Smith’s pugnacious run-a-ball debut Test hundred stamped him as one of the West Indies’ , young, athletic prodigies.

The 20-year-old from Storey Gap, Codrington Hill, St Michael, hardly discussed among cricket fans here, hammered an unbeaten 105 in 105 balls as the West Indies earned an honourable draw.

With batting maestro Brian Lara and vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan back in the pavilion, the former Garrison Secondary schoolboy responded to the challenging situation with a brutal counter-attack, the highlight of which was an astonishing square drive for six off fearsome fast bowler Makhaya Ntini.

His first ton, which took just 93 deliveries, is the first on debut by a West Indian since Basil Williams achieved the feat in 1978 against Australia in Guyana.

“I told myself to be positive and not let anything worry me and that, if I could bat to the end, I could come close to a hundred,” Smith said after his amazing innings. “It’s an achievement for me. I’m really happy.” Over in Storey Gap, Smith’s family household was collectively glued to the TV, but still at the edge of their seats.

“I was working and still watching his innings,” his mother Lorraine told the DAILY NATION. “When he reached the hundred I jumped up and hollered out, and everybody in the kitchen was shouting and keeping noise.”

President of the Barbados Cricket Association, Stephen Alleyne, sent Smith a congratulatory telegram yesterday. The match ended in a stalemate when captains Lara and Graeme Smith called off play with the West Indies on 354 for five, 87 runs short of the required 441, with five overs left. South Africa has now won the four-match series, going into the final Test at Centurion with a 2-0 lead.

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