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After notching up 5,000 Test runs here barely a week ago, South African captain Graeme Smith is now eyeing the same mark in One-day Internationals.

Bangladesh has been a happy hunting ground for Smith, who made his debut as Test captain in this port city four years ago.He was involved in a world record opening stand of 415 with Neil McKenzie in the second Test against Bangladesh, erasing the previous 52-year-old mark of 413 between India’s Pankaj Roy and Vinoo Mankad.

Smith, who passed the 5,000-run milestone on the way to the record at the Chittagong Divisional stadium, is just 183 runs short of reaching the mark in one-dayers.Reaching this coveted milestone during the one-day series against Bangladesh starting here on Sunday looks a distinct possibility for the inspirational skipper given his form and the quality of the opposition.

“I hope to reach the mark. It would be fantastic to reach 5000 runs. “Bangladesh holds special memories for me and it would be wonderful to do it here,” Smith told reporters on Thursday.The list of records for the left-handed opener in Bangladesh seems to be swelling by the day.

He set a captaincy record by leading South Africa in a national record 54th Test here, surpassing the late Hansie Cronje’s mark of 53. Smith also became the first South African to amass four Test double hundreds.

The upcoming three-match one-day series will also give Smith a chance to pip Australian skipper Ricky Ponting in the official one-day rankings, currently headed by Indian batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar.

Smith is only 17 points behind second-placed Ponting and he could overtake the Australian if he carries his Test form into the one-dayers.South Africa won the recent Test series 2-0, with Smith scoring a total of 304 runs at an average of more than 100. In seven One-day Internationals against Bangladesh, Smith has scored 263 runs at an average of 52.66.

Source:Cricket News

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