Tamworth Cricket: Brad Smith on his son's success and future sporting milestones

But what might have been his proudest sporting moment, ironically, did not involve him at all.

It featured his son, Harlan. The five-year-old is already following in his father's footsteps as a baseballer, and was a member of the Tamworth contingent which placed second at the recent NSW Junior Country Championships.

"That was an unreal moment," Smith said.

"To see the smile on his face, and watch him fall in love with the game was unreal. I'm really looking forward to seeing where that journey takes him."

Just a week later, Smith played a key role with an unbeaten 80 as Tamworth City United got their 2023/24 season off to a winning start over the North Tamworth Redbacks.

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As he approaches his 35^th birthday, Smith harbours no thoughts of hanging up the gloves. In fact, he said, he feels "in the best nick I've been in for a while".

"I was only saying to Callum Henry the other day, 'I wish I knew 15 years ago what I know now'," Smith said.

"I'm a bit more patient, a bit less gung-ho, and really starting to value my wicket a bit more."

In their second match of the season this weekend, City United will change gears and don their whites in the first round of this season's two-dayers.

They will face Bective East on Saturday at Riverside 1, whose batting they will need to nullify, Smith said.

"They're welcoming back Jonesy [Adam Jones], who's quality," he said.

"[Ben Taylor] will be amongst the runs all season. There's a couple of guys to look out for there, and Jye [Paterson] is a good stick as well."

Smith also has a more personal motivation to ensure his side sees further success over the next two weeks.

The former City United captain has several goals remaining on his career checklist, which include earning another Central North cap this season.

"I'll have to score runs again this week if I want to be considered for that," Smith said.

He also hopes to once again win a place in the NSW Country baseball team before his athletic days are done.

And, though it will likely not occur for a while yet, he hopes to play alongside Harlan someday.

"I'll probably get him into cricket in the next year or two," Smith said.

"I think baseball would be more achievable at the moment, but I would definitely love to play with him in both sports at some point."

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