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Smith laughs off talk of Cup Match return

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Back in the habit: St George's coach Clay Smith in action during his side's game against Bailey's Bay at Sea Breeze Oval yesterday. Smith scored an unbeaten 19, and has yet to be dismissed this season.

St George’s, 87 for five, beat Bailey’s Bay, 85 all out, by five wickets (Points: St George’s 13, Bailey’s Bay 1).Oronde Bascome took five wickets, Clay Smith finished unbeaten for the second consecutive game, and St George’s pulled off a shock win at Sea Breeze Oval yesterday.Having skittled Bailey’s Bay out for a paltry 85, the visiting team eventually won with nearly 30 overs to spare, but they didn’t have it all their own way.On a poor wicket, St George’s were wobbling at 48 for five thanks to a fine spell of fast bowling from Lateef Trott and a couple of inventive bowling changes from skipper Stephen Outerbridge.However, the loss of Detroy Smith, who was out lbw to Calvin Dill first ball, brought player/coach Clay Smith (19*) to the crease and he and Troy Hall (16*) kept their composure to see their team to a well-earned victory.It is the second time in two weeks, following an unbeaten 64 against Devonshire Rec, that Clay Smith’s presence at the crease has ultimately helped his team to victory. And while the knees might not be as young as they used to be, his ability and technique are still there for all to see.“I didn’t really plan on playing too much,” said Smith, “but we had one or two guys with work commitments, like James Celestine, who is a key frontline batsman.“Last week we had a bloke who got called in to work at the very last minute and I just had to fill in you know. But, with the side ahead the players are motivating me to play a little bit. I’ll see (how it goes) at the end of the day. I prefer to do coaching and give them the responsibility of getting the job done. But, for now, we’ll just take it one game at a time.”Given his history, Smith’s early season form is inevitably drawing questions about a Cup Match return. However, the St George’s coach is adamant that while he may enjoy playing in the Premier Division, he will not be coming out of retirement for the Classic.“Once you get out in the middle you get a nice little vibe going, and it feels good to be back out there. But, with my knee injuries I’m very limited so I’m just trying to keep my batting as limited as possible, give the other guys a chance, and just bat if I have to really.“There is absolutely no chance of me making a comeback for Cup Match. I will definitely be coaching. Truthfully, I know one or two people around the club probably would encourage me to play, but, no, absolutely not. My days are done, I’ll just stick with coaching.”Not that he’s doing too badly at that either. St George’s won their second successive game on their return to the top flight yesterday, although once again they had some help from their opponents.After winning the toss and opting to bat, Bay’s players never really came to terms with a poor wicket that hadn’t been rolled since Thursday and was still damp after the early morning rain.As a result, the bounce was inconsistent and the ball either popped off a length or held up and drew batsmen into poorly timed shots.Only Dennico Hollis (23) made it into the twenties, and he was out to a mistimed hook shot, which went straight into the air giving bowler Zico Burgess a simple return catch.Bay were 47 for three at that stage after Hollis and Outerbridge (14) had re-built their team’s innings following the early departures of Coleridge Durham and Sinclair Smith.Things might have been worse for Bay but Outerbridge and David Lovell (16) were both dropped as they tried to get their side towards a defendable total.As it was, Outerbridge played on to a Clay Darrell delivery, Lovell became Bascome’s first victim when the ball popped up and he hit a tame catch to Darrell in the covers, and with the St George’s skipper mopping up the tail, Bay lost their last seven wickets for just 42 runs.In reply, St George’s seemed to be cruising to victory at 47 for one, with the run out of Darrell the only blemish on the innings. Then Lateef Trott picked up the wickets of Richard Todd (14) and Bascome (24) and St George’s were 48 for three.The wobble very nearly became a full blown collapse when Calvin Dill’s gentle spin accounted for Machai Simmons and Detroy Smith in consecutive balls, and if Trott, who is still only 16, had been allowed to bowl more than seven overs, who knows what might have happened.With Clay Smith the last recognised batsmen Bay may well have fancied their chances of pulling off a stunning turnaround, but better sides than Bay have tried and failed to get the better of Smith, and in the end 85 was too megre a total for them to defend.

Scorecard

Bailey's BayD Hollis c&b Z Burgess 23C Durham c C Smith b R Pitcher 1S Smith run out (D Smith) 0S Outerbridge b Darrell 14D Lovell c Darrell b Bascome 16C Dill c Bascome b Pitcher 9M Trott lbw Bascome 0R Steede c D Smith b Bascome 4J West not out 1L Trott c Z Burgess b Bascome 2D Outerbridge lbw Bascome 0Extras (4lb, 11w, 1nb) 16Total (all out: 25.2 overs) 85

Fall of wickets: 1-4, 2-7, 3-43, 4-67, –5-78, 6-78, 7-80, 8-83, 9-85.

Bowling: R Pitcher 8-1-17-2, Z Burgess –6-1-26-1, O Bascome 9.2-0-34-5, C Darrell 2-0-4-1.

St George'sO Bascome b L Trott 24C Darrell run out (Hollis/L Trott) 5R Todd c Dill b L Trott 14M Simmons c L Trott b Dill 1D Smith c Steede b Dill 0T Hall not out 16C Smith not out 19Extras (1lb, 6w, 1nb) 8Total (for five wickets: 21.2 overs) 87

Fall of wickets: 1-9, 2-47, 3-48, 4-48, –5-48.Did not bat: Z Burgess, R Pitcher, R Foggo, V Brown.

Bowling: B Outerbridge 6-0-30-0, L Trott 7-3-10-2, D Lovell 4-0-19-0, C Dill 3-1-20-2, D Hollis 1.2-0-7-0.Umpires: S Douglas, M Butcher.