TO most players, a shock promotion to No 3 in the England batting line-up for a crunch match would be a huge change.
But perhaps not for Jamie Smith – as he dropped a promising football career to become one of cricket‘s most exciting prospects.
GettyJamie Smith has raced up the England batting order to become No 3 for Saturday’s Champions Trophy opener against Australia[/caption]
GettySmith will bat one up from Test legend Joe Root in the ODI[/caption]
GettyEngland are gambling by elevating the powerful hitter[/caption]
Test legend Joe Root has been moved down to No 4 due to Smith’s rise up the order for Saturday’s Champions Trophy opener against Australia.
It will be only the second time the big-hitter has come in first wicket down in professional 50-over cricket.
Not only that, the 24-year-old will also take the gloves from Phil Salt, who will continue to open the batting alongside Ben Duckett.
But it’s nothing too dramatic for Smith – not compared to the major decision he made aged 15.
He was a highly-talented central midfielder for League Two club AFC Wimbledon.
And indeed as a kid football dominated his thoughts… until he became the first person in his family to play cricket.
Surrey CCC rated Smith so highly at the smaller-ball game that they picked him for their Under-17s when he was just 12.
The wicketkeeper-batsman revealed how it all began.
GettySmith faces a big task behind the stumps and with the bat[/caption]
CASINO SPECIAL – BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS
He once told the Mail: “No one in my family played cricket.
“I was pushed into a holiday camp with my local club, Sutton – something my parents did to keep me busy.”
However, he confessed: “I didn’t really want that to be the case, but I knew with my cricket that I had something a little bit special.
“I wasn’t naive. When you’re growing up, people push you for a reason.
“They’re putting you in higher teams, because they can see a talent in you.
‘It was getting to the point where football and cricket were overlapping too much.
“Going on pre-season tours with Surrey in March meant missing things. Doing both wasn’t sustainable.”
However, Smith revealed choosing cricket was partly down to a brutal self-assessment of his chances at football.
He said: “Walking into a contracts meeting with Wimbledon at the end of the season, knowing how the contracts worked, I was never going to get one.
“Everyone had their little percentage score for attendance and mine was 56.”
Now, however, that’s a figure he’d love to match for England at cricket, where he averages an impressive 42 in Tests and a modest 22 in ODIs.
England cricketer Smith was a youth footballer with AFC WimbledonGetty Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
