Knee injury forces Smith to retire

The decorated career of former South Africa captain Graeme Smith is officially over after revealing he would not return to English county cricket next season.

Smith has struggled with a chronic knee injury since he signed a three-year contract with Surrey, playing just three games last season and only five in 2014.

The left-hander said goodbye to international cricket earlier this year following South Africa's 2-1 series loss to Australia.

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He started the county season with Surrey playing alongside ex-England batsman Kevin Pietersen but a fractured knee cap saw him return home to South Africa for treatment and injury has now forced the 33-year-old to call time.

"Unfortunately his body was sending out quite a number of messages and it's a decision that he had to make," said Surrey coach Graham Ford.

"Possibly he could play bits of cricket here and there but to play a whole county season is just too much.

"Graeme has still made a big impression on the team and a lot of the performances our younger players have put in this season have been down to playing and practising alongside him. He set a great example."

Gary Wilson has taken over the job as Surrey captain in Smith's absence and the county now begins the search for a full-time captain and replacement overseas player.

"It's too early to think about the future, but we will look to make a decision on who replaces Graeme as captain and as an overseas player by the end of this season," said Ford.

Smith said he was disappointed that he could not finish his goal of overseeing a rebuild of Surrey's cricket, both on and off the field.

"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 in a statement on the Surrey website.

"I would like to thank Surrey for the way they have looked after me. They have made me feel very welcome and it is very apparent that the current cricket management and personnel in the dressing room are already well on their way to achieving these goals."

In eight first-class games for Surrey, Smith scored 383 runs from 13 innings at an average of 31.9, with one century.