Johannes Jonathan Smit is a Namibian cricketer born on November 10, 1995. He debuted for the Namibian national team in February 2012, when he was 16 years old. Smit is a fast bowler with a left arm who hails from Keetmanshoop. He competed for the Namibian under-19 team for the first time during the 2011–12 season. During that season’s Khaya Majola Week, which took place in December 2011, he participated in one of Namibia’s five matches against the South African domestic under-19 teams.
When the season was coming to a close, in February of 2012, Smit was chosen to make his debut for the Namibian senior squad in a first-class match. When he made his debut in the South African Three-Day Provincial Competition, he grabbed one wicket off Mujahid Behardien, who was playing for Western Province. At the beginning of the next season, Smit participated in yet another first-class match, this time against Western Province. Again, he was a member of the under-19 team that participated in Khaya Majola Week. He got seven wickets, which was second only to Bredell Wessels for Namibia.
The only two players who were able to surpass his twelve maiden overs throughout the event were Kyle Simmonds of KwaZulu-Natal (17) and Vincent Moore of Easterns (14). He collected 12 wickets in the 2013 ICC Africa Under-19 Championship, which was held in Uganda in May of that year. Paramveer Singh of Kenya was the only player to take more wickets than Smit. He also received the title of Player of the Final as he took four wickets and seventeen runs from eight overs, including a hat-trick, to assist Namibia in their victory over Kenya by a margin of fifty-two runs, so ensuring their qualification for the 2014 Under-19 World Cup.
During the World Cup, which took place in the United Arab Emirates in February 2014, Smit made his debut in the One-Day International (ODI) competition for under-19 players. The only player in Namibia who took fewer wickets than him was Bredell Wessells, who took 14 for Namibia. He participated in all six of Namibia’s matches in the tournament. His best numbers, 3/55, were against Australia, and he often opened the bowling order alongside either Marius Delport or Kobus Brand.
JJ Smit Biography
| Name | JJ Smit |
| Full Name | Johannes Jonathan Smit |
| Date of Birth | 10 November 1995 |
| Place of Birth | Keetmanshoop, Namibia |
| Other Names | NA |
| Nationality | Namibian |
| Father’s Name | NA |
| Mother’s Name | NA |
| Siblings | NA |
| Spouse | NA |
| Marriage Date | NA |
| Children | NA |
| Role | Batting Allrounder |
| Batting | Right-handed |
| Bowling | Left-arm medium-fast |
| ODI Debut | April 27, 2019 vs. Oman |
| Test Debut | NA |
| T20 Debut | May 20, 2019 vs. Ghana |
| Favourite Food | NA |
| Favourite Actor | NA |
| Favourite Actress | NA |
| Favourite Colour | Blue |
| Retirement | Still Playing |
In addition to his participation in the under-19 tournaments, Smit has established himself as a regular member of the Namibian senior team, which competes in South African local events as well as international competitions. He has participated in the Intercontinental Cup and the WCL Championship in 2013, as well as the World Twenty20 Qualifier in 2013, and the World Cup Qualifier in 2014. At the World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand in 2014, he opened alongside Louis Klazinga and took three wickets and twenty-three runs from ten overs. As a result, Kenya was only able to score 186 runs and eight wickets from their fifty overs.
During the ninth over of Namibia’s innings, he came to the wicket with the score at 144/7, after Sarel Burger’s removal. He then proceeded to score 33 runs without being out from 25 balls on the pitch. With seven balls left to play, Namibia emerged victorious by a margin of two wickets, and Smit was announced as the man of the match. The announcement that he will be a part of Namibia’s team for the 2018 ICC World Cricket League Division Two event came in January of 2018. During the 2018 Africa Twenty20 Cup, he was a part of the Namibian team that competed.
The announcement that he will be a part of Namibia’s team for the 2019 ICC World Cricket League Division Two event came in March of this year. This resulted in Namibia achieving One Day International (ODI) status, as they finished in the top four positions in the competition. On April 27, 2019, Smit made his first appearance for Namibia in a One-Day International (ODI) match against Oman, which was the tournament’s last match. Following the completion of the tournament, Smit was honored with the title of Player of the Tournament.
The announcement of his inclusion in Namibia’s team for the Regional Finals of the 2018–19 ICC Twenty20 World Cup Africa Qualifier competition took place in Uganda in May of 2019. In the Twenty20 International (T20I) match that took place on May 20, 2019, he made his debut for Namibia against Ghana. His selection to play for the Vancouver Knights franchise side in the 2019 Global T20 Canada event took place in June of this year. Through this action, he made history by being the first player from Namibia to join a Twenty20 international franchise.
Batting & Fielding Stats
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODIs | 33 | 30 | 5 | 728 | 94 | 29.12 | 921 | 79.04 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 36 | 11 | 0 |
| T20Is | 50 | 43 | 19 | 848 | 71 | 35.33 | 584 | 145.20 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 51 | 22 | 0 |
| FC | 41 | 73 | 13 | 1100 | 77 | 18.33 | 2433 | 45.21 | 0 | 3 | 106 | 34 | 13 | 0 |
| List A | 103 | 89 | 22 | 1799 | 120 | 26.85 | 2125 | 84.65 | 1 | 4 | 87 | 97 | 37 | 0 |
| T20s | 87 | 70 | 29 | 1167 | 71 | 28.46 | 798 | 146.24 | 0 | 4 | 66 | 72 | 32 | 0 |
Bowling
| FORMAT | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ODIs | 33 | 25 | 1104 | 777 | 35 | 5/26 | 5/26 | 22.20 | 4.22 | 31.5 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| T20Is | 50 | 37 | 752 | 834 | 46 | 6/10 | 6/10 | 18.13 | 6.65 | 16.3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| FC | 41 | 61 | 4760 | 2660 | 82 | 5/29 | 6/68 | 32.43 | 3.35 | 58.0 | 4 | 1 | 0 |
| List A | 103 | 94 | 4351 | 3322 | 107 | 5/26 | 5/26 | 31.04 | 4.58 | 40.6 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| T20s | 87 | 70 | 1437 | 1704 | 73 | 6/10 | 6/10 | 23.34 | 7.11 | 19.6 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
He was one of twenty-five cricketers who were selected to be a part of Cricket Namibia’s Elite Men’s Squad in advance of the 2019–20 international season. This announcement was made later in the same month. The selection of him to the Namibian team that will compete in the 2019 ICC Twenty20 World Cup Qualifier competition in the United Arab Emirates took place in September of 2019. In the course of the competition, he was the most successful wicket-taker for Namibia, with sixteen dismissals occurring over nine matches.
The selection of Smit to serve as the vice-captain of Namibia’s team for the 2021 ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup took place in September of 2021. After Gerhard Erasmus was unable to participate in the 2021 Namibia Tri-Nation Series due to an injury, Smit was selected to lead Namibia’s squad competing. This announcement was made in November of 2021. On April 10, 2022, during the last match of the Twenty20 International (T20I) tournament, Smit made history by being the first bowler for Namibia to achieve a hat-trick in the sport.
In addition, he achieved his first five-wicket haul in a Twenty20 International match, having finished with stats of six wickets for 10 runs from his four overs of play. Among the associate countries that are a cause for concern at big tournaments, Namibia is one of them. Because of this, there are a few causes. Their coaching staff has been outstanding, they have a smart leader, and they have a group of talented players who have been able to perform for them on the most important stage.
