Robin Smith, Veteran England Cricketer, Dies At 62; England Cricket Board Expresses Condolences

Robin Smith News: South African-born England Cricketer Robin Smith, who was famous for indulging in 'ferocious' battles with fast bowlers of the 80s and 90s, passed away on Tuesday. Smith represented England in 62 Tests as he accumulated over 4236 runs with nine hundreds under his belt. Notably, Smith was 62 when he breathed his last at his home in Perth, Australia.

Smith was a proponent of grinding the bowlers down with his tenacity. He could negotiate with the West Indies fast bowling attack, among the likes of Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Malcolm Marshall, and Patrick Patterson, while his other teammates struggled.

In possession of a powerful square cut, Smith often used the stroke to his advantage between 1990 and 1995. He played a key role in England drawing two consecutive Test series against the West Indies.

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England achieved a 2-2 series result during the away tour in 1990-91 and repeated this at home four years later.

England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Chair Richard Thompson said: “Robin Smith was a player who stood toe to toe with some of the quickest bowlers in the world, meeting spells of hostile fast bowling with a defiant smile and an incredible resilience. He did so in a way that gave England fans enormous pride, and no shortage of entertainment.

“He was a batter ahead of his time which was typified in that unforgettable unbeaten 167 from 163 balls in an ODI against Australia at Edgbaston in 1993.

“His record at Hampshire is exemplary, and he'll be remembered rightly as a great of Hampshire CCC. We're desperately sad to learn of his passing, and the thoughts of all of us in cricket are with his friends, family and loved ones.”

However, Smith was born in Durban in 1963 and later moved to Hampshire, England, under the influence of fellow South Africans Barry Richards and Mike Procter.

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He made his Test debut for England against the West Indies in 1988 at Headingley, and formed a long association with fellow South African-origin cricketer Allan Lamb in English middle-order.

Inputs from Agency