Christopher Lyall Smith (born 15 October 1958) is a former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He also played one match for

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

in 1979, while playing in the South

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

League, and in South Africa he played for Natal B (then a first-class team).

Life and career

Born on 15 October 1958 in

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

, South Africa, Smith was unable to play Test cricket for South Africa due to their exclusion from international sport because of the

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

regime, but played for England through his parents' nationality. Ironically his opportunity was assisted by the fact that a number of alternative England opening batsmen such as Graham Gooch and

Wayne Larkins Wayne Larkins (born 22 November 1953) is an English former cricketer, who represented Northamptonshire, Durham and Bedfordshire as an opening batsman throughout his career. He was selected to play for England as Graham Gooch's opening partner ...

were banned from international cricket after participating in a rebel tour of South Africa in 1982. However, Smith played only eight Test matches, never establishing himself in the side. Smith had the misfortune to be dismissed first ball by

Richard Hadlee Sir Richard John Hadlee (born 3 July 1951) is a New Zealand former cricketer. Hadlee is widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, and amongst the very finest fast bowlers. Hadlee was appointed an MBE in the 1 ...

on Test debut at

Lord's Lord's Cricket Ground, commonly known as Lord's, is a cricket List of Test cricket grounds, venue in St John's Wood, Westminster. Named after its founder, Thomas Lord, it is owned by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) and is the home of Middlesex C ...

in 1983 (although he made 43 in the second innings as England won the match), but was selected the next winter for the tour to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. There he made some useful contributions, including a score of 91 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. Smith also played four one-day internationals in 1984 with a highest score of 70. Smith was also an occasional off-spin bowler who took five cheap international wickets, including figures of 2–8 in a one-day international against Pakistan. After he toured Sri Lanka with an England 'B' side in 1986, his last Test came in 1986 at

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

as an injury replacement for

David Gower David Ivon Gower (born 1 April 1957) is an English cricket commentator and former cricketer who was captain of the England cricket team during the 1980s. Described as one of the most stylish left-handed batsmen of his era, Gower played 117 T ...

. He was dropped when Gower was fit again. Smith was much more successful for Hampshire, enjoying a successful career with that county, scoring more than 40 first-class hundreds and helping them to win the 1988 Benson & Hedges Cup, and the

1991 NatWest Trophy The 1991 NatWest Trophy was a limited-overs English county cricket tournament, held between 26 June and 7 September 1991. The competition was won by Hampshire who beat Surrey by 4 wickets in the final at Lord's. Format The seventeen first-cl ...

(though missing the final of the latter). He was one of the

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 for their influence on the previous English season". The award began in 1889 with the naming ...

in 1984. After he retired from first-class cricket, he settled in Western Australia, and became marketing manager of the Western Australian Cricket Association. Chris Smith is the older brother of fellow Hampshire and England Test player Robin Smith. His brother made his England debut at

, two years after Smith had played his last Test on the same ground, and went onto a more extensive international career.

References

External links

* 1958 births Living people England One Day International cricketers England Test cricketers English cricketers Glamorgan cricketers Hampshire cricketers KwaZulu-Natal cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Alumni of Northwood School, Durban Cricketers from Durban 20th-century English sportsmen {{England-cricket-bio-stub