HOVE, England, CMC – Following his recall to the West Indies team for the upcoming one-day tour of Australia, English county club Sussex has moved quickly to sign West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Smith for their defence of the Twenty20 Cup. Chief executive Dave Brooks this week confirmed the 26-year-old as the county’s second overseas player alongside Pakistani Yasir Arafat. Sussex was in danger of losing out on Smith for the new season after his Kolpak status expired last October but his recall to the 15-man Windies squad this week after a near three-year absence opened the door again.
“My time so far at Hove has been hugely enjoyable and I believe that my cricket has benefited an enormous amount from the team spirit that is so evident at the county,” Smith said. He is, however, expected to miss the first few games of the season if he is selected for the South Africa home tour but Brooks is hoping the player can be available sooner. “It is possible depending on Dwayne’s commitments that he could be available earlier than June 16, when he is due to play his first game for us against Gloucestershire,” Brooks said. “Dwayne is keen to help us as much as possible. He definitely won’t be available for the first two games and bringing someone in for two matches would be virtually impossible but we want to give ourselves the best possible chance of winning every game.” Smith was a key player in the T20 Cup for Sussex last season, scoring 338 runs to be one of the leading batsmen. His frenetic 59 off 26 balls in the final against Somerset handed them the title. He recently played for New South Wales Blues in Australia’s T20 Big Bash and is currently campaigning for Barbados in the WICB regional first class championship.
