Surrey’s Jamie Smith on why time is now right to play in The Hundred

BY MARCUS HOOK

Jamie Smith raised a few eyebrows by turning down the chance to play in The Hundred last summer, opting instead to remain with Surrey for the Royal London Cup, which ran alongside the new high-profile domestic tournament. It proved a wise move.

Not only did the Oval outfit reach the semi-finals of the 50-over competition, Smith was, to his surprise, also handed the Surrey captaincy for three weeks. Along with added responsibility, the 21-year-old scored 315 runs at an average of 63, which earned him a call-up to the England Lions squad for Australia.

Smith has put himself forward for this year’s Hundred auction, which takes place next week, sensing the time is right to challenge himself in another form of the game.

“My name is in the draft this year, so we’ll see what happens,” said Smith. “I see myself as quite a versatile player in all forms. I want to play all forms. I don’t want to be pigeon-holed.

“The longer you put off opportunities like The Hundred the more they can pass you by, especially if you want to play all year round.

“I just feel that playing with different players, hearing different opinions and meeting new people can open up avenues to my game that will benefit me in the future.

“Last year, I hadn’t played much 50-over cricket, four or five games maybe, so it was a format I wanted to give a proper go and learn about. It’s a unique format. It’s completely different to four-day and T20 cricket. It’s played at a different pace and I just wanted to have more experience of playing it.

“Getting the captaincy on top definitely made it worthwhile. To be captain is something I’ve always wanted to do and to get that opportunity so early in my career was fantastic.

“To be in control for three weeks and put your own stamp on things as much as you can was really enjoyable. The lads also bought into it really well, which helps – playing a brand of cricket that everyone wants to play and not just you.

“I enjoyed the responsibility. I also decided to move myself down from number four to number five, because I wanted to be the one with the responsibility of winning games and finishing games off rather than leaving it to other people. That’s a role I want to play.

“We probably only had 13 or 14 players to pick from, so it made it a lot easier. But with people playing in the same positions for an extended period it gave them the confidence to express themselves.

“Look at Ryan Patel’s innings of 131 at Guildford in the second game, against Notts. No-one expected that but, given the opportunity, he went out and flourished. It’s really taken his game to the next level. You can see the way he has played in the pre-season games, he’s batting with positivity and confidence.”

Smith also thoroughly enjoyed being part of the England set-up at the end of last year.

“It was a fantastic experience,” he said. “Off the back of a summer in which I think I made strides in the game, it was nice to get away and play outside during the winter when, otherwise, you would just be training indoors.

“Following the England squad around for the first month, it was great to be able to learn off them and I made a few tweaks to my game which will hopefully take me to that next level.”

PICTURES: KEITH GILLARD