William Rew Smith (born 28 September 1982) is an English former

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er. He was a right-handed batsman and a right-arm off-spin bowler. He played for

Durham County Cricket Club Durham County Cricket Club (rebranded as Durham Cricket in February 2019) is one of eighteen first-class county clubs within the domestic cricket structure of England and Wales. It represents the historic county of Durham. Founded in 1882, Du ...

up until his retirement. Smith originally played for Harrold CC and

Bedford School :''Bedford School is not to be confused with Bedford Girls' School, Bedford High School, Bedford Modern School, Old Bedford School in Bedford, Texas or Bedford Academy in Bedford, Nova Scotia.'' Bedford School is a public school (English indep ...

(where he captained England opening batsman

Alastair Cook Sir Alastair Nathan Cook (born 25 December 1984) is an English cricketer who plays for Essex County Cricket Club, and played for England in all international formats from 2006 to 2018. A former captain of the England Test and One-Day Intern ...

). He played minor county cricket for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

as a schoolboy, until he moved to

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The traditi ...

in 2002. Primarily an opening batsman, at times Smith played slightly further down the order, especially during the Twenty20 cup. Smith was an exciting fielder who took some great catches (Twenty 20 Cup Finals day vs Surrey) and fielded as 12th Man for the full England side whilst at Trent Bridge. Though having played three times during Nottinghamshire's 2005 title-winning season, he was unable to establish himself within the Championship team, and subsequently joined

, thus returning to his University town: Smith is a graduate of

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

, where he successfully captained

Durham UCCE Durham MCC University (previously known as Durham University Centre of Cricketing Excellence) is a cricket coaching centre based at Durham University in Durham, County Durham, England, and the name under which the university's cricket team plays ...

and gained a 2:1 (Hons) in

Biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

. During the course of the 2008 season, Smith has established himself in the Durham championship side, primarily batting at No 3, and recorded his maiden 1st class double-hundred (201 not out) against Surrey, sending Durham to the top of the County Championship Division 1 as a result. Durham went on to win the County Championship for the first time in their history, and Smith's runs saw him named 2008 Player of the Year ahead of more recognisable names such as Shiv Chanderpaul and Steven Harmison. Smith was appointed as the new captain of Durham on 14 November 2008, succeeding Dale Benkenstein. Durham County Cricket Club continued their success in 2009, with Smith leading them to a successful defence of their County Championship Title in his first year in charge. Since his cricket-playing retirement, Smith has developed a career in sports journalism and media. He wrote for All-Out Cricket magazine, and provides ad-hoc cricket commentary for Sky and the BBC. He also has a lifelong passion for Horse Racing and is a knowledgeable Horse Racing pundit/analyst, including for Racing TV and William Hill Racing Radio.

References

External links

Will Smith
at ECB * {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Will 1982 births Living people Cricketers from Luton People educated at Bedford School Alumni of Collingwood College, Durham Alumni of Staffordshire University English cricketers Bedfordshire cricketers Nottinghamshire cricketers Durham MCCU cricketers British Universities cricketers Durham cricketers Durham cricket captains Hampshire cricketers