Former England captain Mike John Smith has died at the age of 92, Warwickshire County Cricket Club announced on Monday.
Smith represented England in 50 Tests, leading the team in 25 of them. A reliable top-order batsman, he scored 2,278 runs at an average of 31.63 during his international career in the late 1950s and 1960s.
Made his Test debut against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1958 and was awarded the OBE in 1976 for his services to cricket.
Warwickshire’s greatest player, Smith enjoyed an illustrious county career between 1956 and 1975, scoring 39,832 first-class runs in 637 matches. He scored 69 centuries and 241 fifties, the 18th highest in the history of first-class cricket.
He still holds Warwickshire’s record for most runs in a single season with 2,417 in 1959. He was selected as Wiston Cricketer of the Year the following year.
Beyond his playing career, Smith served as Warwickshire chairman from 1991 to 2003, a period during which the county enjoyed significant success. He also served as an International Cricket Council match referee, umpiring four Tests and 17 ODIs.
Tributes followed the news of his death ahead of the County Championship match between Warwickshire and Glamorgan at Edgbaston on Monday.
Born in Leicestershire and educated at Stamford School, Smith represented Oxford University before starting his illustrious Warwickshire career. He was also an accomplished rugby union player, representing Oxford University and Leicester.
comments