South Africa captain Graeme Smith, who reached the 5,000-run mark in Test cricket this week, is eyeing a similar feat in one-dayers. He hopes to reach his goal in the three-match series against Bangladesh starting in Chittagong on Sunday with the other two matches in Dhaka on March 12 and 14. “I hope to do so. It would be lovely to reach the 5,000 mark. In fact it would be fantastic,” Smith, who has 4,817 runs from 130 one-dayers, told a news conference on Thursday. “Bangladesh holds a special memory for me. It will be really wonderful to do it here,” he added. Smith reached the 5,000 landmark in Test cricket while he was on 86 runs on his way to 232 in the only innings he played in the second Test in Chittagong against the hosts last week. Rafique taken to task Bangladesh has asked retired left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique to explain why he took a swipe at cricket board officials before his final Test against South Africa last week. Rafique, the most successful Bangladesh bowler in Tests and ODIs, lashed out at officials of the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) saying they had forced him to quit. Cairns warns of exodus Former New Zealand great Chris Cairns has warned the cricket establishment it faces a mass exodus of leading players if it does not accept the rebel ICL. Cairns said that players cannot afford to ignore the lucrative salaries on offer. “The ICC are going to have to fix this,” Cairns said, calling for players to be able to play in the ICL and not be banned. __
