Ryan Smith, Lake's unheralded cricket hero who has beat cancer twice

They train hard and watch what they eat and for the most part don't smoke or drink to excess.

There was however a time not so long ago when even the great late Shane Warne could be seen munching on a pie or puffing on a cigarette in between innings while representing Australia.

It's little surprise that the majority of cricketers playing at local clubs throughout Australia are more like Warne off the field than they are the modern-day players.

Not so Ryan Smith though.

It's not that the Lake Illawarra Cricket Club bowler and vice-president doesn't like having fun, he just doesn't drink or smoke.

The one-time truck driver who now works for the Transport Workers Union in Wollongong, is also big on keeping fit.

It's a lifestyle Smith enjoys but feels incentivized to keep up considering he has been diagnosed and beaten cancer twice, first in 2012 when he had bowel cancer and then in 2015 when the 36-year-old was diagnosed with liver cancer.

Lake Illawarra Cricket Club president Brendan White said White was an unheralded hero of the club.

"He has been at the Lakers since he was about 12-years-old. He has done so much for the club. He is definitely an unheralded hero of ours," White said.

"He does a lot for us. He's like a little bit of a senior figure to us, even though he is in his mid 30s.

"He doesn't drink, he doesn't smoke. Never has in his life.

"Ryan has definitely got all that respect from the young blokes about living a healthy lifestyle and stuff like that."

Smith himself just loves the fact he can play a relevant role on and off the field for the club he loves.

"There's still a bit of the social drinking but this day and age a lot of the guys are more into going to the gym. We've all got the strava [tracking device] on when we go for runs. So I just try and make sure that I can sort of still stay relevant with these guys," he said.

"I get out for a run with them, we make sure that we keep an eye on how we're tracking on the app and how far and how quick we've run.

"It's good for me because you get to bond with some of the younger guys.

"Yes, there is different phases and different people's lives where some got kids and wives and whatever else, but when it comes to fitness and looking after yourself, it doesn't matter how old you are, it's all the same sort of relatable content.

"That's something I definitely enjoy with the young guys."

Smith also enjoys the fact he can still play cricket after battling and beating cancer twice.

"The reason I live my life the way I do is because I've had cancer twice, when I was aged 24 and 27," he said.

"That was sort of the moment which made me think stick to what you are doing and stay healthy. It's potentially been that lucky element in my life to make sure that I was alright.

"Everything is going good at the moment. I still go for my regular check-ups.

"The doctor said to make sure I keep a healthy lifestyle. It was tougher to do when I was a truck driver especially in terms of what food I could eat but you got to play the hand that you're dealt I guess."

Smith also found time to give back to the Lakers in 2012 when he had to take time off to battle bowel cancer.

"I always like to have some sort of purpose so when I had cancer the first time in 2012 I went to the library and looked at the old school microfilm with the newspapers and got all the scorecards for first-grade for Lake Illawarra from 1946 in their inception all the way through to now," he said.

"Then I bought a stats program from England which allowed me to insert all the scorecards and it has all the stats. So we've got cap numbers, all the information, basically every stat you can think of this database spits out.

"The hard part was just sort of finding the information, which I didn't mind doing. It gave me something to do during chemo and everything else.

"I had about eight months off work. It was kind of like my full time job, I'd go three or four days a week to the library, input everything and it sort of kept me sane.

"I really enjoyed doing it too and it's given me more of an interest to stay involved with Lake Illawarra. Doing all that work allows you to see sort of how people compare to this day and age back then.

"It's just really good to say that your club has that history and that big family. It's got not just who's playing now, but then it extends and we're starting to bring back some of the old blokes that were involved in the 90s......and it's really just sort of made the club even bigger and stronger."

Smith has well and truly more than played his part in a Lake Illawarra first-grade side chasing an eighth straight South Coast cricket premiership.

The nowadays slow-spinner has taken 252 wickets in his 225 games since debuting in 2007. He has also scored 1000 runs for the club.

The personal highlights include two first-grade hat-tricks.

Smith's 226^th game for Lake Illawarra could see the reigning champions finish the regular season on top should they win their top-of-the table showdown against Berry-Shoalhaven Heads at Howard Fowles Oval on Saturday.

In the other final round fixtures Bay and Basin Dolphins host Kiama Cavaliers at Sanctuary Point Oval, North Nowra Cambewarra play The Rail at Bernie Reagan Sports Ground, Shellharbour City battle Ex Servos at Tom Willoughby Oval and Albion Park Eagles take on Kookas at Keith Grey Oval.