Bears keeper Smith wants to be the best in country

Warwickshire wicketkeeper-batter Kai Smith says he wants to become "the best keeper in the country" after feeling he has made "massive" improvements to his game over the past year.

The Dubai-born 21-year-old made his debut for the Bears as a teenager in the One-Day Cup playing as a batter in 2022 and earned a two-year rookie deal in 2024, going on to hit his maiden List A century against Worcestershire that summer.

Smith signed a new two-year contract in 2025.

He has been a regular in the red-ball side since Michael Burgess' retirement two years ago, averaging 33 with the bat and claiming 33 catches and one stumping in 12 first-class games so far.

Smith averages 37.52 in List A matches and struck a career-best 65 not out as the Bears beat group winners Northamptonshire in their final match in this year's T20 Blast on Sunday.

Despite their fifth win in six games, it was not enough for the Bears to make the quarter-finals following their poor start to the tournament that saw them lose their first five fixtures.

"It's great to finish off the T20 campaign like that," Smith told BBC Radio WM.

"Obviously we didn't have the greatest start but it was an awesome, very nice way to finish off so I really am pleased for that."

Prior to his innings, Smith had only faced 38 balls from four visits to the crease in the competition but made the most of his chance with a superb half-century as he and Sam Hain (48 not out) ensured Warwickshire cruised to their victory target of 154 with five wickets in hand and 10 balls to spare.

"You never know when you're going to get your next opportunity and you want to make sure that you grab it with both hands, so I was really pleased," Smith said.

"I just had to stay patient and always stay ready.

"You never know what can happen so making sure that I still top up behind the scenes doing training sessions and things like that."

Currently in his second season of first-class cricket, Smith played in the first two County Championship games of the season but has not featured since with former captain Alex Davies taking over the gloves.

Smith turned down the chance to play cricket overseas in the winter to work on his keeping at Edgbaston and he says, with more white-ball opportunities to come in the One-Day Cup, he is reaping the benefits.

"Oh, massively. I realised how far I can actually go up the ranks if you become a solid keeper," he said.

"I've got my dreams and aspirations to become the best keeper in the country.

"Growing up in Dubai, I haven't had the experience keeping to the wobbling ball and the conditions here in the UK, so I had to work really hard on that front.

"I decided to not go away last winter and actually stay the whole winter indoors and work on my keeping so I'm really pleased to see where that's taken me.

"It's definitely felt like there's a massive improvement compared to last year so I just need to keep my head down, keep working hard."