Kai Smith: Warwickshire Bears wicketkeeper wants to be the best in the country

Prior to his innings, Smith had only faced 38 balls from four visits to the crease in the competition but made the most of his chance with a superb half-century as he and Sam Hain (48 not out) ensured Warwickshire cruised to their victory target of 154 with five wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.

“You never know when you’re going to get your next opportunity and you want to make sure that you grab it with both hands, so I was really pleased,” Smith said.

“I just had to stay patient and always stay ready.

“You never know what can happen so making sure that I still top up behind the scenes doing training sessions and things like that.”

Currently in his second season of first-class cricket, Smith played in the first two County Championship games of the season but has not featured since with former captain Alex Davies taking over the gloves.

Smith turned down the chance to play cricket overseas in the winter to work on his keeping at Edgbaston and he says, with more white-ball opportunities to come in the One-Day Cup, he is reaping the benefits.

“Oh, massively. I realised how far I can actually go up the ranks if you become a solid keeper,” he said.

“I’ve got my dreams and aspirations to become the best keeper in the country.

“Growing up in Dubai, I haven’t had the experience keeping to the wobbling ball and the conditions here in the UK, so I had to work really hard on that front.

“I decided to not go away last winter and actually stay the whole winter indoors and work on my keeping so I’m really pleased to see where that’s taken me.

“It’s definitely felt like there’s a massive improvement compared to last year so I just need to keep my head down, keep working hard.”