Lankford Daniel Smith (21 December 1914 – 28 November 1978) was a

football (soccer) Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player who represented

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

at international level. He was also an accomplished

cricketer Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by striki ...

, playing first-class cricket for

Otago Otago (, ; mi, Ōtākou ) is a region of New Zealand located in the southern half of the South Island administered by the Otago Regional Council. It has an area of approximately , making it the country's second largest local government reg ...

from 1935 to 1957.

Life and career

Born in Ngaio,

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, Smith moved to

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; mi, Ōtepoti) is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from , the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Th ...

with his parents, Daniel and Annie Smith sometime prior to October 1925, where his father worked as a hospital orderly. He married Mavis Lucy Madigan in October 1937. Smith played

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

for

Northern AFC Founded in 1888 Northern AFC is the oldest continually operating football club in the Southern Hemisphere. Based in North Dunedin, the club has 12 Senior teams playing in the Football South Federation region. The club also has a Junior footbal ...

, and played two official A-international matches for the New Zealand national football team in 1948, both against the visiting Australian team, the first a 0–7 loss on 28 August, followed by a 0–4 loss on 4 September. A middle-order batsman and left-arm spinner, Smith captained Otago in 1945-46 and from 1947–48 to 1955–56, leading the province to victory in the Plunket Shield in 1947–48, 1950–51, and 1952–53. In 62 first-class matches he scored 2281 runs at 24.52, and took 85 wickets at 38.23. He scored his only century in the victory over Central Districts in Dunedin that gave Otago the 1952-53 shield. Dick Brittenden said that apart from his batting, bowling and "inspiring example in the field", "perhaps his greatest asset as a captain was his firm belief in the ability of his team. He was so deeply convinced it was the better side that it very often was." After his playing career was over, Smith served as a

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film), ...

selector. He was also a cricket commentator on radio, in partnership with

Iain Gallaway Iain Watson Gallaway (26 December 192218 April 2021) was a New Zealand broadcaster, lawyer and cricketer. He was a commentator on the radio station Radio Sport, and a first-class cricketer. Between January 2021 and his death, Gallaway was New Z ...

, when major matches were played at the Carisbrook ground in

. Smith worked as a schoolteacher. In December 1965 he rescued two boys who had got into difficulty in the sea near the mouth of the

Waikouaiti River The Waikouaiti River is found to the north of Dunedin in Otago, New Zealand. It flows to the Pacific Ocean at Karitane, close to the town of Waikouaiti. The Waikouaiti River is the largest in East Otago East Otago is the name given to that p ...

, and almost drowned himself while trying unsuccessfully to rescue a third. He, and the man who rescued him, were awarded the

Royal Humane Society The Royal Humane Society is a British charity which promotes lifesaving intervention. It was founded in England in 1774 as the ''Society for the Recovery of Persons Apparently Drowned'', for the purpose of rendering first aid in cases of near dro ...

's bronze medal for bravery.

References

External links

*
Lankford Smith at Cricket Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Lankford 1914 births 1978 deaths New Zealand association footballers New Zealand men's international footballers New Zealand cricketers Otago cricketers Men's association football forwards New Zealand Services cricketers South Island cricketers New Zealand cricket commentators Cricketers from Dunedin Association footballers from Dunedin Cricketers from Wellington City Association footballers from Wellington City

Life and career

See also

References

External links