We’ve heard plenty about former Proteas captain Graeme Smith in the past few months, but it seems some of these stories may have been a little creative with their ‘truths’.

Biff, together with his lawyers, have had their complaint to the South African Press Ombudsman Johan Retief upheld, and this has caught the Sunday Times with their tail between their legs. The complaint stemmed from a story they ran on March 8. Here’s Sport24:

Finding that the Sunday Times had breached the Press Code on four counts, the Press Ombudsman has directed the Sunday Times to “apologise to Smith for stating the allegations in question (that he advised Morgan Deane via SMS that he was getting a divorce, that he lied to her, and that he had a secret divorce plan) as fact in the headlines, in the Twitter feed and in Mampara of the Week, and for suggesting, without supporting evidence, some wrong-doing on Smith’s part by the wording of its promotional posters – thereby “unnecessarily harming his dignity and reputation”.

Sounds like round two is well and truly Graeme’s then. The ruling also came as a relief to his close friends, with Jacques Kallis taking some time off from playing golf to issue a statement on the matter. This from Sport24:

It has been difficult for those of us who know Graeme well to stand by and watch as these articles are written…

Graeme has always provided for Morgan and their children.

While we were on tour, Morgan had a full time nanny on every occasion to help her. Today, she still has a full time nanny and house-keeper, and lives in a beautiful home in Cape Town, paid for by Graeme…

With so much that he could say to defend himself, he has still done the decent thing and stayed silent.

Those of us who know him well know that he is a dedicated father, a good friend, generous to a fault and one of the most decent men you could ever meet.

I am proud to call him my friend.

Looks like that team spirit is still well and truly alive amongst the Proteas old boys. As for the Sunday Times? Be careful who you mess with, Biff has never been one to back down from a challenge.

[sources:sport24&sport24]