Wendell Smith has finally made good on a promise to return to his roots at St George’s where he intends to see out the remainder of his decorated coaching career.

The former St George’s captain is presently assisting coach Ryan Steede to prepare the East Enders for their return to the top flight on a voluntary basis.

He is scheduled to meet with club management to determine exactly what role he will play with a side he helped transform into a powerhouse, first as captain and then as coach.

“It was time to go back and help with my club and I did express an interest in wanting to come back and help Ryan with the coaching,” Smith said.

“I have been to a couple of training sessions and I’m looking forward to meeting with the committee.”

Smith declared his intentions to return to his childhood club after resigning as coach of St David’s at the end of the 2014 season but opted to take on a coaching role at Western Stars instead.

“I had made promise to Neil Paynter [the St George’s president] when I was leaving St David’s and had intended on coming back but Western Stars approached me during that off season,” said Smith, the first batsman to score 1,000 runs in Cup Match.

“I saw the passion and vision that Willis Dill [the former Western Stars president] and Gershon Gibbons [the former Western Stars executive] had in wanting to get Western Stars out of the Second Division and it was two minutes from my job, which made it extremely convenient.

“But I always knew that when I was going to finish club coaching it was going to be with the club that helped give me my start in cricket, St George’s, and it was only right to do that. It is something that I wanted to do and intended to do and it’s just coming a couple of years later than when I expected it to.”

Smith, who grew up next to Wellington Oval, won league and Camel Cup titles during a ten-year coaching stint at St George’s and also guided St David’s to three league titles in a four-year coaching stint at Lord’s.

He achieved his goal of getting Stars promoted in his first season in charge before resigning at the end of the 2016 season when he again pledged to return to St George’s but was forced to put his plans on hold after having knee replacement.

St George’s clinched the automatic promotion to the Premier Division last season after being edged out by Cup Match rivals Somerset Cricket Club for automatic promotion the previous year and then losing to Cleveland County in the play-off match. Smith, who also had a short stint as Bermuda coach just before becoming Gus Logie’s assistant when the island qualified for the World Cup during the ICC Trophy in Ireland in 2005, wants to make the club a force again in local cricket.

“Obviously they have been promoted and it helps if we can get commitment from the players that would warrant staying up and have some respectability,” he said.

Meanwhile, the cricket season officially starts today with the return of the Open League which is to be held over the first five weeks of the new campaign.

Today’s Open League First Division matches will pit PHC against Somerset Bridge at PHC Field, Devonshire Recreation Club are at home to Cleveland and Warwick Workmen’s Club face Willow Cuts at Southampton Oval in another all-Western Counties affair. Flatts have a bye. Tomorrow’s opening round of Open Premier League matches involve St David’s at home to Eastern Counties rivals Bailey’s Bay at Lord’s, Southampton Rangers clash with St George’s at Southampton Oval while Somerset take on Western Stars at Somerset Cricket Club.

The 50-overs competition starts on May 20 with the Twenty20 matches to commence August 5.