Jason Smith

It was Hollywoodbets Dolphins all-rounder Jason Smith who went home with the major awards as he bagged the Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards at the end of season awards at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Photo: Rogan Ward/
Hollywoodbets Dolphins

Proteas hopeful Jason Smith is making the most of his move to Durban

It is time for the Proteas to start paying attention to the form of Dolphins allrounder Jason Smith.

Jason Smith

It was Hollywoodbets Dolphins all-rounder Jason Smith who went home with the major awards as he bagged the Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year awards at the end of season awards at Hollywoodbets Kingsmead Stadium on Wednesday evening.

Photo: Rogan Ward/
Hollywoodbets Dolphins

Former Western Province allrounder Jason Smith is relishing the central role he has been given at the Dolphins.

Smith was the big winner at the Dolphins end of season awards and his performances were central to the 4-Day title returning to Durban.

Jason Smith making the most of his move to Durban

At Western Province, Smith appeared in danger of being deprived of further opportunities with several young allrounders now on their books.

His move to the Dolphins during the 2021/22 season gave him exactly what he needed at this stage of his career, a chance to play more cricket.

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Smith might just be what the Proteas are desperately searching for, a top-order quality batting allrounder who bowls seam.

He finished as the Dolphins’ highest run scorer in First Class cricket this season, ending the competition with an average of nearly 56. 

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Smith played a number of crucial knocks in the competition, but his 136 against North West helped set up a dominant win that was crucial in seeing the Dolphins to a second competition title in three seasons.

His brilliance was not limited to red-ball cricket as Smith also produced some fine performances with the bat in the One Day Cup which saw him finish as the Dolphins’ second-highest run-scorer.

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Jason Smith
The Hollywoodbets Dolphins were crowned CSA 4-Day Domestic Series champions following their final match of the competition at the JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom. Photo: Sydney Seshibedi/ Gallo Images

Smith missed out on winning the Dophins’ awards for 4-day and 1-day player of the season but was crowned the overall player of the campaign and the player’s player of the season, which speaks to him winning over the dressing room.

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Selectors should take note

SuperSport’s free YouTube streams of 4-day cricket have ensured the game is brought to a wider audience and hopefully that also means that selectors have been paying attention to domestic cricket.

Smith should have some sort of involvement with the national team setup during the domestic off-season, although the Proteas’ schedule will be quite sparse in the coming months, provided they manage to clinch their place at the 2023 Cricket World Cup.

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