Prior to his recent recall to the West Indies team, Windwards opening batsman and leading run-scorer in this season’s WICB Professional Cricket League (PCL) four-day tournament Devon Smith was prepared to bat anywhere in the order as he focused on donning the maroon colours again.
During the Guyana/Windwards second round 4-day match of the PCL, Stabroek Sport sat down with the left-hander minutes after he was dismissed for 55 during his second batting innings in a match his team would eventually lose. Smith spoke of his desire to represent the West Indies again, when this newspaper asked him about a possible new lease on his international career after being one of the foremost Caribbean players to dominate with the bat during the WICB’s yearly domestic season. “I have a feeling that I can make the West Indies side anytime now. It’s something I want to do, I have at least two years left in me for West Indies cricket,” he said confidently. However, he also acknowledged that in order to contend for a position he needed to score lots of runs at the Regional level. Known for his prowess across the regional format, Smith, 33, earned his recall after producing good form scores of 29, 74, 55 and a top score of 145 against the Leewards during the ongoing tournament. He explained that he wanted first to prove his worth here in the Caribbean before venturing back into first-class cricket.
“First of all I look to score the most runs. I have goals such as scoring 800 or 900 runs as much centuries of possible so even if I fall below I still have high standards set. I think the tournament is good so far I have two half-centuries already (speaking before his 145),” he said. “The form is coming to its own and I need to turn the fifties to hundreds,” he said, eerily predicting exactly what he accomplished in his next match against the Leewards.
Drafted into the side in place of opener Chris Gayle, Smith who last played Test cricket back in 2003 when the West Indies played Australia in Guyana, indicated that prior to his call back to the senior team he was keen on making the side and he would have batted anywhere in the order but preferred to open as he has been doing throughout his career. “I want to be in the team as an opener, I don’t have a problem batting anywhere else in the order because for Windwards I batted 4 or 5 already, as well as in a match against Sri Lanka in Trinidad I batted 4, so I mean you just have to adjust to the different situations, it’s the same game,” he said.
Regarding his team’s progress in the tournament Smith expects his side to advance despite not being able to train as a team. He noted that the players are trying to gel and regain their camaraderie with hopes of a finishing the 4-day tournament on a high note.
The Grenada-born player who has played 33 Tests and 47 ODIs for the West Indies with a century in each format, lauded the new franchise system for allowing players to earn a living while enhancing their skills. Smith believes this makes it easier to mould players. “I think it will benefit players better, you have 10 games for the season and thing about the franchise is that even when cricket is not playing you are working on your game. It’s like players are in a programme of their own and it is a positive move to have them focus on cricket it will make us more competitive, whenever someone gets dropped from the West Indies team you will have persons there.”
