Former South Africa Under-19 spinner Kenan Smith has been included in Western Province’s squad for this week’s 4-Day Domestic Series fixture against the Tuskers in Pietermaritzburg.
Smith was capped seven times at first-class level by Eastern Province before relocating to the Western Cape.
He has been playing for Claremont Cricket Club in the 2023-24 Western Province Cricket Association premier league.
Western Province lost last week’s 4-Day Domestic Series opener at Newlands in Cape Town to the Lions.
“The lessons we’re taking out of the game the past weekend is that as a batting group first-innings runs are important. The only way you can get to scores of 400-plus is with partnerships” said Western Province batting coach Qaasim Adams.
“I am 100 percent sure we will bounce back. What this team has shown is how resilient they are and when they find themselves in difficult positions they find a way out. I think that’s a strong point of this group.
“What we can expect from the team is to be patient for longer periods than we did last weekend. So from a batting point of view, when we’re in the battle is to make sure we convert starts into big scores instead of just a few starts as we saw last weekend.
“Obviously, it’s their home ground, so they know what the conditions are like. But it’s really not focusing on them, but just staying in the positive space we’re in. Doing well on the road is important to us and we want to do well in every game we play, whether it’s home or away.”
Western Province squad
- Juan James
- Kenan Smith
- Tony de Zorzi
- Edward Moore
- Yaseen Vallie
- David Bedingham
- Valentine Kitime
- Kyle Verreynne
- Kyle Simmonds
- Beuran Hendricks
- Mthiwekhaya Nabe
- Dane Paterson
- Nandre Burger