JJ’s firing at Radlett following England match-up

RADLETT opener Jon-Jon Smuts says facing an England side which included Eoin Morgan, Jos Buttler and Chris Woakes in February helped him realise he is not so far off the top.

Smuts, who played in five games for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots as they finished bottom of the Caribbean Premier League table last month, was part of a South Africa A side which lost by 44 runs to England in a T20 warm-up match, making 30 runs for the hosts in Paarl.

“It was a big experience,” said the South African.“At that stage England were right in the middle of their campaign of scoring as many runs as possible. They smashed us.

“But to experience it first hand was quite cool. It was really enjoyable to face bowlers of that quality and realise you’re actually not far off that level.

“Alex Hales scored a lot, Jos Buttler smashed a few and Eoin Morgan cracked 42 off 13 balls.

“I played against Morgan when he was a youngster playing for Ireland, but I’ve watched him a bit since and I know the calibre of him.”

However, the 27-year-old, who has previously played for Bacup and Chorley in the Lancashire League, now switches his attention to retaining the Hertfordshire Premier Division title with a Radlett side who are a point behind Harpenden with a game in hand.

He is the team’s third-highest run scorer, despite his sojourn in the Caribbean, after hitting 445 runs in just seven league matches.

The Cobden Hill club have a recent history of successful overseas pros with Shane Burger winning 11 honours in 12 years while in Hertfordshire before returning to South Africa at the end of last season.

And it was Burger who helped convince Smuts to join Radlett. “When the talks began I spoke to Shane and learnt a little bit about the club,” he explained.“He became part of the furniture here so he sold it pretty well. He said it’s a really friendly, open club and I would enjoy it here.”

Smuts, who is coaching locally while at Radlett, refutes the idea that switching between the pro and amateur game can lead to complacency for someone who has rubbed shoulders with AB de Villiers, Morne Morkel and Faf du Plessis among others.

“Anyone can still get you out or hit you for a boundary,” he said. “The big difference is you get a lot more bad balls. It’s the same from first-class cricket to Test cricket. The big adjustment is you don’t get many bowlers with a bit of pace.”

He added: “Sometimes when you bat you go through stages where you can get lured into thinking it’s quite easy. I’m more experienced so I’m able to identify situations like that. At 21 or 22 you might throw your wicket away.”

One thing the slow left-armer isn’t ready to throw away is the hope of turning out for the Proteas’ full side.

He was selected for the South African Emerging Talents’ tour of Australia in 2010 and has played for the Under-19s, but hasn’t represented South Africa in a full international.

“I’ve always had dreams and ambitions to play for the main side and I still do,” he said.“You just look to put performances in to get recognised.

“I don’t want to say it doesn’t matter anymore because it still does. It just isn’t as important as it was six years ago.”