Tributes have been paid to Robin Smith, the former England cricketer, who has died at the age of 62. Smith, known for his swashbuckling batting and fearlessness against fast bowling, played 62 Tests for England between 1988 and 1996, averaging 43.67. His highest Test score of 175 came against a West Indies attack led by Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh in Antigua in 1994.
Smith's best year was 1991, when he scored 675 runs at an average of 67.5, including a brilliant 148 against West Indies at Lord's. Former teammate Mark Ramprakash described him as a phenomenal batter and an even better person. 'His skill and bravery in facing fast bowling was second to none,' Ramprakash said.
After retiring from first-class cricket with more than 26,000 runs and 61 hundreds, Smith moved to Perth, Australia. He struggled with alcoholism and mental health issues, spending seven months in hospital last year with cirrhosis of the liver after drinking a bottle of vodka daily for over a decade.
Two weeks ago, Smith met the England Lions squad in Perth at the invitation of Andrew Flintoff, offering advice and sharing stories. His family urged against speculation about his cause of death, which remains unknown pending a postmortem.
ECB chair Richard Thompson called Smith 'a batter ahead of his time,' citing his unbeaten 167 from 163 balls in a 1993 ODI against Australia. Hampshire, where Smith helped win multiple trophies, also paid tribute, with chief executive Rod Bransgrove saying, 'Robin embodied the spirit of Hampshire.'
