Dwayne Smith Complete Bio & Career
Tall, aggressive, and powerful, Dwayne Smith shares his name with, among others, the wide receiver for the Wisconsin Badgers, and the winner of the 2002 World Championship of Public Speaking. But when, in December 2003, he was called up to join the West Indian Test squad in South Africa, he was arguably as well known in cricket circles as either of them.
It was rumored that Viv Richards had recognized something of himself in the stance of the young Barbadian and, sure enough, he needed just 93 balls to justify his selection, bringing up his hundred with a crashing cover-drive. It was only the second century of Smith's first-class career, but it was enough to stem West Indies' run of seven consecutive defeats in South Africa.
Maintaining such high standards for longer periods was difficult for Smith. He played his last Test for West Indies in May 2006 but continues to be active in limited-overs cricket until 2016 before he announced his retirement from international cricket. He made the West Indies XI in only one of their matches when they won the World T20 in 2012, but was their designated opening batsman in the next edition of the tournament.
Smith can rival the best hitters in the game when in top form, although quality swing bowling does cause some problems. He is quite sought after in various Twenty20 leagues as well. Smith was part of a Mumbai Indians side that won the IPL and Champions League T20 double in 2013, moved to Chennai Super Kings in 2014 and was acquired by Gujarat Lions in 2016. His 73 off 51 balls led Islamabad United to the inaugural Pakistan Super League title in 2016.