JASON Smith belongs to an elite group of cricketers in South Africa that have actually won an ICC white-ball limited overs World Cup.
Among his contemporaries are Proteas T20 captain Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada and Corbin Bosch after they lifted the ICC U19 World Cup together in Dubai back in 2014.
And now for the first time, the MI Cape Town top-order batter will join them for a shot at a senior ICC T20 World Cup to be held next month in India and Sri Lanka.
It has been more than a decade-long wait, but Smith feels that watching their achievements over the years has only fuelled his desire to be successful at international level even more.
“I think I’ve grown a lot as a cricketer and as a person where early on in my career I was extremely tough and difficult, especially on myself where I’ve tended to go in the complete opposite way, where now I’m just trying to be positive and actually enjoy my cricket,” Smith said in a MI Cape Town video.
“I’m always looking for any sort of positive that can be taken out of any situation, whether it’s somebody else doing well, somebody does something great in the field or somebody bowls an amazing ball.
“It’s the little things like that that just keep me going and it’s never really been about myself.
“I’ve always been the guy to always do what the team needs. I think it’s just the situations that I’ve been in over the years where I’ve found out that I’ve always been the guy for the team.
“I think that’s been the biggest takeaway for me over my journey. I think enjoying everyone’s success helps you in good stead. Just to be genuinely enjoying everyone else’s success, it takes a lot off your shoulders.”
Smith’s natural talent has been noticeable ever since striking a delightful half-century on his franchise List A debut for the Cape Cobras at Newlands. The tall right-hander shared a splendid partnership with former Proteas star JP Duminy, prompting many observers to predict a bright future for the former Wynberg Boys’ High prodigy.
The fact that it has only yielded three ODIs and two T20Is thus far is due to him having suffered a number of injuries along the way, but over the past 12 months Smith has started to show what he is capable of.
He averaged close to 50 with a strike-rate in excess of 200 in the CSA T20 Challenge, with the highlight being the 19-ball 68* against the Titans in a rain-reduced match at Centurion. He followed it up with 41 off 14 balls for MI Cape Town in the Betway SA20 opener against Durban’s Super Giants at Newlands.
Smith also believes his game can only improve even further due to working closely with Proteas legend Hashim Amla, who shared a healthy relationship with at MI Cape Town
“I’ve been fortunate to play with them early on in my career where they were the seniors that I looked up to. I think we have quite similar characteristics as a person and we get along quite nicely,” he said.
“I feel like he understands me as an individual. I think he knows how to approach me and tell me what I need to do and need to get done, which I think goes a long way for me.
“The knowledge that I’m getting from Hashim, I had a session with him earlier and I don’t think it’s experience that I’ll be able to get anywhere else.
There’s no better time to learn from a legend himself. I think it will help me in good stead going forward, not just into the World Cup, but carrying further on into my career. I think it will help me quite a lot.”
