MJK SMITH

MJK Smith is pictured above playing for Warwickshire against Leicestershire

at Grace Road, the twilight of his twenty four year career .

Mike Smith, the bespectacled middle-order batsman who also played rugby union for England

at fly-half, was out in the 90s more often than any of his contemporary Test colleagues.

He was unlucky to lose his place against the 1961 Australians when he was at the peak of

his form. 'M.J.K.' also missed a 1958-59 Ashes tour after an unimpressive debut as an opener

against the 1958 New Zealand side, widely regarded as the worst international bowling attack

ever to visit the U.K. He made 47 at Lord's but was dismissed for single figures on three other

occasions. When the Gloucestershire postman Arthur Milton came in and scored a century

he snatched the berth the selectors had originally earmarked for Smith. No doubt he was

fortunate to miss the disasters of that tour, and he returned against India in the middle order,

scoring 100 at Old Trafford and 98 at the Oval. That got him a place on the 1960 trip to West Indies,

where he scored 108 in Trinidad when England won by 256 runs, and 96 when they returned

to the same ground for the 5th Test.

Against South Africa in 1960 Mike scored 99 at Lord's, but after 0 and 1 not out in the first Ashes Test

of 1961 he was dropped to make way for the return of Peter May. Smith went to India and Pakistan

under Ted Dexter, scoring 99 in Lahore but struggling in India. In 1962 he lost his place to Peter Parfitt.

Smith ended up with the England captaincy almost by default, but proved such a success that he held

on to it despite a shortage of runs in the biggest matches. In the end England's need to strengthen the

batting against Gary Sobers' 'King Cricket' team of 1966 proved his downfall. The hastily arranged tour

of India in 1964 saw many of England's stars missing, and Smith got the captaincy. Unfortunately he also

got an epidemic amongst his team, and at one time commentator Henry Blofeld was due to play in the

first Test. In the end Micky Stewart returned from his sick bed for half an hour, then went straight back,

leaving Smith to open again. He scored 57 in the second innings of that Madras Test and 75 not out

at Calcutta.

Ted Dexter reclaimed the captaincy for the 1964 Ashes series, but when he tried to become an M.P. in

that autumn's British election Smith was recalled to take the team to South Africa. He scored 121 in the

third Test in Cape Town and was particularly popular for the support he gave to his bowlers' long-term

strategies. He was captain against New Zealand and South Africa in 1965 and lead a 1965-66 Ashes quest,

drawing the series 1-1 but failing to win the famous urn. Mike scored 54 and 87 in Christchurch on the

New Zealand leg of the tour. He got just 5 and 6 against West Indies at Old Trafford in 1966 and was

replaced as captain by Colin Cowdrey. His Test career seemed over, and he even gave up county cricket

for a while, but in 1972 was recalled to serve under Ray Illingworth, scoring 34 and 30 at Lord's against

an upcoming Dennis Lillee. After three Tests he was dropped, partly because of the embarrasment of the

veteran team being dubbed 'Dad's Army'. (Bob Harragan).

Micheal John Knight Smith died on 17th May 2026. aged 92.  MJK to everyone.

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