33305_DU Sports Review Inner_33305_DU Sports Review Inner 30/09/2011 13:19 Page 112
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Sporting Alumni – Where are they now
Will Smith
Durham, a hot-bed of cricketing talent
County cricketer, Will Smith (Collingwood, 2005), has previously captained both Durham and British University sides and led his current team Durham CCC the County Championship title. Reflecting on his time in the University side, Will explains that the Centre of Excellence, set-up with Graeme Fowler at the helm, is ideal for creating cricketers that can compete at the top level. Before joining Durham, Will was contracted at Nottinghamshire before starting the University, having been playing for them during school summer holidays, working around his academic commitments. His first visit to Durham came in an England U18 fixture played at the Racecourse; it was here that he was introduced to Durham head coach, Graeme Fowler. Cricket was the reason for Durham as Will’s top university destination, “It just sounded fantastic to me." In his first year , the team won the BUCS One-Day Cup and in Will’s final year, his second as captain, the side reached the finals at Lord's. Sadly for Will, he missed out on the game, instead selected to play for Nottinghamshire in a Twenty20 match the same day. Playing at Durham provided great enjoyment and a different style of cricketing experience for Will. With
2010/2011 - A Sporting Review
sessions with Graeme ‘Foxy’ Fowler four or five times a week, as well as 6am running over the winter, there was something cricket-related happening almost every day for W ill. “Foxy’s great with young cricketers, recognising a player’s willingness to learn." The development experience was individually centred, with players needing to find out what things worked well for them, using a self-driven approach to fitness. But it was the pre-season work that really created a strong team bond, “By the time the season started we were all great mates." The valuable lesson of gaining awareness of those around you in the team is, W ill says, an important one. “It’s one that you have to experience in order to enhance those skills, learning how to deal with people, within a team.” “I immensely enjoyed my two years as captain." Will played with a strong side, many of whom went on to join W ill, playing county cricket. David Balcombe plays at Hampshire, Rob Ferley at Kent, James Foster and Tim Phillips at Essex, also David Brown currently with Glamorgan, whilst Alex Loudon had played for England before his retirement into the business world. It was a match alongside Alasdair Maiden that W ill recalls as a highlight of his University playing career. A first-class match against Somerset saw the county side put on nearly 600 in the first day, which Will refers to as “a toughening experience (!)”, but Durham came out fighting. The partnership of Smith (156) and Maiden (211*) led Durham to their highest ever first-class score of 433 before the match was drawn. Alasdair is now an assistant coach at the Durham CCC Academy. During his time playing for the British Universities side, Will was fortunate enough to be involved in two tours to South Africa and play alongside other emerging county cricketers like Monty Panesar, but it was Durham that gave W ill “the ideal preparation for the professional set up." Will’s highly positive memories of the North East aided him settling into
Durham CCC when he moved to the club in 2006. Durham means a lot to W ill, not just because of the familiar surroundings but also the people found there. W ill explains how he is still in touch with Graeme Fowler,“I know Foxy is always there, I trust him implicitly; his thoughts on the game are second to none." Seeing players from the University enter the county system is something W ill always looks out for. Mentioning Greg Smith’s “brilliant season at Leicestershire,” he proclaims that “counties should be looking to Durham”. Will’s advice for current students? “If you want to succeed it’s up to you to motivate yourself to get the best out of everything”. 'I am quite certain that without those three years at Durham University, I would not be the person I am today . You'd have to ask those close to me if that's good or bad! It has shaped me, provided otherwise unlikely opportunities, brought me trusted life-long friends, and most of all taught me how to be me.'