Sydney Smith (cricketer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Sydney George Smith, born at San Fernando, Trinidad on January 15, 1881, and died at Auckland, New Zealand, on October 25, 1963, was a cricketer who had three distinct careers, playing for Trinidad and Tobago in the West Indies, for Northamptonshire in England and for Auckland in New Zealand. He also played for representative sides – for the West Indies side that toured England in 1906; for the MCC sides that toured the West Indies in 1910-11 and 1912-13; and for New Zealand in pre-Test cricket matches against MCC and Australian sides.

Smith was a forceful left-handed middle-order batsman and a left-arm spin bowler. He played first for Trinidad and Tobago in 1899-1900 and was successful over the next few seasons primarily as a bowler. In 1902, against a touring team led by Richard Bennett and including England Test players Bernard Bosanquet, Frederick Fane and Rockley Wilson he took nine wickets for 34 in the first innings and followed that with seven for 51 in the second.

In 1906, Smith came to England with the first West Indies tour. The side was weak, but Smith acquitted himself well, scoring 571 runs, including a century against Hampshire and taking 66 wickets. After the tour, he stayed in England to qualify for county cricket with Northamptonshire.

He was an instant success, scoring more than 1000 runs and taking 115 wickets in 1909, his first full county season. In six seasons with the county, he passed the 1000-run mark four times and took 100 wickets four times, achieving the all-rounder's "double" in 1909, 1913 and 1914. In 1913, he became county captain during the season and he retained the position for the whole of the 1914 season. He was named as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1915, at which time first-class cricket had been suspended in England because of the First World War.

Undeterred, Smith moved again, this time to New Zealand, where he appeared in first-class matches from 1917-18 through to 1925-26, when he retired. In 1919-20, he scored 256 for Auckland against Canterbury, which was his highest first-class score. In the next game against Wellington he took eight wickets for 55 runs in the first innings, and 13 wickets in the match.