Struggling South Africa rope in former skipper Graeme Smith as batting consultant

New Delhi: Ahead of the second Test against England, South African cricket team has reportedly roped in former captain Graeme Smith as a batting consultant.

According to a report in ESPNcricinfo on Friday, Smith will provide guidance to South African batsmen for the rest of the England series. But it also said that there was some uncertainty over how official the agreement was alongside his media roles.

South Africa, still the top-ranked Test team in the world, has not won a match since last year's New Year fixture against the West Indies in Durban, where they have suffered a crushing 241-run defeat against England.

Main cause of their consistent failure in 2015 have been attributed to a a series of individual performances, especially by the established batsmen like skipper Hashim Amla himself.

And Smith has been critical of their poor performances. His arrival as a batting consultant set to revive Proteas' fortunes.

"To get Graeme on board now, Graeme being the quality cricketer that he is, fits the role perfectly. Graeme has got a good know-how about Test cricket and that's what Test cricket is about. It's about know-how, having a feel for the game and we've got a lot of youngsters that can draw on that," the report quoted Amla as saying.

Smith retired as the most successful Test captain in 2014. He led South Africa in 108 Test matches, winning 53 and losing 28. And last month, he said he was contemplating whether to make an international comeback after a year in sunset.

The 34-year-old is also engaged with commentary roles.