{{Short description|UAE cricket player}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}} {{Infobox cricketer | name = Kai Smith | image = 2 08 Kai Smith mugshot.jpg | caption = Smith in 2025 | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|2004|11|28|df=yes}} | birth_place = Dubai, United Arab Emirates | batting = Right-handed | bowling = | role = Wicket-keeper batsman | club1 = Warwickshire | year1 = {{nowrap|2022–present}} | clubnumber1 = 11 | type1 = First-class | debutdate1 = 4 April | debutyear1 = 2025 | debutfor1 = Warwickshire | debutagainst1 = Sussex | type2 = List A | debutdate2 = 2 August | debutyear2 = 2022 | debutfor2 = Warwickshire | debutagainst2 = Gloucestershire
| hidedeliveries = true | columns = 3 | column1 = FC | matches1 = 12 | runs1 = 500 | bat avg1 = 33.33 | 100s/50s1 = 0/4 | top score1 = 79 | catches/stumpings1 = 33/1 | column2 = LA | matches2 = 31 | runs2 = 638 | bat avg2 = 37.52 | 100s/50s2 = 1/2 | top score2 = 130* | catches/stumpings2 = 17/1 | column3 = T20 | matches3 = 9 | runs3 = 59 | bat avg3 = 14.75 | 100s/50s3 = 0/0 | top score3 = 28* | catches/stumpings3 = 3/– | date = 13 April 2026 | source = https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/kai-smith-1178645 ESPNcricinfo }} '''Kai Smith''' (born 28 November 2004) is a professional cricketer who has played for Warwickshire County Cricket Club and the United Arab Emirates national under-19 cricket team. He is a right-handed wicket-keeper batsman.<ref name=cricinfo>{{cite news|url=https://www.espncricinfo.com/player/kai-smith-1178645|title=Kai Smith|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|accessdate=7 January 2023}}</ref>
==Personal life== Smith was born and raised in Dubai to South African parents. He attended Nord Anglia International School Dubai before moving to boarding school in Kent to complete his A-levels.<ref name=radley>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/cricket/2021/08/26/uae-teen-cricketer-prepares-for-dream-appearance-at-lords/|title=UAE teen cricketer prepares for dream appearance at Lord's|newspaper=The National|location=Abu Dhabi|date=26 August 2021|accessdate=7 January 2023|first=Paul|last=Radley}}</ref>
==Career== ===UAE=== Smith represented the UAE at the 2020 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa at the age of 15. He returned to the UAE squad for the 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. He scored 145 runs against Papua New Guinea in a warm-up match.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/sport/cricket/2022/01/13/under-19-world-cup-kai-smith-wants-uae-to-rewrite-the-history-books-in-the-caribbean/|title=Under 19 World Cup: Kai Smith wants UAE to 'rewrite the history books' in the Caribbean|newspaper=The National|location=Abu Dhabi|date=13 January 2022|accessdate=7 January 2023|first=Paul|last=Radley}}</ref>
Smith played for the Rawalpindi Raiders in the 2022 Pakistan Junior League.<ref name=cricinfo/>
===England=== Smith was introduced to the Warwickshire County Cricket Club system by Dougie Brown, a former UAE coach. He was selected for the English Schools Cricket Association to play against the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in September 2021.<ref name=radley/> Smith made his List A debut for Warwickshire against Gloucestershire in the 2022 Royal London One-Day Cup in August 2022.<ref name=cricinfo/> Smith signed a new two-year contract with Warwickshire in July 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/articles/cn81j13vg5go|title=Wicketkeeper Smith signs new two-year Bears deal|publisher=BBC Sport|accessdate=10 July 2025}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
{{Warwickshire County Cricket Club squad}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Kai}} Category:2004 births Category:Living people Category:Emirati cricketers Category:Warwickshire cricketers Category:South African expatriate sportspeople in the United Arab Emirates Category:Cricketers from Dubai Category:21st-century Emirati sportsmen