Ormskirk want Smith to bring some Tasmanian devil with him

Date: 2nd February 2012

A Paul Edwards copyright exclusive for L&DCC Official Website.

Ormskirk officials are hoping that 23-year-old Tasmanian all-rounder Jeremy Smith will fill the gap left by the departure of Nicky Caunce. who has joined Northern.

Smith, who has just one first-class appearance to his credit and is currently on a rookie contract with the Tigers, has also represented Australia Under 19s and Brook Lane skipper Ian Robinson believes that he meets his club's requirements in a number of ways.

"Having lost Nicky, we were obviously looking to replace him with someone similar and Jeremy also has the qualifications needed to coach youngsters," he said. "He fitted our budget so we'll be looking forward to having him over here."

A number of Ormskirk cricketers are gathering at St Bede's Cricket Centre at 6 o'clock every Monday evening for their winter net sessions and Robinson is hopeful that the squad will be strengthened in April by Springview's Giles Makinson, who is apparently thinking of joining the club.

"Giles won't turn up until spring because he's playing in Perth at the moment," said Robinson. "If and when he does arrive, we'll have a look at each other and see what comes of it."

And as he began to prepare for the new season, the Ormskirk skipper was in no mood to nurse greivances regarding Caunce's departure to Moor Park.

"We were disappointed but we understand why Nicky's made the move," he said. "Having been released by Lancashire, he needs a job and a future career. Unlike Northern, we couldn't offer him a job working on the ground . However, we've exchanged emails and I'm sure he'll still be at Ormskirk frequently. We wish him all the best, although only so far as getting Northern to second place in the Premier League."