Smith’s Canadian cricket comeback
STEVE Smith is off to Canada to restart his cricket career but a dream stint in England under his old mentor still appears unlikely despite a shock late development.
Indian captain Virat Kohli has pulled out of his contract with English county Surrey, opening up an unexpected international vacancy under the coaching of Michael di Venuto, a former Australian assistant and Smith confidant.
Di Venuto flagged his interest in signing Smith or David Warner in the wake of the balltampering bans, but it doesn’t seem as though the county will explore that opportunity given the England Cricket Board has given the impression it would block any such attempt.
Smith was yesterday locked in as a marquee signing for the fledgling Global T20 Canada League, with Warner hoping to join him if he gets picked up at a draft for the tournament to be held on Tuesday.
The 7000-seat Maple Leaf Ground just north of Toronto might not be where you’d expect the deposed Australian cricketer to make his muchanticipated return to the game.
But the six-team tournament running between June 28 and July 16 will allow Smith and likely Warner the chance to blow out some cobwebs and boost the profile of the game in an emerging market.
Speculation linking Smith to the Northern Territory Blast later this winter is off the mark, but the 28-year-old has fielded interest from Twenty20 leagues around the world.
Cricket Australia had hoped Smith, Warner and Cameron Bancroft might be snapped up to play in English county cricket, and the withdrawal of Kohli due to a neck complaint has left the door slightly ajar for that possibility.
However, it’s understood the England Cricket Board has taken the view that if the trio are banned from domestic cricket in their own country, why should they allow them to play in their own competition?
There is a feeling in some quarters that the ball-tampering punishments are too great, but there is no chance Cricket Australia will back down.
Australia are making all the right noises that Smith, Warner (12 months) and Bancroft (nine months) will be wel- comed back into the fold once their international and state bans are lifted.
However, there remain question marks about how they can bring themselves up to international-standard form with potentially no first-class cricket available to them between now and next winter’s World Cup and Ashes.
It seems T20 leagues in Canada, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Asia are the only real international options.
Chris Lynn is the other Australian featuring among the marquees in Canada.