Cedric Ivan James Smith (25 August 1906 – 8 February 1979) was an English

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 who played in five

Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to: * Test cricket * Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket) * Test match (rugby union) * Test match (rugby league) * Test match (associa ...

for the

England cricket team The England men's cricket team represents cricket in England, England and cricket in Wales, Wales in international cricket. Since 1997, it has been governed by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), having been previously governed by Maryleb ...

between 1935 and 1937.

Career

Known as "Big Jim", Smith joined the

Marylebone Cricket Club The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a cricket club founded in 1787 and based since 1814 at Lord's, Lord's Cricket Ground, which it owns, in St John's Wood, London, England. The club was the governing body of cricket from 1788 to 1989 and retain ...

(MCC) ground staff in 1926 and played for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

until 1933. He qualified for

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

in 1934 and took 172 wickets at 18.88 to finish 6th in the bowling averages in his debut season. He was selected for the 1934–35 MCC tour of the West Indies on the strength of this performance and played in every Test there. On debut, he took five wickets in the second innings in Bridgetown. He also appeared for

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 ...

against

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 ...

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

in 1937. Smith only batted 10 times in Tests, but until his last innings he never batted in the same position in two successive innings. During his brief career he batted at numbers 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 (twice) and 10 (twice). In 1935, Smith was elected 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 ...

for his achievements in the 1934 season. A six-foot four inch fast bowler, Smith's accuracy and appetite for hard work earned him 676 career wickets at 17.75 before the onset of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

effectively ended his career. Although primarily a fast bowler, Smith earned a reputation as a big-hitting tail-ender. In 1938, he scored a half-century in just 11 minutes against

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, the fastest genuine fifty on record. Previously, in 1935, he had scored 50 in 14 minutes against

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

while his sole first-class century, an unbeaten 101, was scored in 81 minutes, also against Kent. Another achievement was being credited by some with the biggest six in history, 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 1937, when he played a shot that cleared the Old Grandstand on the north side of the ground. His older brother,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, also played first-class cricket.

References

1906 births 1979 deaths England Test cricketers English cricketers London Counties cricketers Middlesex cricketers Wiltshire cricketers Minor Counties cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Players cricketers Wisden Cricketers of the Year People from Corsham People from Ribble Valley (district) Cricketers who have taken five wickets on Test debut English cricketers of 1919 to 1945 20th-century English sportsmen H. D. G. Leveson Gower's XI cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club West Indian Touring Team cricketers Cricketers from Lancashire {{England-cricket-bio-stub