Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWPix.com. Yorkshire’s new rookie men’s professional Owen Smith is currently playing for Deepdene Bears in Melbourne.
“Smithy is very, very exciting to watch,” said Noah Kelly recently when asked to describe his emerging team-mate Owen Smith. “He’s got an air of flamboyancy, and he’s got a lot of character when he bats.”
Wicketkeeper-batter Smith, a Rotherham native, was handed his maiden professional contract with the county early last month, a rookie contract alongside fast bowler Jay Singh and all-rounder Charlie Taylor.
Safe to say, with Kelly’s views in mind, Yorkshire fans could be in for some exciting times when they get to watch 18-year-old Smith in the coming years.
Smith, like Kelly, is playing club cricket in Melbourne for the winter. He is with White Rose head coach Anthony McGrath’s old club, Deepdene Bears.
“He helped me sort it,” said England Young Lion Smith. “That was the link.”
Playing in the Eastern Cricket Association senior competition, he has started nicely with scores of 68, 65, 27 and 25 in four innings batting in the top order.
Rewinding back to the awarding of his pro contract at Headingley, however, Smith said: “All the hard work that you put into getting to this point, and it all paying off, it’s definitely special.
“All the miles you do as a junior and getting the Academy contract and now this, it feels a bit surreal.”
Smith plays his club cricket at home in the Yorkshire Premier League South for Barnsley Woolley Miners. And for them and the Yorkshire second team, he started and ended the summer particularly impressively.
In late April, he opened the batting for Barnsley and scored 147 in a YPL South clash with Doncaster Town. A couple of weeks later, he hit 55 and 124 not out batting at five in a Second XI three-day friendly win over Essex at Billericay. First-team coach McGrath watched that game in person.
At the end of the summer, again for Barnsley and Yorkshire twos, he posted scores of 72, 66 and 35 in four innings.
“I’ve always seemed to find a way of scoring runs, but not big ones,” he said. “So doing that this summer has really pushed things for me. It gave me a lot of confidence.
“I found a lot of confidence in the T20 block this year, and things seemed to click into place on the back of that and I ended the season well and have started well out here (in Australia).”
On performing in front of McGrath against Essex, he said: “I felt really good going into that game, so yeah it was nice to perform with Mags there.
“When I’m going at my best, I don’t really think about much. That was just one of those games where I was just playing and it all came together nicely.”
Smith, who is not keeping wicket in Australia, has been with Barnsley since he was eight and first represented Yorkshire aged nine. He has played in all the age-groups with fellow new rookie pro Taylor.
“I’ve also played with Will Bennison for a long time and went to school with Jay Singh,” he said. “So it’s really nice that a big group of us have been rewarded for all our hard work.
“We’re a really close-knit age-group. We push each other and get the best out of each other, which is probably why we won a national trophy last year (Under 18s County Cup, 2024).”
Smith says his wicketkeeping is “something I’ve always been able to do, but I also absolutely love fielding”.
Of his batting style, he continued: “I try not to let the bowlers settle. That’s how I’d probably describe it. Never be bogged down, try and relieve pressure and put it back on the bowlers. Then, have a bit of flare in there as well.
“Obviously innovation has taken over the game quite a lot now, so trying to manoeuvre gaps is a skill. I feel like that’s what I try and do when I’m at my best.”
Smith says he comes from more of a footballing family than a cricketing one, and he played quite a bit growing up: “I played up until I was 15 and then cricket took over.
“I was a centre back and had trials with Sheffield United twice.”
He kind of says that through gritted teeth given he’s a big Wednesday fan.
“My earliest memories are watching my older brother Elliott play.”
His decision to prioritise cricket has been vindicated by his progression through the ranks at Yorkshire, where he has been playing in the seconds for the last two seasons.
He has also caught the eye of the national selectors and played twice for an England Young Lions side in 50-over warm-up matches against the Under 19s sides of England and India in late June as they warmed up for a series against each other.
Smith scored 67 batting at three as the Young Lions, captained by White Rose team-mate Bennison, beat England’s U19s. Against the Indians, he scored 28 in a defeat. Bennison scored a century in the latter fixture.
“That was a very good experience,” added Smith. “I was playing in a team full of great players.
“It felt like when you got selected there was a bit of pressure. But, once you got into the environment, there was no pressure at all. It was just a case of showcase your skills against the best players at that age in England and India and enjoy yourself.
“Vaibhav Suryavanshi played for India, and their captain – Ayush Mhatre – has also played a couple of IPL games. I absolutely loved it.”
