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Former England cricket team captain Mike Smith, also known as MJK, has passed away at the age of 92, Warwickshire County Cricket Club announced on Monday.
Warwickshire expressed sorrow over the passing of the legendary player and paid tribute to him.
“Warwickshire County Cricket Club are saddened to learn of the passing of Bears’ legend MJK Smith at the age of 92,” the club said in a social media post.
“Once a Bear, always a Bear,” it added.
Smith played 50 Tests for England and captained the side in 25 of them. A dependable top-order batter, he amassed 2278 runs at an average of 31.63 during an international career that spanned the late 1950s and 1960s.
His maiden appearance for the Three Lions came against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1958, and he later received an OBE in 1976 for service to cricket.
A stalwart in Warwickshire, Smith enjoyed a remarkable county career between 1956 and 1975. scoring 39,832 first-class runs in 637 matches, registering 69 hundreds and 241 fifties — a tally that remains the 18th-highest in first-class cricket history.
Smith still holds the Warwickshire record for most runs in a single season after scoring 2,417 runs in 1959, a year before being named a Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
Beyond his cricketing career, Smith also served as the county chairman between 1991 and 2003. During his tenure, Warwickshire won several trophies. He also remained an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee, officiating in four Tests and 17 ODIs.
Following the news of his death, Players and officials lined up to pay their respects before the County Championship fixture between Warwickshire and Glamorgan at Edgbaston on Monday.
Born in Leicestershire and educated at Stamford School, Smith also represented Oxford University before starting his Warwickshire career.
Born in Leicestershire and educated at Stamford School, Smith also represented Oxford University before beginning his celebrated Warwickshire career.
Apart from cricket, Smith was a talented rugby union player and represented Oxford University and Leicester respectively.
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