Robin Smith dead at 62: Former team-mate breaks down in tears on radio as he reveals death of ‘The Judge’ after struggles with alcohol and depression
Former England cricketer Robin Smith has tragically passed away at the age of 62.
A tearful Kevan James, who played for Hampshire with Smith in the late 1980s and early ’90s, made the ‘horrible’ announcement on Solent News this morning.
The former international batsman is thought to have passed away overnight in Australia, just a week after opening up about his struggles with depression and alcoholism in a candid interview with Daily Mail Sport.
‘Oh gosh it’s been horrible unfortunately. It was happening as I was reading out some of the sports news,’ James said. ‘He was at the time, in the 80s and 90s, 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.’
Having grown up in Durban, South Africa, Smith played 62 tests for his adopted England between his debut in 1988 and his final game, in his native South Africa in January 1996. For sheer ferocity, his square-cut may never have been surpassed.
Former England cricketer Robin Smith has sadly passed away at the age of 62
The Judge, as he was known during his playing days, made 62 Test Match appearances for his country
Smith was invited by Andrew Flintoff to speak to the England Lions in Perth less than two weeks ago
His unbeaten 167 in a one-day international against Australia at Edgbaston was among England’s greatest limited-overs innings.
But the England management never fully appreciated his talents, nor acknowledged his fragility. For all his gifts, Smith lacked self-belief, an affliction he carried with him until the end.
It was when he was dropped from the England squad in 1996 that Smith began to struggle with his mental health, he told Daily Mail Sport last week.
‘If I’m going to be really honest, yeah (it did deteriorate then),’ he admitted.
Smith played during an era of heavy drinking and struggled with alcoholism after his retirement.
Only last year, he had a brush up with death when he spent seven months in hospital battling cirrhosis of the liver after spending 12 years drinking a bottle of vodka a day.
‘My brother Chris and son Harrison were called in by doctors and told I had a five per cent chance of walking out. So it’s amazing that I’m here talking to you,’ he said.
‘Drinking a bottle of vodka a day for 12 years obviously didn’t do the liver much good, but I went on a strict diet, and I’ve got to be really careful.’
