Jonté Smith has declared his desire to capitalise on his Cup Match recall for St George’s.

Smith, who was first picked as a colt in 2022 for the game at Somerset, was one of three players summoned back to the squad alongside Nzari Paynter and Oronde Bascome.

The 30-year-old is thrilled again be participating in the match and believes his side is capable of getting the job done at 6 Cricket Lane.

“I’m really excited about this team and I feel everyone that was picked deserved to be in it,’’ Smith said.

“They all had a good season and performed well, so I think it’s a really strong team. It’s a youthful team as well, but it doesn’t matter how young you are, if you’re good enough you deserve to be selected.

“I know some people may question the lack of experience but our team has played a lot of cricket. Some have played a lot of cricket overseas, probably more than our senior players.

“I feel the team is definitely experienced enough and strong enough and I think the youthful energy will be useful over the two days.”

Smith has been one of the top performers with the bat for St George’s this season and is delighted to have fulfilled his goal of making it back into the playing XI after he was picked as a reserve last year.

“I’m so happy to be back in the team,’’ he said. “That was one of my objectives at the start of the season to try and get back into Cup Match, especially with a full season behind me.

“Being able to set a goal and achieve it is a very satisfying feeling. Now I’m just looking forward to the two days.”

Smith’s debut did not go according to plan two years ago after he scored 12 runs coming in at No 4 in the first innings before he was dismissed for a duck in the second innings when promoted to open.

With the ball, he picked up three wickets for 16 runs in Somerset’s first innings and never bowled in their second innings, which lasted just 8.5 overs.

“I remember my first year I was just extremely happy to make the team,’’ Smith said.

“It was a tough game for us and I didn't perform as well as I would have loved to with the bat. I ended up picking three wickets with the ball, so I contributed more with my bowling than with my batting.

“This time around, back at Somerset again, I’m looking to definitely improve on what I did the last time I played there. Ideally I would like to score runs and when called upon to bowl, take a few more wickets.

“I’ve been batting No 3 for the majority of the season and obviously the coaching staff and the captain will have an idea of the line up they feel is best suited to take on the Somerset bowling attack.

“I feel like I’m fit enough to bowl long spells if I’m needed, but where I've been positioned this year as a batsman, primarily my role will be to score runs.

“We've picked some strong bowlers this year and I’m sure they’ll bowl a lot of overs throughout.”

Being surrounded by father Clay and uncle Wendell, both Cup Match legends, provides great inspiration for the two-sport star who also represented Bermuda in football.

“It’s a lot to live up to with my dad having scored 1,000 runs in Cup Match and being the first player to get three centuries,’’ Smith said.

“My uncle has also scored 1,000 runs in Cup Match, but I feel like I’ve created my own path when it comes to cricket.

“Obviously having played football originally and then falling in love with cricket agaim, I’m just looking to put my best foot forward, enjoy the experience and ideally take the cup back to St George’s.”