Full Name

David Robert Smith

Born

October 05, 1934, Fishponds, Bristol

Died

December 17, 2003, Bristol, (aged 69y 73d)

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Right arm Medium

Wisden Cricketer obituary
Opposing counties were apt to make the mistake in the late 1950s and through the 1960s of thinking Gloucestershire were a soft touch when it came to their new ball attack. David Robert Smith, like his partner Tony Brown, wasted the minimum of energy on his run-up. What he did possess was a handsome action, an ability to hit the seam with constant accuracy and a natural away swing from the right-hander. And he was faster than he looked. There was more than a touch of technical malevolence in that deceptively leisurely approach: after all, it brought him 1,250 wickets from 1956-70 and five Tests against India in 1961-62. He topped 100 wickets in a season five times. Apart from his Test appearances, when conditions in India did him no great favours, he had gone on the 1960-61 MCC tour to New Zealand. He was a good tourist, quiet and conscientious. Many of his 292 catches were expertly taken without fuss at slip and on occasions he cherished the scope to belt the ball from low in the order. Although diffident by nature, he was always a popular member of the county side. Injuries at times worked against him, not just at cricket. As a talented left-winger, he played for Bristol Boys at football, later joining Bristol City and, in 1959, Millwall. But cricket remained his unwavering favourite. He made a complete break, however, on his retirement from the game, hardly ever again revisiting the county ground to the surprise and disappointment of many of his former team-mates. Instead he would spend six days a week helping his wife, Peggy, in their fancy goods shop at Fishponds, a district of Bristol near where he was born. "I don't bother too often to see sport on the TV either," he used to say. "Never was much good at sitting and watching." David, a devoted family man, died suddenly at home on December 17, aged 69.
David Foot

David Smith Career Stats

Batting & Fielding

FormatMatInnsNORunsHSAve100s50s4s6sCtSt
Tests55138349.50003220
FC38652011749667412.3206--2940
List A4028121654510.3100--90

Bowling

FormatMatInnsBallsRunsWktsBBIBBMAveEconSR4w5w10w
Tests5897235962/602/7259.832.21162.0000
FC386-725812965512507/20-23.722.4558.0-516
List A40-19521211524/64/623.283.7237.5200
David Smith portrait

Explore Statsguru Analysis

Test

Recent Matches of David Smith

MatchBatBowlDateGroundFormat
Gloucs vs WORCS10/3230-May-1971GloucesterList A
Gloucs vs Leics4*0/4825-Apr-1971LeicesterList A
Gloucs vs Essex2*1/5230-Aug-1970ChelmsfordList A
Gloucs vs Yorkshire--1/2223-Aug-1970GloucesterList A
Gloucs vs Kent01/2316-Aug-1970CheltenhamList A

Debut/Last Matches of David Smith

FC Matches

Span
1956 - 1970

List A Matches

Span
1963 - 1971