Prior to his innings, Smith had faced just 38 balls in four visits to the competition area, but he made the most of his opportunity with a fine half-century as he and Sam Hain (48 not out) ensured Warwickshire reached 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 you grab it with both hands, so I’m really happy,” Smith said.

“I just had to be patient and always be prepared.

“You never know what can happen, so I make sure I keep recharging behind the scenes by 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 opportunity to play overseas cricket over the winter to work on his keep at Edgbaston and says with more white-ball opportunities in the One-Day Cup he is reaping the benefits.

“Oh, very much. I realized how far I can go in the rankings if you become a solid goalkeeper,” he said.

“I have my dreams and aspirations to become the best goalkeeper in the country.

“Growing up in Dubai, I haven’t had the experience of keeping the ball swinging and the conditions here in the UK, so I’ve had to work really hard on that front.

“I decided not to leave last winter and stay home all winter and work on my maintenance, so I’m really happy to see where that has taken me.

“I definitely feel like there’s a huge improvement compared to last year, so I just need to keep my head down and keep working hard.”