Robin Smith, former England cricketer, dies aged 62

Former England and Hampshire batsman Kevin Pietersen joined a host of former cricketers to pay tribute to Smith.

“Heartbreaking to hear about the tragic loss of Robin Smith! The fondest memories of Judge always remain with me! My heart goes out to all of his family and friendship group,” Pietersen wrote on social media.

Former Hampshire owner Rod Bransgrove said Smith’s “enthusiasm for county cricket did not detract from his country’s performance and showed a commitment to the club rarely seen these days”.

He added: “Robin Smith is one of the great, if not the greatest, Hampshire Cricket heroes of all time. He was a batsman of tremendous power and control and among the bravest players this club has ever seen, especially against real pace bowling.”

“Above all, Judge connected with everyone he came into contact with. He was one of the most popular players to play the game we all love and will be greatly missed by players, members, staff and supporters not only in Hampshire but across the country and beyond.”

England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson added: “Robin Smith was a player who stood toe-to-toe with some of the fastest bowlers in the world, meeting a spell of hostile fast bowling with a defiant smile and incredible stamina. He did so in a way that would give England fans immense pride and no shortage of entertainment.”

Smith was born in Durban in 1963 and was the younger brother of Chris, who also played for Hampshire and won eight Test caps for England. But Robin reached much greater heights and was a central figure for England at a time when selectors were regularly changed and opposition teams, including the powerful West Indies, were strong. Three of Smith’s Test centuries came against the West Indies.

Smith’s former Hampshire team-mate Kevan James spoke about his death on BBC Solent Radio.

“It was terrible,” he said. “It’s a sad day but when you look at someone’s career… He was England’s best batsman at the time, in the 80s and 90s.

“He was a superb player, especially at fast bowling at a time when the West Indies had a lot of fast bowlers. He was one of the few England batsmen who could stand up to them and give as good as he could.”

Extremely brave on the field but uncomfortable with uncertainty off the field

Robin Smith was faced with absolute fast bowling, although tragically the same cannot be said for life.

Smith was known around the world as “The Judge” because of the shape of his hair. He was one of the bravest batsmen to take on the West Indies, who were actually world Test champions, thanks to the caliber of their incredible fast bowling corps.

Smith strode toward the middle, his forearm strong, deadly square, and he gave not the slightest hint of the uncertainties plaguing him off the field. Those who could topple the West Indies were few, but Allan Lamb, Graham Gooch, as well as Allan Border, also born in South Africa to English parents, were Smith.

Smith’s father had installed a bowling machine in the garden of their family home in Durban at a time when such machines were a novelty and not a dime a dozen in academies. This is where Smith’s square cut was born, and he soon had forearms to match his technique.

Far from being productive against medium pacers on three-day pitches while playing for Hampshire, Smith instantly looked like a Test batsman when he stepped in. This cannot be said of every England player in the 1988 series against the West Indies.

Smith made his debut in the fourth Test at Headingley when all-rounder Roger Harper was somehow selected by the West Indies. Not even an over from Harper’s off-spin was wasted as England were defeated by 201 and 138 runs.

Chris Cowdrey was chosen as England’s captain for this match, and perhaps this was not entirely a coincidence, as Peter May, England’s chairman of selectors, was his godfather. Cowdrey had overstepped his bounds and never represented England again. Smith entered the arena with England on 80 for four and was a natural at batting.

It helped that Lamb was on the other side, coming from the same background and equipped with the same square cut and grit. Yet it was a huge challenge for a Test debutant to face Curtly Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Winston Benjamin and Courtney Walsh. Thanks to this upbringing, Smith stepped up immediately. His score of 38 in the first innings does not quite reflect this; but Lamb shared a century partnership until he retired through injury after enduring occupational hazards while fighting against the West Indies.

Smith averaged 43 overall in 62 Tests (he also played in 71 one-day internationals) and averaged 44 against the West Indies. He hit two centuries in the 1991 series and 175 in his last Test against them. This was after Brian Lara scored 375 in Antigua. As tired as England were, they still matched the home team’s total of 593.

In 1989, when England were a pathetic rabble against Australia, Smith stood taller than any other batsman and made two more hundreds. Australia did not have a particularly notable spinner on this tour; but in 1993 they made their next move (Shane Warne) and Smith’s innings gradually faded away.

Those strong forearms were of little use when it came to defending against Warne, Anil Kumble and Mushtaq Ahmed. Smith scored 100 in the Colombo Test in 1993 but struggled to avoid the worst of Muttiah Muralitharan and Sri Lanka’s other spinners. When he was a teenager, bowling machines couldn’t replicate spin like they do now.

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Smith was abandoned fairly early on after England’s 1995-96 tour of South Africa. He continued to provide good and conscientious service as captain of Hampshire from 1998 to 2002 and had already collected his medals by winning his county cup finals at Lord’s.

He will be fondly remembered for his supreme pugilistic prowess against fast bowling and human frailties, but above all for his not out knock of 167 against Australia in 1993, his highest innings for England in limited-overs cricket up to that point.

At Edgbaston, he made 163 runs off the ball in a one-day international of 55 overs per side, in the days when scoring runs was rare. There is no Shane Warne in this match, only off-spinner Tim May. England still lost, as was customary against Australia in those days, but never because they wanted Smith to try.