LANCASHIRE League amateurs will breath a sigh of relief on Monday when the man branded as “super-human” earlier this season returns to South Africa for their domestic season.

But the exploits of Ramsbottom pro Daryn Smit in 2015 will live long in the memory and the bad news for the league’s batsman and bowlers is that he will be back for a third year, proclaiming: “I love it around here.”

In 20 matches for the Acre Bottom outfit Smit is averaging a scarcely believable 119 with the bat and seven with the ball, having taken 73 wickets.

It’s made all the more remarkable by the fact the 31-year-old is a wicket-keeper by trade who retains a sense of disappointment his Proteas call-up never arrived – not that he is giving up.

“I expected to do well, but just how well has surprised me. When I look at the records it sums up how well this season has gone,” said Smit, who returns to his homeland on Monday and begins pre-season with the Dolphins a week later.

“It’s frustrating having to leave with four games to go for two reasons because I want to contribute to Ramsbottom and help their title push and also if I could play all the games I could push for a few records.”

Smit and his wife Sarah have loved their time in the North West, even if a British summer isn’t quite the same as the South African version.

This year they have travelled to Turkey, Scotland and the Lake District, and the former South Africa Under-19 international admitted signing for a third season was an easy call.

“It didn’t take long to decide to re-sign,” he said. “We absolutely love it around here. When we come back it feels like we are coming home, the club have been great and we couldn’t ask for anymore.”

While Smit’s Ramsbottom side are still in with a slim chance of pipping Burnley to the league title, he will end the campaign with some silverware having been a sub pro for Darwen in their Readers Cup triumph last week, top scoring for the Towers with 80.

“It was great to win some silverware, it’s what you want as a pro, although it was a shame I didn’t do it for the club I was supposed to,” he said.

“You want to be playing in finals and I managed to contribute as well. It was great to see what it meant to the club and the fans. Darwen have become like my adopted club, I’ve played half a dozen games for them and I’ve made some good friends there as well.”

Smit, who has 100 first-class matches to his name with an average of 31 with the bat and ball, has mixed feelings about his return to Durban.

“I’m excited about going home and playing for the Dolphins again, but the quota system has changed,” he said. “We can only pick five white players now so I don’t know how much franchise cricket I will get to play. We will have a dozen players competing for those five spots.

“There’s plenty of others in the same position and I’m not going to cry over it, you just have to get on with it. I’m in good form, scoring runs and taking wickets, so there’s not much more I can do .”

While it’s his batting and bowling that has caught the eye on the grounds of the Lancashire League over the past two years, Smit’s first love was in the gloves behind the stumps, something which he thought might earn him a Test cap.

While he has now surrendered keeping duties for the Dolphins, he was devastated to see a Test debut go to a player he believes he is at least as good as recently.

“At one point I was in contention to replace Mark Boucher in the national side, but when that didn’t happen I went to the leg spin,” he explained.

“Morne van Wyk has taken the gloves for the Dolphins now but wicket-keeping was my first love.

“As a pro here I am more involved bowling leg spin than I would be stuck behind the stumps, but if Morne gets called up for South Africa again this season I’d love to get back to it for the Dolphins.

“I’m never going to play for South Africa as a spinner, the only way I will make it is keeping wicket and at the moment I’m not doing that.

“I was frustrated that Dane Vilas got a Test debut keeping wicket for South Africa recently. Wicket-keepers these days are selected in terms of the runs they score before their keeping ability.

“He’s a good player but I think most people in South Africa would agree I’m a better keeper than Dane Vilas and last season I averaged about 40 with the bat while he averaged around 30.

“I look at that and the fact Dane played for South Africa and I get really upset by it. If I had been keeping wicket for the Dolphins last year that could have been me. It could have been my opportunity to play Test cricket.”

Smit’s chances of an international breakthrough are now slim, but he is refusing to give up hope, and if he needs a ringing endorsement I’m sure he could rely on several Lancashire Leaguers who have been on the wrong end of his destructive displays this season.