JJ Smuts explained

JJ Smuts should not be confused with JJ Smit.

Jon-Jon Trevor Smuts (born 21 September 1988) is a South African cricketer who plays for the Warriors in the South African domestic competitions.^[1] He is a right-handed opening batsman and a slow left-arm bowler. In 2010 he was selected for the South African Emerging Players' squad to tour Australia. In the 2018 South African Cricket Annual, he was named as one of the five Cricketers of the Year.^{[2] [3]} He is the brother of cricket player Kelly Smuts.

Domestic and T20 career

In the 2010/11 South African domestic season he was named the Chevrolet Warriors cricketer of the season. He was included in the Eastern Province cricket team squad for the 2015 Africa T20 Cup.^[4]

In October 2018, he was named in Nelson Mandela Bay Giants' squad for the first edition of the Mzansi Super League T20 tournament.^{[5] [6]} He was the leading run-scorer for the team in the tournament, with 219 runs in nine matches.^[7]

In July 2019, he was selected to play for the Glasgow Giants in the inaugural edition of the Euro T20 Slam cricket tournament.^{[8] [9]} However, the following month the tournament was cancelled.^[10] In September 2019, he was named in the squad for the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants team for the 2019 Mzansi Super League tournament.^[11] In April 2021, he was named in Eastern Province's squad, ahead of the 2021–22 cricket season in South Africa.^[12]

International career

In January 2017 he was included in South Africa's Twenty20 International (T20I) squad for their series against Sri Lanka.^[13] He made his T20I debut for South Africa against Sri Lanka on 20 January 2017.^[14] In August 2017, he was named in Nelson Mandela Bay Stars' squad for the first season of the T20 Global League.^[15] However, in October 2017, Cricket South Africa initially postponed, and later cancelled the tournament.^[16] In January 2020, he was selected for South Africa's One Day International (ODI) squad for their series against England.^[17] He made his ODI debut on 4 February 2020, for South Africa against England.^[18]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Chevrolet Warriors - Cricket South Africa . 19 October 2009 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090923211437/http://www.cricket.co.za/chevrolet-warriors.html . 23 September 2009 . dead .
2. Web site: Markram, Ngidi named among SA Cricket Annual's Top Five . Cricket South Africa . 29 November 2018 . 27 March 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190327221829/https://cricket.co.za/news/27248/Markram-Ngidi-named-among-SA-Cricket-Annuals-Top-Five . dead .
3. Web site: Markram, Ngidi among SA Cricket Annual's Cricketers of the Year . ESPNcricinfo. 29 November 2018.
4. http://www.espncricinfo.com/africa-t20-cup-2015-16/content/squad/911675.html Eastern Province Squad / Players
5. Web site: Mzansi Super League - full squad lists . Sport24 . 17 October 2018.
6. Web site: Mzansi Super League Player Draft: The story so far . Independent Online . 17 October 2018.
7. Web site: Mzansi Super League, 2018/19 - Nelson Mandela Bay Giants: Batting and bowling averages . ESPNcricinfo. 12 December 2018.
8. Web site: Eoin Morgan to represent Dublin franchise in inaugural Euro T20 Slam . ESPNcricinfo. 19 July 2019.
9. Web site: Euro T20 Slam Player Draft completed . Cricket Europe . 19 July 2019 . 19 July 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190719163945/https://www.cricketeurope.com/DATABASE/ARTICLES2019/articles/000010/001060.shtml . dead .
10. Web site: Inaugural Euro T20 Slam cancelled at two weeks' notice . ESPNcricinfo. 14 August 2019.
11. Web site: MSL 2.0 announces its T20 squads . Cricket South Africa . 4 September 2019 . 4 September 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190904081427/https://cricket.co.za/news/31555/MSL-20-announces-its-T20-squads . dead .
12. Web site: CSA reveals Division One squads for 2021/22 . Cricket South Africa . 20 April 2021 . 20 April 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210420104034/http://cricket.co.za/news/38184/CSA-reveals-Division-One-squads-for-2021-22 . dead .
13. Web site: Behardien to lead in T20 as SA ring changes . 9 January 2017 . ESPNcricinfo.
14. Web site: Sri Lanka tour of South Africa, 1st T20I: South Africa v Sri Lanka at Centurion, Jan 20, 2017 . 20 January 2017 . ESPNcricinfo.
15. Web site: T20 Global League announces final team squads. 28 August 2017. T20 Global League. https://web.archive.org/web/20170905185645/https://www.t20.gl/news/t20-global-league-announces-final-team-squads. 5 September 2017. dead.
16. Web site: Cricket South Africa postpones Global T20 league . 10 October 2017 . ESPNcricinfo.
17. Web site: Lungi Ngidi, Temba Bavuma named in South Africa ODI squad, Quinton de Kock to be captain . ESPNcricinfo. 21 January 2020.
18. Web site: 1st ODI (D/N), England tour of South Africa at Cape Town, Feb 4 2020 . ESPNcricinfo. 4 February 2020.