surrey and kent chasing steve smith

from NSW.he has a british passport,NSW keen to hold onto him.

FFS. Why bother. He's 18. Just because he's an Aussie, doesn't mean he's going to be a brilliant player. Surely Surrey and Kent have 18 year olds with equal talent. Concentrate on them. When was the last time England managed to hold on to a young Aussie player with a British passport anyway? Craig White? Alan Mullally? Martin McCague?

Australia can keep him.

If he's actively looking to play for an English county, he probably thinks he's not good enough to make a Shield team.

Nah, he's just getting some extra practice in over the winter . . .

Bloody Aussies - coming over here, taking our jobs....

Too many Steve Smiths!

Due to the quality of coaching and competition and the general mentalitude in Australian cricket he's bound to be better than any of Surrey's young'uns.

If he does turn out be to be a top class player he's more than likley to eventually nail his colours to the Australian mast (like Andy Symonds or Phil Jacques) and English cricket will just be paying him money and helping him develop. I don't think a British passport in itself should qualify you to play county cricket, you should also have to sign a legally binding declaration that you will only play international cricket for England- although this would probably contravene British employment law.

Oooh I've come over all Daily Mail this morning.

I hope no-one has to read it after you then.

Steve Smith from NSW? And TWO counties after him? How desperate is that?

He must be pushing 50, and he wouldn't have played any FC cricket for close on 20 years.

JKLever wrote:Bloody Aussies - coming over here, taking our jobs....

Going to send KP back?

taipan wrote:

JKLever wrote:Bloody Aussies - coming over here, taking our jobs....

Going to send KP back?

What's the address?

Infact sod sending KP back, perhaps they would like to mail us his brain which was obviously missing from the original package.

You already have it, you're just looking in the wrong place.

brockley wrote:from NSW.he has a british passport,NSW keen to hold onto him.

Little did we know what we'd be missing out on.

The one that got away...

He could end up being great.

More likely he's the Mahmood of the South.

Great at what? Dancing? Gurning?

lardbucket wrote:He could end up being great.

More likely he's the Mahmood of the South.

no-one can approach the greatness of the Big MahMoo

Dello wrote:Great at what? Dancing? Gurning?

he's already mastered gurning, effortlessly

I was thinking about short-haul orange transport, mainly

he's come on a bit since the original Bails assessment

He's a fighter, isn't he. Has a pretty ordinary technique that will constantly get him into trouble on pitches with movement, but he's a little fighter who's cheeks you want to pinch and medicine you want to enthusiastically give before he runs away giggling back onto the field.

His early forays into serious Test cricket remind me of Ian Bell, 2005. If he can turn out half as well, I will be happy. He's young, so there's still time.

Henry wrote:He's a fighter, isn't he. Has a pretty ordinary technique that will constantly get him into trouble on pitches with movement, but he's a little fighter who's cheeks you want to pinch and medicine you want to enthusiastically give before he runs away giggling back onto the field.

Joe Root is your nephew?

lardbucket wrote:His early forays into serious Test cricket remind me of Ian Bell, 2005. If he can turn out half as well, I will be happy. He's young, so there's still time.

Bell has always had a classical technique. Smith is more manufactured.

Yes, I was talking temperament results rather than technique.

No doubt Bell is and always was more technically proficient.

brockley wrote:from NSW ... he has a british passport ... NSW keen to hold onto him.

Henry wrote:FFS. Why bother. He's 18. Just because he's an Aussie, doesn't mean he's going to be a brilliant player. Surely Surrey and Kent have 18 year olds with equal talent. Concentrate on them. When was the last time England managed to hold on to a young Aussie player with a British passport anyway? Craig White? Alan Mullally? Martin McCague?

Australia can keep him.

JKLever wrote:Bloody Aussies -  coming over here, taking our jobs....

Dello wrote:(in response to 'he could be great' ... Great at what? Dancing? Gurning?

Didn't Smith make an unimpressive cameo appearance in the original scented panda episode as well?