Sydney Smith (cricketer)
Encyclopedia
San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
The City of San Fernando with a population of 55,419 according to the 2000 census, is the larger of Trinidad and Tobago's two cities and the second largest municipality after Chaguanas. It occupies 18 km² and is located in the southwestern part of the island of Trinidad...
, Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
on 15 January 1881, and died at Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, on 25 October 1963, was a cricketer
Cricketer
A cricketer is a person who plays the sport of cricket. Official and long-established cricket publications prefer the traditional word "cricketer" over the rarely used term "cricket player"....
who had three distinct careers, playing for Trinidad
Trinidad and Tobago cricket team
The Trinidad and Tobago cricket team is the representative cricket team of the country of Trinidad and Tobago.The team takes part in inter-regional cricket competitions in the Caribbean, such as the Regional Four Day Competition and the WICB Cup, with the best players selected for the West Indies...
in the West Indies, for Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club
Northamptonshire County Cricket Club is one of the 18 major county clubs which make up the English and Welsh domestic cricket structure, representing the historic county of Northamptonshire. Its limited overs team is called the Northants Steelbacks. The traditional club colour is Maroon. During the...
in England and for Auckland in New Zealand. He also played for representative sides – for the West Indies
West Indian cricket team
The West Indian cricket team, also known colloquially as the West Indies or the Windies, is a multi-national cricket team representing a sporting confederation of 15 mainly English-speaking Caribbean countries, British dependencies and non-British dependencies.From the mid 1970s to the early 1990s,...
side that toured England in 1906
West Indian cricket team in England in 1906
The West Indian cricket team toured England in the 1906 season. The team played 19 matches between 11 June and 18 August 1906 of which 13 were regarded as first-class....
; for the 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...
sides that toured the West Indies in 1910-11
English cricket team in West Indies in 1910-11
The sixth team of English cricketers toured the West Indies in the 1910-11 season. For the first time the MCC organised the tour. The team was captained by AWF Somerset and played a total of 12 matches, of which 11 are regarded as first-class, between February and April 1911.A party of 11 was...
and 1912-13
English cricket team in West Indies in 1912-13
The seventh team of English cricketers toured the West Indies in the 1912-13 season. The tour was organised by MCC. As in 1910-11, the team was captained by AWF Somerset...
; and for New Zealand
New Zealand cricket team
The New Zealand cricket team, nicknamed the Black Caps, are the national cricket team representing New Zealand. They played their first in 1930 against England in Christchurch, New Zealand, becoming the fifth country to play Test cricket. It took the team until 1955–56 to win a Test, against the...
in pre-Test cricket
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...
matches against MCC and Australian
Australian cricket team
The Australian cricket team is the national cricket team of Australia. It is the joint oldest team in Test cricket, having played in the first Test match in 1877...
sides.
Smith was a forceful left-handed middle-order batsman and a left-arm spin bowler. He played first for Trinidad in the 1899-1900 Inter-Colonial Tournament
Inter-Colonial Tournament
The Inter-Colonial Tournament was the main first class cricket competition in the West Indies before World War II.- Competing teams :* Barbados* British Guiana* Trinidad...
and was successful over the next few seasons primarily as a bowler. In 1901-02 he was selected for the combined West Indies team in Trinidad against a touring team
RA Bennett's XI cricket team in West Indies in 1901-02
After a gap of 5 years the fourth team of English cricketers toured the West Indies in the 1901-02 season. The team was captained by Mr. R.A. Bennett and, like the earlier tourists, consisted solely of Amateurs. They played a total of 19 matches, of which 13 are regarded as first class, between...
led by Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett (cricketer)
Richard Alexander Bennett was an English cricketer who played for Hampshire from 1896 to 1899...
and including England Test players Bernard Bosanquet
Bernard Bosanquet (cricketer)
Bernard James Tindal Bosanquet was an English cricketer best known for inventing the googly, a delivery designed to deceive the batsman. When bowled, it appears to be a leg break, but after pitching the ball turns in the opposite direction to that which is expected, behaving as an off break instead...
, Frederick Fane
Frederick Fane
Frederick Luther Fane was born in Ireland, but played cricket for the England cricket team in 14 Test matches...
and Rockley Wilson
Rockley Wilson
Evelyn Rockley Wilson was an English amateur first-class cricketer, who played for Cambridge University Cricket Club, Yorkshire, and England.-Life:...
. He took nine wickets for 34 in the first innings and followed that with seven for 51 in the second. He was again selected for the combined West Indies team in Trinidad against Lord Brackley's team
Lord Brackley's XI cricket team in West Indies in 1904-05
Lord Brackley's XI was the fifth team of English cricketers to tour the West Indies, playing in the 1904-05 season. The team was captained by John Egerton, 4th Earl of Ellesmere and played a total of 20 matches between January and April 1905, of which ten are regarded as first class...
three years later.
He was selected to tour England with the second West Indies team
West Indian cricket team in England in 1906
The West Indian cricket team toured England in the 1906 season. The team played 19 matches between 11 June and 18 August 1906 of which 13 were regarded as first-class....
in 1906
1906 English cricket season
The 1906 English cricket season saw the Championship decided on the very last day with Kent just pipping Yorkshire for the title. George Hirst achieved the unique feat of a "double Double", i.e...
. He was described pre-tour as "the best amateur bowler in the West Indies, bowls slow left hand; can also bat very well" and "he is regarded as the crack bowler of the side. A left-hander with easy delivery who can make the ball break either way, and who sends down a deceptive fast ball. He can hit with vigour and precision and cuts well. He is a good field in the slips". Smith started the tour extremely well, being particularly effective against the weaker sides. After 8 matches (4 first class, 4 against minor teams) he had scored over 700 runs and taken over 50 wickets. After that his batting was disappointing although he continued to take wickets, including 12 in the final match against Northamptonshire. In first-class matches he scored 571 runs at an average of 24.82, including a century against Hampshire
Hampshire County Cricket Club
Hampshire County Cricket Club represents the historic county of Hampshire in cricket's County Championship. The club was founded in 1863 as a successor to the Hampshire county cricket teams and has played at the Antelope Ground from then until 1885, before moving to the County Ground where it...
and taking 66 wickets at an average of 24.36. In all matches he performed the "double", scoring 1107 runs and taking 116 wickets, leading the averages in both categories. After the tour, he stayed in England to qualify for county cricket with Northamptonshire.
During his two-year residence qualification he was only able to play against the touring teams. In 1907
1907 English cricket season
The 1907 English cricket season gave Nottinghamshire its first-ever official County Championship title and saw the first Test matches to be held in England against South Africa.-Honours:*County Championship - Nottinghamshire...
he took 10 wickets against the South Africans and in 1908
1908 English cricket season
The 1908 English cricket season was the year in which American John Barton "Bart" King topped the bowling averages as a member of the touring Philadelphian cricket team.-Honours:*County Championship - Yorkshire...
he scored 23 and 76* and took 9 wickets against the Philadelphians.
When he started playing regularly in 1909
1909 English cricket season
The 1909 English cricket season provided confirmation of Australia's superiority as Monty Noble's team retained the Ashes.-Honours:*County Championship - Kent*Minor Counties Championship - Wiltshire...
he was an instant success, scoring more than 1000 runs and taking 115 wickets, his first full county season. In six seasons with the county, he passed the 1000-run mark four times and took 100 wickets four times, achieving the all-rounder's "double" in 1909, 1913
1913 English cricket season
The 1913 English cricket season saw Kent take the title for the fourth time in eight seasons.-Honours:*County Championship - Kent*Minor Counties Championship - Norfolk...
and 1914
1914 English cricket season
The 1914 English cricket season was called off at the end of August because of the outbreak of the First World War. The last four matches to be played all finished on 2 September and the remaining five scheduled fixtures were cancelled....
. In 1913, he became county captain during the season when George Vials fell ill and he retained the position in 1914. He was selected to play for the Gentlemen v Players
Gentlemen v Players
The Gentlemen v Players game was a first-class cricket match that was generally played on an annual basis between one team consisting of amateurs and one of professionals . The first two games took place in 1806 but the fixture was not revived until 1819. It was more or less annual thereafter...
a number of times, four times in the prestigious match at Lord's. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1915 for his performances in 1914. By this time first-class cricket had been suspended in England because of the First World War. In all he played 119 first class matches for Northamptonshire scoring 6396 runs (with 12 centuries) and taking 502 wickets.
During his period with Northamptonshire he twice toured the West Indies; in 1910-11
English cricket team in West Indies in 1910-11
The sixth team of English cricketers toured the West Indies in the 1910-11 season. For the first time the MCC organised the tour. The team was captained by AWF Somerset and played a total of 12 matches, of which 11 are regarded as first-class, between February and April 1911.A party of 11 was...
and 1912-13
English cricket team in West Indies in 1912-13
The seventh team of English cricketers toured the West Indies in the 1912-13 season. The tour was organised by MCC. As in 1910-11, the team was captained by AWF Somerset...
. In 1910-11 he was second in the tourists first class batting averages and lead their bowling averages, while 1912-13 his batting was a little disappointing but he was still second in the tourists bowling averages.
Undeterred, Smith moved again, this time to New Zealand, where he appeared in first-class matches from 1917-18 through to 1925-26, when he retired from the first class game. In 1919-20, he scored 256 for Auckland against Canterbury, which was his highest first-class score. In the next game against Wellington he took eight wickets for 55 runs in the first innings, and 13 wickets in the match. He was selected for the New Zealand team against the Australians in 1920-21, the MCC in 1922-23 and against the touring New South Wales team in 1923-24. "He used his height to the full to bowl a leg-break with a dropping ball and gave some fine exhibitions with the bat, though already in his mid-thirties". In all he played 5 times for New Zealand and in 26 first class matches for Auckland.
His uncles Frederick and Augustus Smith played for Barbados in early inter-colonial cricket.