Steve Smith spoke of his desire to entertain young kids and attract them to the game he so dearly loved when he made his heart wrenching public apology for the ball-tampering scandal
Next month, he could be doing exactly that when he makes his comeback to the game in of all places Canada.
Banned: Steve Smith has kept a low profile since being suspended for 12 months.
Photo: Halden Krog
All eyes in the cricket world will be on Toronto, the home of ice hockey's Maple Leafs, the NBA's Raptors and Major League's Blue Jays, when Smith lines up in the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada league.
Canada is a cricket minnow but will play host to one of the sport's biggest stories of the year – Smith's comeback to professional cricket.
The former Australian captain has been announced as a marquee player in the fledgling competition, starting June 28.
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Exiled batsman David Warner is also tipped to line up in the tournament after nominating for the 1500-strong player draft.
The month-long tournament will be played entirely out of the Maple Leaf Cricket Club, just outside Toronto, and feature six teams, five of which are from Canada. The other is from the West Indies, whose board is running the tournament in conjunction with the associate nation.
Big Bash League hitting machine Chris Lynn, West Indies stars Chris Gayle and Andre Russell and the mercurial former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi are also among the list of marquee players.
Lynn has been unveiled despite not being available for Australia's one-day international tour of England due to a shoulder injury.
It's understood Smith's decision to play, which has the backing of Cricket Australia, was to aid his mental rehabilitation after the ball-tampering crisis, which resulted in him losing the captaincy and being suspended for 12 months.
Another major factor in Smith choosing to play in the Canadian league was so he could help promote the game in a non-traditional market. It's understood he wants to work with local children who may not be familiar with the sport.
Canada have played in four World Cups but never advanced beyond the first round. Their most famous player is John Davison, an off-spinner who played for Victoria and South Australia. He made his name on the world stage by scoring the then fastest World Cup century in 2003 against the West Indies.
In other news, Cricket NSW is expected to announce the new coach of its men's team early next week. The board has conducted final interviews with the race believed to be down to former Test stars Phil Jaques and Brad Haddin.
Meanwhile, Cricket Australias lead negotiator in last years pay scrap has been promoted to the newly-created role of chief operating officer.
Kevin Roberts, arguably the top contender to be CAs next chief executive whenever James Sutherland departs, was previously general manager of strategy, people and member services.
Sutherland has held the top job since 2001 but has no plans to resign, rejecting calls to stand down after the Cape Town cheating scandal.
-with AAP
Andrew Wu writes on cricket and AFL for The Sydney Morning Herald
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