I can recall crying, once, because of a Cup Match happening. Oddly enough, it was not over a lost match, or a dismissal. The tears welled up in my eyes on that late Saturday night after the final trial of July 1988. I sat, alone, crying on the porch, on the rooftop of our home that overlooks Wellington Oval. I sat, reflecting on what just transpired in our selection committee meeting moments earlier.

I had just made a decision to exclude my younger brother, Clay, from the Cup Match classic because of his late-night gallivanting. I saw immense talent in him and did not believe that he was doing himself, or the game, justice by “hanging out” nights before league matches and partying in the clubs. With hindsight, I realise that it was a ruthless act. Still, I wanted to break him of this habit, early in his career, with the hope that he would fulfil his immense potential.

He went on, in subsequent years, to become the first batsman to score three centuries in the classic, a MVP recipient, a winning (and losing) captain, a member of the 1,000-run club, a partnership record-holder, an Athlete of the Year recipient and arguably Bermuda’s most accomplished batsman.

I was aware that some folks considered Clay to be brash and arrogant. I asked him one day whether he thought these descriptions were accurate. His reply at that time was “Is Muhammad Ali cocky? Is Michael Jordan cocky? You need to have self-confidence in order to succeed in sports.”

Truth be told, while he did accomplish many cricketing feats, his Garfield Sobers-like pregame tendencies did not cease.

***

Name: James Clay Smith.

Date of birth: January 15, 1971.

Start in cricket: I played lots of cricket at St George’s Prep, in my yard with my two brothers, Ray and Wendell, at Mullet Bay Park and on Wellington Oval with school friends.

Length of career: I began playing league cricket at the age of 14. My Cup Match career commenced in 1987, in Somerset, and concluded in 2008, also in Somerset.

Role on the team: I was an early-order batsman.

Childhood memories: I played tennis ball cricket at Mullet Bay Park with my peers: Dean Minors, Troy Hall and Dwayne Richardson. We would use a big trash barrel as a wicket. Dean was a “chucker” so that helped me in later years to play against pace bowling.

Teams played for: St George’s CC, St David’s CCC, Cleveland County, Benwell CC in England, the Bermuda ICC teams and St George’s Cup Match teams.

Nickname: None.

Favourite local match played in: That would probably be the game at Southampton Oval, against Rangers. I played with a dislocated shoulder and we had to chase 220 runs. I batted with my brother, Wendell, and we scored 222 for one. During the last over, I was on 96 and Janeiro Tucker bowled a wide ball way down the leg side so that it would go for four and I would not be able to score a century. The other match that stands out was the game against Cleveland at Wellington Oval when they left us one hour and 20 overs to make 200. We pulled it down despite their stalling tactics and batted in the dark to score the winning runs.

Best international feat: Scoring two unbeaten centuries in the Red Stripe Bowl in 1997 against Jamaica (Test bowlers Courtney Walsh, Patrick Patterson) and against the Windward Islands (Test bowler Nixon McLean)

(Clay ended the tournament with the best average of all participants. A little-known fact is that, after this tour, administrators in the Caribbean asked our management to have the Bermuda Cricket Board send Clay back to the West Indies to participate in a league that they were setting up. Because of inaction by the BCB hierarchy at the time, this never materialised. He also scored a half-century against the Australia Test team at Lord’s in St. David’s, and 96 against a Jamaica XI to help St George’s defeat their guests at Wellington Oval. In that match, Delroy Morgan bowled a wide down the leg side to deny Clay the chance of a century.)

Favourite venue: Locally, Somerset Cricket Club. I liked the closeness of the spectators, and the pitches were usually good. I usually scored runs there. (Without a doubt, two of the most memorable Cup Match innings Clay ever played were on this ground. They included the century partnership with Glenn Blakeney, which was simply blistering. Their 100 runs came up in 60 minutes. During the other innings, with Somerset homing in on a victory around lunchtime on the second day, Clay batted for nearly five hours to deny Somerset a certain victory.) Overseas, it would the Aga Khan ground in Nairobi, Kenya. That was the best track that I ever played on in my career. I scored a 108 versus Kenya, there, in the ICC semi — final. (Clay ended up scoring 391 runs in that tournament, the second-highest by any Bermudian in an ICC tournament. Dexter Smith, his roommate, scored 392 runs on that same tour.)

Favourite international player: Graham Gooch. I modelled my batting technique after his. At present, it is Joe Root. Yes, I am an England supporter.

Number one supporter: Larry “Cocky” Steede, a diehard St George’s supporter.

Pre-match routine: I made sure to have a good breakfast and would think about the bowlers that I was due to face in the upcoming match. My pregame routine was more mental than physical.

Favourite dish while playing: I looked forward to that St David’s mussel pie.

Biggest regret in my career: Locally, I retired from Cup Match about three years too soon, and I never accomplished a personal goal of scoring a double century in the Cup Match classic. Internationally, it would be getting injured, and not being able to fulfil my potential in the 2007 World Cup.

Any superstitions: I had two. Whenever I scored big runs in a match, I would make a point to wash the entire same clothing, from head to toe, and be sure to wear this outfit in the very next game. Second, if I failed to make a decent amount of runs after using a bat for three games, I would go out and buy a new bat.

Toughest opponent: Terry Burgess.

Funniest thing that you have seen while playing cricket: When we were in Kenya, preparing for a match, all the players put up a dollar and we played “last man standing”. This was a catching game in which whoever was the remaining player to not drop a catch during our drill would keep all the money. Dexter Smith was one of the players still remaining when he bobbled a catch that was about to land behind him. He proceeded to turn and dive full length backwards only to land on the hard road that was just behind the field we were practising on. That was Dexter: he always took everything so seriously. He did take the catch and, after a good laugh, we decided to end the game and just give him the money.

Hobbies: Playing table tennis, swimming and playing cards, particularly spades.

A key to my success: Hard work and preparation. I used to get up out of bed about 5.30am to go to the St George’s Community Centre gym with my brother, Wendell. We would do between 400 and 600 throwdowns to perfect particular strokes. I also did lots of roadwork. Another key was learning to sacrifice to achieve my goal. While in England, at Alf Gover’s cricket school, Wendell and I wanted to go to watch West Indies on the last day of a Test that happened to be on near by. Mr Gover asked us: “Did you come to England to learn cricket or to watch cricket?” He did not allow us to go. While we were disappointed not to attend the match (Gordon Greenidge scored a century to lead West Indies to a famous victory on that final day), it taught us both a valuable lesson.

Advice to today’s cricketers: If you want to be successful, training does not just stop when you are finished training with your respective teams. To elevate your game, you have to do the extras outside of the regular sessions. Also, think big. Don’t think about scoring thirties and forties. Aim for hundreds.

Motto you live by: If better is possible, then being good is not enough.