London, May 18 (IANS) Former England Test captain Mike Smith, widely known by his initials MJK, has died at the age of 92, the Warwickshire County Cricket Club said on Monday.

Smith, who combined a distinguished cricket career with a brief stint as a rugby union international in 1956, represented England in 50 Tests and captained the side on 25 occasions from 1958 to 1972. In all, Smith made 2,278 runs, including three centuries and 11 fifties, and was awarded his OBE in 1976 for services to cricket.

Warwickshire confirmed the news of his demise with a moment of silence observed by players and officials before play began on Day Four of their County Championship fixture against Glamorgan.

“Warwickshire County Cricket Club are saddened to learn of the passing of Bears’ legend MJK Smith at the age of 92. Once a Bear, Always a Bear,” the club posted on their social media accounts.

Smith captained Warwickshire from 1957 to 1967 and scored 39,832 first-class runs in 637 matches during his county career, the 18th-highest total in overall records. Before coming to Warwickshire, Smith also turned out for Leicestershire from 1951 to 1955 and even turned out for Oxford University for two years.

His Test debut came in 1958 against New Zealand in Birmingham. Initially tried as an opener, Smith flourished in the middle order and hit his maiden century against India at Old Trafford in 1959. His captaincy opportunity arrived during the 1963‑64 tour of India in the absence of Ted Dexter and Colin Cowdrey. Across 25 Tests as skipper, he suffered defeat only three times, with five wins and 17 draws.

Following retirement, Smith served five years as a referee before returning to Warwickshire as their chairman in 1991 and served in the role till 2003, apart from being an ICC match referee. His son Neil, known as NMK, carried forward the family legacy by captaining Warwickshire and representing England in ODIs.

–IANS

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