Ray Smith (10 August 1914 – 21 February 1996) was an English

cricket 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 ...

er. He played for Essex between 1934 and 1956.

Career

Smith was a prominent all-rounder in the post-war Essex cricket team, alongside his cousin Peter. He was known for his dynamic bowling, often initiating the attack with rapid in-swingers, and then switching to less effective off-breaks. Smith's batting was sporadically powerful, with three of his eight first-class centuries recorded as the fastest in their respective seasons. Notably harsh on off-spinners, he once left bowler Jim Laker exasperated. Contrary to fast-bowling norms, Smith's appeals were delivered in a soft, aristocratic voice. Retiring in 1956, he missed the introduction of one-day cricket but had an accomplished career as a coach at Felsted and ran a restaurant outside Birmingham. His final home match saw Essex secure its first victory over Yorkshire since the war, with Smith scoring the winning runs.

References

External links

* * 1914 births 1996 deaths English cricketers East of England cricketers Essex cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers North v South cricketers People from Boreham English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Cricketers from Essex {{England-cricket-bio-1910s-stub