• Smith targets SA A

    Published on | Leave a response

    Jason Smith is targeting a call-up to the SA A side after his stellar season with the Cape Cobras.

    In what his first full season as a Cobras player across the formats, Smith emerged as one of the country’s bright young talents.

    His return of 500 runs, including an unbeaten century, and 20 wickets at an average of 20.45 from his 10 Sunfoil Series matches makes him a superb all-round prospect in a season starved of genuine all-rounders. He didn’t get regular run-arounds in the One Day Cup or T20 Challenge, but contributed admirably whenever called upon.

    He felt he could have done even better than he already did as he looks to cement his place as a top-order batsman and a second-change seam bowler, which emphasised the ambition of the 22-year-old.

    ‘If I had capitalized on good starts, I could have moved closer to the 700-run mark for the season,’ he told CapeCobras.co.za. ‘If given a choice, I would prefer to bat at No 4.’

    The Cobras didn’t enjoy a particularly good season across the formats, finishing last in the One Day Cup, third in the Sunfoil Series and fourth in the T20 Challenge, with Smith being one of the few positives from the campaign. He felt he couldn’t have produced his results without experienced heads such as Andrew Puttick, Stiaan van Zyl and Justin Ontong around him.

    ‘Justin Ontong is almost like a batting coach and helps the younger players,’ he said.

    It will be interesting to see who is selected for the SA A squad to travel to England towards the end of May, and former U19 World Cup winner Smith will be one of the hopefuls as he outlines his plans in the off-season, which includes joining the Sports Skills for Life Skills programme at the University of Western Cape, before enrolling in a BComm degree.

    ‘One of my dreams this season is to get into the South Africa A team. Obviously I would like to take it from there.

    ‘I was not the hardest academic worker at Wynberg Boys’ High, but I did get the desired results and would like to complete my degree in the designated time frame,’ he said.

     

       

    Post by

    SA CRICKET