Former England captain Smith passes awayImage Credit source: Getty Images
May 18 brought a sad news for English cricket. Mike Smith, former captain of the England cricket team and one of the best batsmen of county cricket, passed away in the middle of the County Championship season. Warwickshire County Cricket Club released an official statement on Monday and said that Mike Smith breathed his last at the age of 92. Smith was one of the few players who participated in two different sports. Apart from cricket, he also represented England in rugby.
Captained in half the test matches of his career
Born in 1933 in Leicester, Mike Smith made his debut in first class cricket for Leicestershire in 1951, after which he became a part of Warwickshire. Meanwhile, in 1958, he entered Test cricket for England and played his first match against New Zealand at his home ground Birmingham. After this, he continued playing Test cricket for England till 1972.
Warwickshire County Cricket Club are saddened to learn of the passing of Bears' legend MJK Smith at the age of 92.
Once a Bear, Always a Bear.
🐻 #YouBears pic.twitter.com/Dk1tej1y7l
— Bears (@WarwickshireCCC) May 18, 2026
Smith played a total of 50 matches for England in his 14-year Test cricket career. But the special thing is that during this period he also captained England in 25 Tests. Captaining England in 25 Tests between 1964 and 1966, Mike Smith scored 1048 runs, which included 1 century and 4 half-centuries. Overall, in his career, in 78 innings of 50 matches, Smith scored 2278 runs at an average of 31.63 and during this he scored 3 centuries and 11 half-centuries.
Nearly 40 thousand runs in first class cricket
Warwickshire observed a moment of silence before the start of play on the fourth day of their County Championship clash against Glamorgan in mourning Smith's death. Smith spent a long time of his career for this club. In his first class career, Smith played 637 matches and scored 39832 runs at an average of 42. During this period, Smith also scored 69 centuries and 241 half-centuries. He also took 593 catches.
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