Peter Smith (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
Peter Smith, was an English
cricket
er, who played for Essex
and England
. Smith was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
in 1947. An all-rounder
, Smith played for Essex from 1929 to 1951.
Smith originally turned up at The Oval
for the 1933 Test match against the West Indies, only to find that the telegram he had received was a hoax. It was another thirteen years before he was really selected for his country. He was noted for keeping to a good length, even when H. T. Bartlett smacked 28 off his six deliveries in the 1938 Gentlemen v. Players match at Lord's
.
While playing for Essex against Derbyshire
at Queen's Park, Chesterfield
in 1947, he batted at number eleven, and came to the wicket with Essex 199 for 9 wickets. In two-and-a-half hours, Smith hit 163 runs, putting on 218 for the last wicket with Frank Vigar
, who made an undefeated 114. The 163 is the world record score for a number eleven batsman, and the partnership is one of only eleven of more than 200 runs for the last wicket in the whole of first-class cricket
. In that season of 1947, Smith achieved the double
of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.
Smith played only four Test matches
for England: one in 1946 against India, two against Australia in the 1946-47 Ashes series and the last in New Zealand later on the tour. As a Test player, he was only modestly successful, but in taking 9/121 runs for the MCC against New South Wales he set the record for the best bowling return by an Englishman in Australia.
Peter Smith died in Hyères
, France
, from a cerebral haemorrhage, after a fall on holiday.
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 for Essex
Essex County Cricket Club
Essex 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 Essex. Its limited overs team is called the Essex Eagles, their team colours this season are blue.The club plays most of its home games...
and England
English cricket team
The England and Wales cricket team is a cricket team which represents England and Wales. Until 1992 it also represented Scotland. Since 1 January 1997 it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board , having been previously governed by Marylebone Cricket Club from 1903 until the end...
. Smith was one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Year
Wisden Cricketers of the Year
The Wisden Cricketers of the Year are cricketers selected for the honour by the annual publication Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, based primarily on their "influence on the previous English season"...
in 1947. An all-rounder
All-rounder
An all-rounder is a cricketer who regularly performs well at both batting and bowling. Although all bowlers must bat and quite a few batsmen do bowl occasionally, most players are skilled in only one of the two disciplines and are considered specialists...
, Smith played for Essex from 1929 to 1951.
Life and career
Thomas Peter Bromly Smith was a leg-break and googly bowler and a lower order hitter of some style. He holds the Essex records both for the number of wickets in a season (172 in 1947), and for wickets in a career (1,610 between 1929 and 1951).Smith originally turned up at The Oval
The Oval
The Kia Oval, still commonly referred to by its original name of The Oval, is an international cricket ground in Kennington, in the London Borough of Lambeth. In the past it was also sometimes called the Kennington Oval...
for the 1933 Test match against the West Indies, only to find that the telegram he had received was a hoax. It was another thirteen years before he was really selected for his country. He was noted for keeping to a good length, even when H. T. Bartlett smacked 28 off his six deliveries in the 1938 Gentlemen v. Players match at Lord's
Lord's Cricket Ground
Lord's Cricket Ground is a cricket venue in St John's Wood, London. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club and is the home of Middlesex County Cricket Club, the England and Wales Cricket Board , the European Cricket Council and, until August 2005, the...
.
While playing for Essex against Derbyshire
Derbyshire County Cricket Club
Derbyshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the England and Wales domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Derbyshire...
at Queen's Park, Chesterfield
Chesterfield
Chesterfield is a market town and a borough of Derbyshire, England. It lies north of Derby, on a confluence of the rivers Rother and Hipper. Its population is 70,260 , making it Derbyshire's largest town...
in 1947, he batted at number eleven, and came to the wicket with Essex 199 for 9 wickets. In two-and-a-half hours, Smith hit 163 runs, putting on 218 for the last wicket with Frank Vigar
Frank Vigar
Frank Henry Vigar was an English cricketer who played first class cricket for Essex between 1938 and 1954. A right-handed batsman, and leg break bowler, Vigar served as an all-rounder with 8,858 runs at 26.28 and 241 wickets at 37.90. From his rained-off debut in 1938, Vigar went on to play 257...
, who made an undefeated 114. The 163 is the world record score for a number eleven batsman, and the partnership is one of only eleven of more than 200 runs for the last wicket in the whole of first-class cricket
First-class cricket
First-class cricket is a class of cricket that consists of matches of three or more days' scheduled duration, that are between two sides of eleven players and are officially adjudged first-class by virtue of the standard of the competing teams...
. In that season of 1947, Smith achieved the double
Double (cricket)
A cricketer is said to achieve the double if he scores a thousand or more runs and also takes a hundred or more wickets in first-class matches during the course of a single season. The feat is extremely rare outside England because of the smaller number of first-class matches played in most other...
of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets.
Smith played only four Test matches
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: one in 1946 against India, two against Australia in the 1946-47 Ashes series and the last in New Zealand later on the tour. As a Test player, he was only modestly successful, but in taking 9/121 runs for the MCC against New South Wales he set the record for the best bowling return by an Englishman in Australia.
Peter Smith died in Hyères
Hyères
Hyères , Provençal Occitan: Ieras in classical norm or Iero in Mistralian norm) is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, from a cerebral haemorrhage, after a fall on holiday.