South Africa's braveheart captain Graeme Smith

Melbourne (PTI): South Africa's braveheart captain Graeme Smith played down his Sydney heroics and left for home to recuperate from a broken finger and a bruised elbow, which jeopardise his prospects of playing in the home series against Australia.

The Sydney Cricket Ground crowd on Wednesday gave a standing ovation to Smith, who removed the cast and defied both injuries to walk out and bat. It not enough in the end as South Africa was eventually bowled out but Smith's brave effort drew praise from all quarters.

The humble Protea captain himself, however, played down the effort. "Opportunities come around to show a little bit of bravery...but in the context of life it was just nice to have that opportunity," Smith said before departing for South Africa.

"It would've been nicer if I lasted 10 balls longer, but it wasn't to be," said Smith, who was the last man out, just 10 balls before the scheduled close. "I'm sure Ricky would have done a similar thing... he's a real competitor and I think Australian people appreciate that," he added.