MJK Smith, former England captain, dies aged 92

MJK Smith, the former England and Warwickshire captain, has died at the age of 92.

Smith played 50 Test matches and was captain in 25 of them. He made his debut in 1958 and played his last Test in 1972. He also represented England at rugby union in a match against Wales in 1956.

The right-hander came to prominence playing for Oxford University, where he scored centuries in three consecutive varsity matches between 1954 to 1956. He was appointed captain of Warwickshire in 1957 and was one of the highest scorers in first-class cricket for the following ten years.

Smith was educated at Stamford School and started his professional career at Leicestershire before moving to Warwickshire, and was named as one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year in 1960.

He remained as Warwickshire captain until his retirement in 1967, a decision which he then reversed, as he played again between 1970 and 1975. Warwickshire team-mates of “MJK” rated him as the best county batsman and one of the most unselfish captains of the era, epitomised by often fielding himself at short leg before the era of protective helmets and shin pads. In all, he played 1,091 first-class matches scoring almost 40,000 runs at an average of 41.84. He was awarded an OBE the year after his retirement for services to cricket.

He is one of 15 players in the Warwickshire hall of fame and holds two Warwickshire records — he scored 2,417 runs in 1959, which remains the most in a single first class season for the club, and took 422 catches for the county between 1956 and 1975.

His England career gave mixed returns and although he was captain for 25 Tests, he had a series of low scores during the mid-1960s and his place came under some scrutiny. He finished his Test career with 2,278 runs, including three centuries, at an average of 31.63.

After retirement, he became an ICC match referee between 1991 and 1996 and was also a well-respected chairman of Warwickshire, holding the position for 12 years between 1991 and 2003.

His son Neil followed in his footsteps by captaining Warwickshire and also played a handful of one-day internationals for England.

As well as his sole cap for England in rugby union he also played for Oxford University and Leicester.

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