Fearless, genuine, insecure: Smith will be missed on the circuit

The career of Robin Smith, which ended last week when the 40-year-old announced his retirement after 22 seasons in the game, was a catalogue of contradictions. I mean, how could a batsman with the best Test record of an Englishman since David Gower - before Michael Vaughan burst on to the scene - and whose physical presence at the crease was often all it took to turn the steadiest of bowlers into gibbering wrecks, be so insecure?

And what sort of man is it who was fearless against the fastest bowlers in the world yet timid against spin? There have been many players who have suggested they would rather face 90mph throat balls than gentle leg-breaks but Smith is the only one I truly believe.

The county circuit will be a poorer place for Smith's departure. Meeting "The Judge" - so named because of his hairstyle in his younger days - each time you arrived at the county ground in Southampton was always reassuring, even if you knew he would be trying to hit you out of it in a couple of hours' time.

"Hey Gussie, how'z it goin' china?" would be his greeting. His delight in seeing you and the warmth of his welcome were genuine. There have been times when people have questioned his lifestyle but I am yet to hear anyone say a bad word about Smith's character. Indeed, it would be hard to find a more popular man in the game.

Smith's retirement really does signify the end of an era because it is hard to believe that any future England coach will tolerate a player who lived such a full life. On a scale of committed players from Alec Stewart to Philip Tufnell, Smith was nearer to Stewart but he was closer to the former Middlesex spinner than many would think.

Nobody could criticise his work ethic. Smith never shirked any of his responsibilities and practised as diligently as any player. The only problem was that the first half of some training sessions would be spent recovering from, or sweating out, the contents of the night before.

Touring with England is the ultimate experience and, naturally, everyone used to be excited when the plane landed in Australia or the West Indies. The first two weeks of a tour, before the serious cricket started, were always a time for fun. Jack Russell was the only player who used to stay locked in his hotel room all night. We trained hard during the day but enjoyed ourselves in the evening. We called it acclimatisation.

I never knew how Allan Lamb and the Judge, his side-kick, used to do it. After a heavy session each would look as rough as anything the next morning yet still be the life and soul of practice. At training they were always at the front and would often drag us off for an extra run after practice. Micky Stewart and Graham Gooch, the coach and captain in 1989-90, knew what the pair were up to but never lectured them because it was they who helped create a good team spirit.

There was the odd occasion when Smith did get things wrong. England's trip to the Caribbean in 1993-94 was Michael Atherton's first full tour as captain, and in an effort to stamp his authority on the side he insisted that the team bus left the hotel at the designated time every morning. It did not matter who was late, if you were not on it at 9am you were left behind.

One morning, after a particularly sociable evening, Smith and Matthew Maynard - who had replaced Lamb as the Judge's soul-mate - failed to be in reception at the allotted time. Neither player was playing in the warm-up game in Antigua but both were expected to be at the ground. When the clock struck nine, Athers insisted the driver left.

Doug Insole, the then chairman of the Test and County Cricket Board, was asked to go to their room to wake them up. In his confused state Smith opened the door and invited Insole in for a cup of tea. They were told in no uncertain terms that it was not the time to socialise and their presence was required at the ground.

This was possibly the time when attitudes towards Smith changed. Unlike Micky Stewart, Keith Fletcher was not prepared to tolerate such misdemeanours and it was only weeks before he and Raymond Illingworth, the then chairman of selectors, suggested that Smith's social and business activities were starting to affect his form.

"If I have any regrets it is that I should have changed my ways a little bit and been slightly less sociable at times," Smith said. "But that is the way I played the game. I did not have big nights out during a Test match but I enjoyed having a beer with the opposition or going out for a meal. I may have looked confident but I used to get very nervous during a day's Test cricket and this helped me unwind."

Smith may have lost favour with those who controlled his future - and England were foolish to overlook him after the 1995-96 tour to South Africa - but he remained popular with the crowd. His entrance to the arena was like that of a gladiator. With forearms like Popeye he used to flick his bat about as though it was a toothpick. He was an entertainer, especially if the opposition had a couple of fast bowlers. In full flow the power of his strokeplay was frightening for fielders in the gully-backward point region.

The time Smith spent facing a bowling machine in his youth - before emigrating from Durban to England, his father used to wake him up every morning at 5am for a pre-school net session - prevented him gaining the soft hands and touch that is required to be a good player of spin bowling. But against the quicks he was the man you wanted in your side.

"I loved facing fast bowling," he said. "It was exhilarating. I deliberately went out to bat without a grill on my helmet, a forearm guard and a chest guard. It was not a macho thing but through wearing so little protection I had to remain focused because I knew if I made one mistake I could get seriously hurt."

The former England bowler Devon Malcolm is set to mark his retirement today by calling for stricter limits on the number of foreigners in the county game.

Malcolm, with 128 Test wickets in a 19-year career, believes the counties are mortgaging the long-term health of English cricket for the short-term gain. "All we are doing is feathering the nests of Australia and South Africa and others by acting as a finishing school for their Test candidates," he said.