TO most players, a shock promotion to No 3 in the England batting line-up for a crunch match would be a huge change. But perhaps not for Jamie Smith - as he dropped a promising football career to become one of cricket's most exciting prospects. Test legend Joe Root has been moved down to No 4 due to Smith's rise up the order for Saturday's Champions Trophy opener against Australia. It will be only the second time the big-hitter has come in first wicket down in professional 50-over cricket. Not only that, the 24-year-old will also take the gloves from Phil Salt, who will continue to open the batting alongside Ben Duckett. But it's nothing too dramatic for Smith - not compared to the major decision he made aged 15. He was a highly-talented central midfielder for League Two club AFC Wimbledon. And indeed as a kid football dominated his thoughts... until he became the first person in his family to play cricket. Surrey CCC rated Smith so highly at the smaller-ball game that they picked him for their Under-17s when he was just 12. The nine-cap Test star revealed how it all began. CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS He once told the Mail: "No one in my family played cricket. "I was pushed into a holiday camp with my local club, Sutton - something my parents did to keep me busy." However, he confessed: "I didn't really want that to be the case, but I knew with my cricket that I had something a little bit special. "I wasn't naive. When you're growing up, people push you for a reason. "They're putting you in higher teams, because they can see a talent in you. ‘It was getting to the point where football and cricket were overlapping too much. "Going on pre-season tours with Surrey in March meant missing things. Doing both wasn't sustainable." However, Smith revealed choosing cricket was partly down to a brutal self-assessment of his chances at football. He said: "Walking into a contracts meeting with Wimbledon at the end of the season, knowing how the contracts worked, I was never going to get one. "Everyone had their little percentage score for attendance and mine was 56." Now, however, that's a figure he'd love to match for England at cricket, where he averages an impressive 42 in Tests and a modest 22 in ODIs.