David Smith (Gloucestershire cricketer)
Encyclopedia
David Smith was an English
cricket
er, who played in five Tests
for England in India in 1961-1962.
He was one of a trio of pace bowlers, along with Alan Brown
and Butch White
, who were given their opportunity on the eight Test, five month long tour of India and Pakistan. However, his efforts in the heat and dust of the Indian subcontinent
, did not do sufficient to earn him a chance to bowl in an England Test series at home.
.
He was a lower-order right-handed batsman, and a medium-fast right-arm bowler, who played for Gloucestershire
for fifteen seasons from 1956, usually opening the bowling in partnership with Tony Brown
. He was a successful county bowler at slightly above medium-pace, able to move the ball off the seam in both directions, and in five seasons he took more than 100 wickets, with a best of 143 wickets in 1960. In a team that was packed with all-rounders, Smith tended to bat fairly low, but he occasionally made useful runs, often in a fairly forthright style.
Smith's only Test cricket came on the long, and by modern standards, arduous MCC
tour that started in Pakistan, moved on to India, took in Sri Lanka and then returned to Pakistan, in 1961-62. Leading England fast bowlers such as Fred Trueman
and Brian Statham
opted out of the tour, and Smith was one of three seam bowlers whose only experience of Test cricket came on the tour. Smith played in only the five Indian
Tests, missing the three in Pakistan, and took six wickets in a series dominated by spin bowling
. The regular Test fast bowlers resumed their careers in the 1962 English season, and Smith was never selected again.
Smith was also a footballer who played at outside-left for Bristol City
and Millwall
.
David Smith died in Bristol
in December 2003, at the age of 69.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
er, who played in five Tests
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
for England in India in 1961-1962.
He was one of a trio of pace bowlers, along with Alan Brown
Alan Brown (cricketer)
Alan Brown is a former English cricketer who played in two Tests in 1961. A genuine fast bowler in his youth, he went on the 1961/1962 tour to India, Pakistan and Ceylon, when the regular England pace attack declined to tour, but found the wickets too flat for his style of bowling...
and Butch White
Butch White
David William 'Butch' White was a former English cricketer, who played in two Tests from 1961 to 1962. He played county cricket for Hampshire from 1957 to 1971, with a final season at Glamorgan in 1972.-Early life:...
, who were given their opportunity on the eight Test, five month long tour of India and Pakistan. However, his efforts in the heat and dust of the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, did not do sufficient to earn him a chance to bowl in an England Test series at home.
Life and career
David Robert Smith was born in Fishponds, BristolFishponds, Bristol
Fishponds is an outer urban area in the north-east of the English city of Bristol. It is approximately from the City centre. It has two large Victorian era parks; Eastville Park and Vassell's Park and also known locally as Oldbury Court. The River Frome runs through both parks, with the Frome...
.
He was a lower-order right-handed batsman, and a medium-fast right-arm bowler, who played for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club
Gloucestershire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh national cricket structure, representing the historic county of Gloucestershire. Its limited overs team is called the Gloucestershire Gladiators....
for fifteen seasons from 1956, usually opening the bowling in partnership with Tony Brown
Tony Brown (cricketer)
Anthony Stephen Brown, born at Bristol on June 24, 1936, is an English former cricketer and administrator.A middle to lower order right-handed batsman and a medium-fast right-arm bowler, Tony Brown was a successful county cricketer with Gloucestershire for 20 years and was county captain between...
. He was a successful county bowler at slightly above medium-pace, able to move the ball off the seam in both directions, and in five seasons he took more than 100 wickets, with a best of 143 wickets in 1960. In a team that was packed with all-rounders, Smith tended to bat fairly low, but he occasionally made useful runs, often in a fairly forthright style.
Smith's only Test cricket came on the long, and by modern standards, arduous MCC
Marylebone Cricket Club
Marylebone Cricket Club is a cricket club in London founded in 1787. Its influence and longevity now witness it as a private members' club dedicated to the development of cricket. It owns, and is based at, Lord's Cricket Ground in St John's Wood, London NW8. MCC was formerly the governing body of...
tour that started in Pakistan, moved on to India, took in Sri Lanka and then returned to Pakistan, in 1961-62. Leading England fast bowlers such as Fred Trueman
Fred Trueman
Frederick Sewards Trueman OBE was an English cricketer, generally acknowledged as one of the greatest fast bowlers in history. A bowler of genuinely fast pace who was widely known as Fiery Fred, Trueman played first-class cricket for Yorkshire County Cricket Club from 1949 until he retired in 1968...
and Brian Statham
Brian Statham
John Brian "George" Statham, CBE was one of the leading English fast bowlers in 20th-century English cricket. Initially a bowler of a brisk fast-medium pace, Statham was able to remodel his action to generate enough speed to become genuinely fast...
opted out of the tour, and Smith was one of three seam bowlers whose only experience of Test cricket came on the tour. Smith played in only the five Indian
Indian cricket team
The Indian cricket team is the national cricket team of India. Governed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India , it is a full member of the International Cricket Council with Test and One Day International status....
Tests, missing the three in Pakistan, and took six wickets in a series dominated by spin bowling
Spin bowling
Spin bowling is a technique used for bowling in the sport of cricket. Practitioners are known as spinners or spin bowlers.-Purpose:The main aim of spin bowling is to bowl the cricket ball with rapid rotation so that when it bounces on the pitch it will deviate, thus making it difficult for the...
. The regular Test fast bowlers resumed their careers in the 1962 English season, and Smith was never selected again.
Smith was also a footballer who played at outside-left for Bristol City
Bristol City F.C.
Bristol City Football Club is one of two football league clubs in Bristol, England . They play at Ashton Gate, located in the south-west of the City...
and Millwall
Millwall F.C.
Millwall Football Club is an English professional football club based in South Bermondsey, south east London, that plays in the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football. Founded as Millwall Rovers in 1885, the club has retained its name despite having last played in the...
.
David Smith died in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
in December 2003, at the age of 69.