England legend Marcus Trescothick was unfurling Test hundreds before history boy Will Smeed was even born.
As Smeed announced his precocious talent, spanking the first-ever century in The Hundred on Thursday evening, Trescothick recalled the 2nd XI game for Somerset where they both reeled off tons with a 26-year age gap separating their feats.
At 42, the former Test opener was only turning out for the stiffs to regain fitness after a foot injury when he was joined at the crease, on 153-2 against Sussex at Taunton Vale, by a 16-year-old kid who had just finished sitting his GCSEs. By the time Trescothick was out for 126, the pair had added 92 and he had enjoyed a front-row view of Smeed's mushrooming potential.
And England's batting coach, who won 76 Test caps, can now see a clear pathway to the national white-ball side for a fearless hitter who “does it bigger and better” in exalted company. Smeed's 116 for Somerset's second string four years ago, in that memorable alliance with an Ashes hero in 2005, resonated with Trescothick as his prodigy teed off for Birmingham Phoenix against Southern Brave at Edgbaston.
This time, 20-year-old Smeed, who stockpiled four A* grades in maths, further maths, physics and chemistry at A level, reached three figures off just 49 balls – and branded his innings “a bit scratchy.”
Trescothick said: “I remember batting with him a few times at the back end of that season in 2018, and the sheer volume of runs he scored made the biggest impression. Will has always been a heavy scorer - from schools cricket to the pathway into Somerset's 2nd XI and beyond, he always had that ability to go 'big' and from an early stage it was clear white-ball cricket was going to suit him.
“One thing that stands out about his game is his capacity to strike the ball cleanly and hit bowlers off a good length. And he does it bigger, or better, when he plays in the Hundred and the TV cameras are on him – he seems to relish the big occasion, the big stage, which is an encouraging sign.”
Trescothick played in England's first-ever Twenty20 international, against Australia at the Rose Bowl in 2005, in an era when players had to adapt their game from the starch of first-class cricket to untethered slap and tickle.
A generation later, Smeed could be one of the first England cricketers to win international caps after being brought up almost exclusively in white-ball versions of the game. In only his second appearance for Somerset, as an 18-year-old, Smeed biffed 82 off 49 balls against Gloucestershire in the Vitality Blast.
Trescothick acknowledged: “At this stage, he is more likely to play white-ball cricket for England than the longer form. The vast majority of his career to date has been spent in white-ball competitions but he is talented enough, if he wants to make a go of it and make his method work for him, to transplant it into the first-class arena. Obviously he would have to play county cricket and develop a technique that can sustain the pressure on bowlers with slip cordons and attacking fields.
“But for him to be the first one to score a century in the Hundred speaks for itself. You would probably have expected someone like Jos Buttler or Jason Roy, one of the established internationals, to do it before anyone else, so as a marker it's a healthy sign for the future. He is definitely one of the players in the next 'wave' of talented prospects who we are hopeful of progressing into the white-ball set-up.”
World Cup-winning England captain Eoin Morgan, commentating for Sky Sports as Smeed cut loose on Thursday night, recognised the significance of the Hundred's maiden, er, hundred. He said: “It's a line in the sand for English cricket. He doesn't play any first-class games, he is predominantly a T20 cricketer and he is clearly exceptional at what he does.
“We have seen other franchise competitions around the world, which attract big-name players, create domestic heroes. Will Smeed has becomes one of them.”
