Devon Smith by CricketArchive Staff Reporter

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Player:

DS Smith

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DateLine: 3rd May 2009

 

The left-handed opener, Smith is a swashbuckling batsman at the top of the order who provides perfect foil to skipper Gayle. Devon Smith was picked for the West Indies squad for the Test series against India in March 2002 and this selection came against the back of some good form wherein he scored 750 runs for Windward Islands in the Busta Cup. He though did not get a chance to play in the series and made his debut against Australia, where in his first Test, Smith scored a blazing 62 in a losing cause and also failed to score in the next Test. His basic strength of a wonderful hand-eye co-ordination if often compromised because of a not so good footwork which on many occasions leads to his downfall. He was elevated to the post of opener in the year 2004 when against England he went on to score his maiden century. But injuries then took their toll on him and he was out of the team for two seasons. He made his return in the ODIs against India in 2006-07 and was also picked for the World Cup squad. After failing to be consistent at the top of the order, Smith was shunted down to No. 6 in the Test series against Sri Lanka indicating that his role might change in the future. But sooner he was back to his openers slot. Smith did not have a very good home series against England either and scored just one fifty in the series.