlighted by a somewhat rigid adherence to the dressing-room game-plan, which often meant that when called upon to try something new as a result of a good performance by the opposition he looked lost.

Although a very disciplined player, Smith's youthful exuberance may lead to some initial experimentation with field placings.

And while matters may not always work, he should be encouraged to try something different if and when the occasion warrants.

SUPPORT FROM BACKROOM AND ADMIN STAFF

- Smith is a young man, a young international player and certainly a very young captain.

Combined with the total support of his team must be the total support of the national side's management and the United Cricket Board's administrators.

The structures need to be strong to enable him to concentrate on the job at hand.

He will benefit from his close relationship with coach Eric Simons, someone he holds in high regard on account of their strong bond formed when Smith arrived as a youngster at Western Province.

The pair share the same views on passion and discipline, something which should stand them in good stead in what will be a long year for South African cricket.

BRING BACK THE FUN

- Besides the English, there probably wasn't a more miserable bunch at the World Cup than the South African side.

Given the sport's status in this country, the pressure is always going to be there and it's crucial that they know how to deal with it so that they can go back to having fun on the field.

The South Africans didn't look as if they were enjoying themselves and hopefully a younger captain can instill a greater sense of enjoyment.