Saltire Symes spells out his cricket credo in permanent ink

Quietly spoken, Jean Symes is happy to let his cricket speak for itself. Statements, he feels, should be made in deeds, not words.

But, across his torso, the codes to which the Scotland all-rounder adheres are inscribed in permanent ink. “What we are is God’s gift to us”, declares one tattoo. The other, conversely, reads: “What we are is our gift to God”.

The 25-year-old, imported from South Africa for the Saltires’ Clydesdale Bank Pro40 campaign, has ample faith, not least in his own abilities. Beyond today’s meeting with the Welsh Dragons at Uddingston, he has his sights on an international career and gets a gentle reminder each morning when he passes the mirror.

“It inspires me,” said Symes. “You can be in charge of your own destiny. What I learn in cricket and what I learn in life have a lot to do with each other. With me playing cricket for a living, I get to do what I love. And I can implement a lot of what happens in the game into what I do every day, in my lifestyle.”

Symes made his breakthrough at the 2006 Under-19 World Cup Wayne Parnell and Dean Elgar were contemporaries. They made their way into the senior Proteas side and, as stalwarts such as Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis eventually give way, more places are up for grabs.

Symes, who plays provincially for Gauteng, added: “It can happen in one season, it can happen in two. It might not ever happen.

“Playing cricket is a tough sport mentally. You fail more often than you succeed. You need the mental attitude to keep you going.”

After going run-less and wicket-less last weekend, when the Scots lost to Surrey before beating Nottinghamshire, such fortitude will serve him well. During a previous stint in the Lancashire Leagues, the Johannesburg native learnt to deal with the expectations placed on a hired gun.

Adapting to different pitches completed his education and, for the first time, he had to take responsibility for himself.

“Not going back home prepared enough, not hitting as many balls as you’d usually do back home. Fitness-wise not being in the best condition, there are a lot of factors,” he said. “You need to do those things without being told.”

In Scotland, only the weather can interfere with his quest for self-improvement and the hope is that his knowledge will rub off on an impressionable Saltires squad.

“Guys need to learn to step up,” he states. “It’s a young side but that’s not a bad thing.”

He’s not so old himself but passing on all that received wisdom would be quite a gift.