M. J. K. Smith

{{Short description|English cricketer (1933–2026)}} {{Other people|Michael Smith}} {{More citations needed|date=March 2026}} {{Use British English|date=March 2026}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox cricketer | playername = M. J. K. Smith | fullname = Michael John Knight Smith

| birth_date = {{birth date|1933|6|30|df=yes}} | birth_place = Leicester, England | death_date = {{death date and age|2026|5|17|1933|6|30|df=yes}} | death_place =

| batting = Right-handed | bowling = Right arm slow medium

| international = true | country = England

| testdebutdate = 5 June | testdebutyear = 1958 | testdebutagainst = New Zealand | testcap = 386

| lasttestdate = 18 July | lasttestyear = 1972 | lasttestagainst = Australia

| columns = 3

| column1 = Test

| catches/stumpings1 = 53/–

| column2 = FC

| catches/stumpings2 = 595/–

| column3 = LA

| catches/stumpings3 = 40/–

| date = 22 March | year = 2026 | source = https://www.cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/1/1077/1077.html CricketArchive |name=M. J. K. Smith }}

'''Michael John Knight Smith''' (30 June 1933 – 17 May 2026), known as '''M. J. K. Smith''' or '''Mike Smith''', was an English cricketer and rugby union player. He played for Leicestershire from 1951 until 1955, and for Warwickshire between 1956 and 1975. Smith played in fifty Tests for England between 1958 and 1972 and was captain of England twenty-five times.{{sfn|Bateman|1993|pp=150–151}} He also represented England at rugby union in one match against Wales in 1956. He remains England's most recent male double international in cricket and rugby.

==Biography== Michael John Knight Smith was born on 30 June 1933 in Leicester,{{sfn|Bateman|1993|pp=150–151}} and raised nearby in Broughton Astley.<ref name="guardian" /> He was educated at Stamford School and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he read geography.

A bespectacled right-handed batsman, he came to prominence playing for Oxford University, scoring centuries in three consecutive Varsity matches against Cambridge, from 1954 to 1956.{{citation needed|date=March 2026}} Smith was president of Vincent's Club in 1956.{{cn|date=May 2026}} Appointed captain of Warwickshire in 1957, he was one of the heaviest scorers in first-class cricket for the next 10 years, with 3,249 runs in 1959 as his highest aggregate. He remained as Warwickshire captain until 1967 when he retired, but he reappeared in 1970 and stayed until 1975.{{citation needed|date=March 2026}}

Smith captained England in 25 of his 50 Test match appearances, yet in a period rich in batting talent he was rarely guaranteed a place. Uncertainty against fast bowling, particularly early in an innings, was exposed by a series of low scores in the mid 1960s, and Smith faced considerable press criticism, unusual for the time.{{citation needed|date=March 2026}}

He also represented England at rugby union against Wales in January 1956.{{sfn|Bateman|1993|pp=150–151}} He remains England's last ''male'' double international to date in major sports by reference to his final appearance in 1972.{{sfn|Bateman|1993|pp=150–151}} Arthur Milton, a double international in football and cricket, is later in terms of his first appearance in a second sport, making his Test debut six weeks after Smith.{{citation needed|date=March 2026}}

In later years he was chairman of Warwickshire County Cricket Club (1991–2003) and an ICC match referee (1991–1996).{{citation needed|date=March 2026}} His son Neil Smith followed in his footsteps by captaining Warwickshire and playing, albeit only in One Day Internationals, for England.{{citation needed|date=March 2026}}

Smith died on 17 May 2026, aged 92.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/sport/cricket/articles/c759vn5nx71o |title=Former England cricket captain Smith dies aged 92 |publisher=BBC Sport |date=18 May 2026 }}</ref><ref name="guardian">{{cite web |last=Mason |first=Peter |url=https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/may/18/mjk-smith-obituary |title=MJK Smith obituary |publisher=The Guardian |date=18 May 2026 |access-date=18 May 2026}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==Bibliography== * {{cite book |last=Bateman |first=Colin |title=If The Cap Fits |publisher=Tony Williams Publications |year=1993 |isbn=978-18-69833-21-3}}

==External links== * {{cricinfo|id=20255}} * [http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/582194.html Mike Smith interviewed on ESPNcricinfo in 2012]

{{s-start}} {{s-sports}} {{succession box| before = Ted Dexter<br />Ted Dexter| title = English national cricket captain| years = 1963–1964<br />1964–1966| after = Ted Dexter<br />Colin Cowdrey }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, M. J. K.}} Category:1933 births Category:2026 deaths Category:Aldershot Services rugby union players Category:Alumni of St Edmund Hall, Oxford Category:Cricket match referees Category:English cricketers Category:England Test cricketers Category:English cricketers of 1946 to 1968 Category:20th-century English sportsmen Category:England Test cricket captains Category:English rugby union players Category:England international rugby union players Category:International Cavaliers cricketers Category:Leicestershire cricketers Category:Officers of the Order of the British Empire Category:Oxford University cricketers Category:Oxford University RFC players Category:People educated at Stamford School Category:Warwickshire cricketers Category:Warwickshire cricket captains Category:Wisden Cricketers of the Year Category:Gentlemen cricketers Category:Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Category:Gentlemen of England cricketers Category:D. H. Robins' XI cricketers Category:T. N. Pearce's XI cricketers Category:Rugby union players from Leicestershire Category:Rugby union fly-halves