LONDON: Former England batter Robin Smith, who fought some intense battles with pacers in the 1980s and 90s, passed away at his home in Perth, Australia, on Tuesday. He was 62.
Smith played 62 Tests between 1988 and 1996 and made 4236 runs at 43.67 with nine hundreds, but his impact on English cricket at that period was much more profound than his numbers, excellent anyway.
The powerful right-hander was at his tenacious best against the West Indies pacers like Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Malcolm Marshall and Patrick Patterson, when his teammate often sank into a pool of struggle.
In possession of a withering square cut, often deemed as one of the fiercest strokes in cricketing history, Smith was at his peak between 1990 and 1995, playing a lead role in England drawing back-to-back Test series against the West Indies.
England managed an identical 2-2 series result in the 1990-91 away tour and then four years later at home.
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.
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.
But Smith’s Achilles Heel was his weakness against spin, which was on full view during England’s disastrous tour to India in 1992, and the emergence of Shane Warne in early 1990s made it all the more demanding for him.
Smith, fondly known as ‘Judge’ for his hairstyle, was a close friend of late Australian spin legend Warne and made him sign up with Hampshire in the mid 90s.
Once then ECB chair Richard Illingworth wanted a new crop of cricketers to take over from the old guard in the late 90s, Smith did not fit into his thoughts.
After retiring from cricket, Smith moved to Australia but kept his touch with English cricket even amid fighting acute alcoholism.
