Robin Smith - An appreciation by Alan Edwards

Robin Smith has a special place in the hearts of all cricket lovers. Not only is he a popular figure on Hampshire grounds. The warm applause that greeted his emergence from the Lord's pavilion on his Test recall in 1995 was testimony to the warm affection and esteem in which he is held throughout the cricket world.

In these days of 'team identification' it is increasingly difficult for players to receive a sympathetic hand when they appear on away grounds - especially in one-day matches. Robin Smith is one of the few who have transcended that hurdle. He is a cricketer who has universal appeal. His thrilling stroke-play, courage and sportsmanship has endeared him to all.

Robin Smith is loved for many reasons. He possesses unquenchable courage. He was undoubtedly the most abused and least protected batsman in Test cricket in the last decade or more. No other batsman was subjected to so much intimidatory bowling, especially at the hands of the West Indies. And yet on each occasion the man with a heart the size of an Italian piazza dusted himself down and stood up ready to further England's cause.

The sheer power of his stroke-play has captured the imagination. The crunching square cut is, of course, his trademark, but when he is really on song, his driving through cover and more especially extra cover is no less exciting. And woe betide the bowler who strays on a fullish length to leg stump. The fielder at mid-wicket knows he will have to turn and fetch the ball from the boundary.

His considerable achievements could not have been attained without a sound technique. No batsman has moved further forward or back when playing his strokes. It has been said that he cannot play spin bowlers. It is true he does not play with the softest of hands but we have all seen him hit English county, and touring spin bowlers, for six back over their heads. Only the phenomenal Shane Warne really troubled him, and he is certainly not alone on that score!

Robin Smith has also, without question, been Hampshire's finest ever big-match player. His three innings in Lord's cup finals are ample proof of his unique ability to rise to the big occasion. His cameo 38 against Derbyshire in 1988 electrified cricket's headquarters, and it was largely on the strength of this innings - so obviously did it demonstrate his big-match temperament - that he was originally selected for England. His 78 in the NatWest Trophy in 1991 - cruelly ended when he was run out at the bowler's end - and 90 the following year against Kent both won him the man-of-the-match award.

It was also at Lord's that he played perhaps his finest ever innings in first-class cricket, in 1991. The West Indies batted first and compiled 419. At close on the Friday evening England had subsided to 110-5. Lord's; Saturday; a packed house; England in trouble. The scene was set for a Robin Smith epic. He bided his time. It was over half an hour before he scored his first run of the morning. Thereafter, now attuned to the bowlers and the conditions, he proceeded to play a masterful innings. He square cut, hooked and drove with awesome power, and milked the ball off his legs. He shepherded and gave heart and strength to his tail-end partners to such effect that the last five wickets added an astounding 270 runs. He finished on 148 not out. It was a grand seven-hour innings, one of the best Test centuries ever made at Lord's.

Two years later he compiled England's highest-ever score in limited-over cricket. Against Australia at Edgbaston, in an astonishing display of powerful stroke-making he blasted 167 not out off 163 balls; he scored an amazing 70 off the last seven overs. There was literally no place to bowl at him. And yet England lost!

His most outstanding innings for Hampshire was played under considerable personal pressure. When the Australians came to Southampton in the same year his Test place was under threat. However, from the time he came to the crease late on Saturday evening on the first day, he played with splendid authority. He set out to dominate the bowling, and the next morning, in gloriously sunny weather, he did so. All the Australian bowlers - Hughes, Julian, Reiffel, Steve Waugh and May - were put to the sword. The ball scorched over the outfield time and again. He delighted himself by putting May into the houses at the City End. His 191 was made at a run a ball; no fewer than 152 of those runs were scored in boundaries. On that memorable Sunday he made 136 runs before lunch. In terms of context and the quality of the opposition, it was one of the greatest innings ever played at Northlands Road.

Eight years later, at the Rose Bowl, he led Hampshire to a famous victory over the Australians during the course of which he struck another hundred. This was a more mellow innings. His bowlers had put Hampshire in the driving seat and he was determined to capitalise on their efforts. There were the odd glimpses of his power but, with the reflexes now slower, he battled his way to a century in a manner which the Australians respected. He stoically took blow after blow and literally batted himself to a standstill. The innings showed that time had not diminished his relish for the fight.

He inherited Hampshire's captaincy when the county's fortunes were at a very low ebb. Through respect for his achievements and leading by example, his team responded so that he oversaw a slow but demonstrable upturn in progress over that period. The county's historic approach was never geared to four-day Championship cricket. Hampshire were the archetypal exponents of declaration cricket, an art now rendered obsolete by the four-day game. Robin Smith has helped the county along the journey to meet the new requirements; they proved much more difficult to beat during the latter part of his tenure. His 'star' status also undoubtedly acted as an important catalyst in attracting other quality players such as David Gower, Shane Warne and John Crawley to join the county.

Hampshire owes Robin Smith an enormous debt. He is undoubtedly approaching a well-earned retirement from the playing field. Enjoy him while you can.