Email Us Forum Mail Article Print Article

Robin Smith - 21 and out

Saturday, September 13 2003

Robin Smith of Hampshire today announced that he is to retire from first class cricket with immediate effect.

Smith, 40 tomorrow, had more-or-less made the decision as the start of the current season but his sparkling form in the earlier part of this year which included five half-centuries prompted a rethink. A serious hamstring injury which has all but kept him out of cricket for the last two months, however, prompted him to say "My decision to retire with immediate effect comes only after long and careful deliberations, but my body tells me that now is the time to go."

Robin Smith first came to prominence playing in Natal as a 16-year old, then joined Hampshire the following year. He made his first-class debut at 18 and the following season scored a century in his first County Championship match against Lancashire at Dean Park. There would be a further 60 tons in a glittering career for Hampshire and England which saw him amass 26155 career runs.

With Smith in the side, Hampshire won three knockout cup finals and two National Leagues, but it is his performances for England that he is better remembered outside of the county. Robin scored 9 centuries and a further 28 fifties for his adopted country in test matches, finishing with an average in excess of 43. He also played 71 one-day internationals, making 4 tons and 15 half-centuries.

His final test match included a typically gritty 66 against South Africa in Cape Town during 1996, and there is a school of thought which suggests that he was discarded from the England lineup prematurely. The uncontrolled spiralling by England down the rankings over the subsequent three years suggests that school of thought was correct.

Dr. Smith, who was recently awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Letters by the University of Portsmouth, will be remaining at Hampshire in a coaching capacity. Cricketweb wishes him a long and happy retirement from playing and much success in the future.


Posted by Eddie