Former South African cricket captain Graeme Smith has joined the Springbok squad ahead of their Nelson Mandela Legacy Cup match against the Proteas on Thursday.

Smith has joined the squad in a player/coach capacity ahead of the one-off T20 match at Newlands. While these games are typically light-hearted affairs, rugby captain Pat Lambie has confirmed that his side is determined to finish on the right side of the result.

'To have Graeme as part of our team is a massive boost and he will definitely play a key role for us with the bat and ball,' said Lambie. 'His International T20 batting average is just shy of 32 and his off-breaks will come in very handy on the Newlands pitch.

'Many of our boys have not played since they left school, but we’re still aiming to upset the odds and make it an enjoyable day for all involved at arguably the prettiest cricket ground in the world.'

This is the third edition of this match that honours the former president and has the aim of raising substantial funds for the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Fans are encouraged to make their donations to the Nelson Mandela Foundation – simply SMS Madiba to 42607 to donate R30 towards the work carried out by the foundation.

The match will start at 18h00 on Thursday and will be televised live on Supersport.

The Springbok cricket squad is:
Damian de Allende
Faf de Klerk
Jean de Villiers
Stephan Dippenaar
Butch James
Rohan Janse van Rensburg
Conrad Jantjes
Pat Lambie (c)
Tiaan Liebenberg
Percy Montgomery
Trevor Nyakane
Sergeal Petersen
Player/coach: Graeme Smith
Non-playing reserve: Siya Kolisi

Photo: Chris Hyde/Getty Images