Who is Jason Smith - 5 interesting facts about South African player picked for T20Is vs West Indies
Jason Smith has received his maiden national call-up for the upcoming T20I series between South Africa and West Indies. The right-handed batter has been a part of Durban Super Giants in SA20, while in the domestic circuit, he represents the Dolphins.
Despite being a popular cricketer in South Africa, Smith has chosen to keep his Instagram account private. He has only 4,645 followers on the platform, and his bio simply states that he is a cricketer for Durban Super Giants and Dolphins.
Hence, not many fans know much about Jason Smith. In this listicle, we will look at five interesting facts about him.
#1 Jason Smith was born in Cape Town
Although Smith plays for the Durban-based franchise in SA20, his hometown is Cape Town. He was born on October 11, 1994, in Cape Town, Cape Province, South Africa.
Smith completed his education at the Wynberg Boys High School. He even played for South African Schools and Wynberg Boys High School teams during his early days in the sport.
#2 Jason Smith has more first-class centuries than T20 half-centuries
Since Smith has received a call-up to South Africa's T20I squad first, most fans would assume that he is a T20 specialist. However, the right-handed batter has better numbers in first-class cricket than T20s.
Smith has registered six centuries and 25 fifties in 82 matches of his first-class career. In T20s, he has 1,404 runs in 65 innings at an average of 28.65 and a strike rate of less than 125. He has four T20 half-centuries, with his highest score being 79*.
#3 Jason Smith made his T20 debut against Namibia
Smith is yet to represent South Africa at the senior level in international cricket, but he has some experience of playing against international teams. Interestingly, his domestic T20 debut came against Namibia in the CSA Provincial T20 Challenge 2014.
Playing his debut T20 game for Western Province, Smith scored 34 runs off just 28 balls. He hit three fours and a six before JJ Smit rattled his stumps. Western Province lost that match by 28 runs.
#4 Jason Smith won U-19 World Cup 2014 as a member of South Africa U-19s
Smith belongs to the same batch of South African cricketers as Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch and Andile Phehlukwayo. While Markram and Rabada are global T20 stars now, Smith has finally earned his maiden T20I call-up.
Although he has had to wait longer than some of his U-19 teammates, Smith will be hoping to make his T20I debut later this month against West Indies.
#5 Jason Smith starred for Dolphins in CSA T20 Challenge 2024
Dolphins finished as the runners-up in the CSA T20 Challenge earlier this year. Smith played a major role in their success, scoring 291 runs in 12 innings at an average of 41.57.
Notably, he smashed a half-century in the final against Lions, but his team still lost the match by seven wickets. Smith will be keen to score big for the South African team now.