Remembering Robin Smith: Courageous Batsman, True Gentleman

England cricket great Robin Smith has died at 62 in South Perth, prompting emotional tributes for the legendary batter known for his courage, elegance and record-breaking feats.

Robin Smith (Image Source: Google)

Former England cricketer, Robin Smith died aged 62. A statement from his family confirmed that Smith had died unexpectedly in his South Perth apartment and that the cause of death is unknown.

He played in 62 Tests and 71 ODIs and amassed 6655 runs in his international cricket career for England, including 4236 runs in Tests averaging an impressive 43.67. He was a vital figure in England’s Test team between 1988 and 1996. He scored nine hundreds, three against the Windies who had the world's best pace attack at that time. He scored 2419 runs in ODIs and was part of the England team which lost the 1992 World Cup final.

In addition to his batting, Robin Smith is also being remembered as a thorough gentleman. He was ‘Judge’ for his friends (for his once-wavy, wig-like hair). Across England and beyond, cricket is mourning the passing of a batsman who was ahead of his time.

The news of his passing drew immediate and emotional tributes from former England captains and teammates. Nasser Hussain remembered Smith as much for his humanity as for his courage at the crease.

Mike Atherton reflected on Smith’s toughness, recalling the grim determination that defined his character both on and off the field.

Mark Nicholas believes Robin Smith was Hampshire’s greatest ever player – shy and naive off the field, a batting prodigy on it

Unfortunately, in the last few years, he remained in the news for his struggles with alcoholism, instead of cricket. He discussed this issue in his 2019 autobiography ‘The Judge: More Than Just a Game’ also. Even then he didn’t lose touch with cricket and was even at the Perth Stadium to watch the Ashes opener.

For 23 years he held the England record for highest men's ODI score for his 167* from 163 balls v Australia in Birmingham in 1993, in the days when batting at a run a ball was rare. His feat was surpassed by Alex Hales in August 2016.

Some facts regarding Robin Smith:

*Made his debut for Hampshire in June 1983 at Bournemouth against Lancashire and both Robin and his brother Chris scored exactly 100.

*He was born in South Africa, played for England and was living in Perth.

*In 1996, he was dropped although his record was statistically better than all his peers at that time. This left him frustrated as he believed that he still had five of his best years in front of him.

*He played for Hampshire between 1982 and 2003 and made his Test debut in 1988. He captained Hampshire between 1998 and 2002 and earlier helped them to Benson and Hedges Cup victories in 1988 and 1992 and the NatWest Trophy in 1991.

* He was a world-class batsman and between Robin Smith's debut and final cap, only Mark Taylor (5471), David Boon (5448) and Graham Gooch (4622) scored more runs than his 4236 runs.

* Out of his 62 Tests, he played 19 against West Indies who were having a fearsome army of quick men and averaged more against them (44.43) than all other sides combined (43.32). He also amassed 553 runs in the 1989 Ashes series.

*In 1991 he was behind only his England team-mate Graham Gooch in the ICC rankings.

*In the Old Trafford Test in 1995 against West Indies, his jaw was broken by Ian Bishop as a short ball nipped back and flew into his cheekbone. There was blood everywhere. Retired hurt.

The ambulance had been called, and a stretcher was brought to carry him. England were chasing a small target to win but wickets were continuously falling. He was on the stretcher but didn’t go to the hospital till victory was ensured. If required, he was ready to bat even in that condition.

*Smith helped to bring his friend Shane Warne to Hampshire but refused to face the leg spinner in the nets. He was renowned for his bravery against pace but had a fallibility against spin. Surprisingly, despite this assumption he scored plenty of runs against Asian sides. His real problem was Warne, who ensured Smith was less of a problem to the Australians in 1993 than four years earlier and probably this was the reason he was dropped for the 1994-95 Ashes.

England and Australia players wore black armbands on the first day of the pink ball Test in Brisbane. Before the match began, there was a brief and emotional tribute that explained the reason for the armbands. Players and fans observed a minute’s silence for Robin Smith.