Robin Smith: England batting legend dies days after opening up on alcoholism, health issues
Nicknamed 'Judge', Robin Smith played 62 Tests for England between 1988 and 1996, scoring 4,236 runs at an average of 43.67, including nine centuries.
Former England batter Robin Smith died on Tuesday, aged 62. The iconic cricketer passed away overnight in Perth, Western Australia. The shocking news comes days after Smith opened up on a health battle, including alcoholism and mental health issues.
The tragic news was revealed by Smith's former teammate Kevan James on BBC Radio Solent.
It's been horrible," James said.
"It was happening as I was reading out some sports news.
"It's a sad day, but when you look at someone’s career… At the time, in the 80s and 90s, he was England’s best batter."
"He averaged 43 in Test matches and he averaged over 40 when he was dropped after the mid-nineties Test series in South Africa which is quite incredible now, isn’t it, to think a batter would be dropped averaging that many.
"He was a super player, particularly of fast bowling in an era where the West Indies had all these fast bowlers.
"He was one of the few England batters who stood up to them and basically gave as good as he got."
Smith's stellar England and first-class career
Nicknamed 'Judge', Smith featured in 62 Tests for England between 1988 and 1996, scoring 4,236 runs at an average of 43.67, including nine centuries. He also scored at a good average of 39.01 in 71 one-day internationals.
The South Africa-born batter Smith spent his entire county career at Hampshire and played his final match in August 2003.
He scored 26,155 first-class runs at 41.51 in a career spanning 22 years.
The tragic news of Smith's death came just days after he bravely spoke about his health battles in an interview with The Times.
In the interaction, Smith revealed his family and friends were told that the cricket legend may have had just two days to live after years of alcohol abuse due to severe bouts with depression.
He had to be hospitalised for several months due to alcoholism, but recovered reasonably well.
However, he started drinking occasionally following his hospitalisation. Smith, who lived in Perth, was also present in the series opener at the Optus Stadium and gave an inspirational speech about mental health during the lunch break.