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{{short description|English cricketer}}{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2019}}

factoids

| birth_place = Pembury, Kent, England| heightft = 6| heightinch = 2| batting = Right-handedMedium pace bowling>medium| role = Batsman| international = true| testdebutdate = 14 August| testdebutyear = 2003| testdebutagainst = South Africa| testcap = 617| lasttestdate = 4 September| lasttestyear = 2003| lasttestagainst = South AfricaKent County Cricket Club>Kent| year1 = 1996–2004Middlesex County Cricket Club>Middlesex| year2 = 2005–2008| columns = 4Test cricket>Test| matches1 = 3| runs1 = 87| bat avg1 = 17.40| 100s/50s1 = 0/1| top score1 = 64| deliveries1 = 0| wickets1 = –| bowl avg1 = –| fivefor1 = –| tenfor1 = –| best bowling1 = –| catches/stumpings1 = 5/–First-class cricket>FC| matches2 = 191| runs2 = 12,789| bat avg2 = 41.79| 100s/50s2 = 34/54| top score2 = 213| deliveries2 = 108| wickets2 = 1| bowl avg2 = 119.00| fivefor2 = 0| tenfor2 = 0| best bowling2 = 1/60| catches/stumpings2 = 85/–List A cricket>LA| matches3 = 134| runs3 = 3,798| bat avg3 = 31.13| 100s/50s3 = 2/26| top score3 = 122| deliveries3 = 0| wickets3 = –| bowl avg3 = –| fivefor3 = –| tenfor3 = –| best bowling3 = –| catches/stumpings3 = 29/–Twenty20 cricket>T20| matches4 = 25| runs4 = 573| bat avg4 = 22.92| 100s/50s4 = 0/3| top score4 = 85| deliveries4 = 0| wickets4 = –| bowl avg4 = –| fivefor4 = –| tenfor4 = –| best bowling4 = –| catches/stumpings4 = 6/–| date = 3 November| year = 2008| source =weblink Cricinfo}}Edward Thomas Smith (born 19 July 1977) is an English author and journalist, former professional cricketer, and cricket commentator. He played first-class cricket for Kent, Middlesex and England.Prematurely retiring from professional cricket due to injury in 2008, at the age of only 31, he became an author and journalist and in 2013 he joined the BBC's Test Match Special as a commentator for The Ashes series against Australia. Smith was England's national selector from 2018 until 2021, when the role was abolished.Cricket: Ed Smith set to be named new England national selector BBC News, 18 April 2018NEWS, Smith's England selector role abolished,weblink BBC Sport, 20 April 2021,

Early life

Smith was born in Pembury, Kent. He attended Yardley Court and Tonbridge School where he was in the dayboy house Welldon House and his father, novelist Jonathan Smith, taught English for most of his career.NEWS, The best teachers will always bowl you over,weblink The Guardian, 19 June 2011, London, He went on to Peterhouse, Cambridge to read history and earned a full blue playing for the university cricket team. He scored a century on his first-class debut for Cambridge University Cricket Club in 1996NEWS, Cricket: A student's love of the game and attention to detail can bring him first-class honours,weblink The Independent, 31 December 1997, London, David, Llewellyn, and graduated with a double first despite devoting much of his time to cricket.NEWS, Celebrities tell us about their first year at university,weblink The Guardian, 14 August 2008, London,

Cricket

Smith played three home Test matches for England against South Africa in 2003. He made 64 on debut, but scored only 23 runs in his next four innings, and was dropped for the subsequent tour of the Indian subcontinent.Smith was a tall right-handed batsman with a penchant for the drive and represented England, Cambridge University, Kent and Middlesex.During thirteen seasons of first-class cricket, he scored 34 centuries. He hit a peak in 2003, scoring 135, 0, 122, 149, 113, 203, 36, 108 and 32 for Kent in July of that year. He averaged 72.99 for the 2003 first-class season when he was selected for England.He left his native county following the 2004 season and joined Middlesex for 2005. He captained the county for two seasons during 2007 and 2008. After missing most of the 2008 season due to an ankle injury, Smith announced his retirement later that year.{{citation |url=http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/england/content/current/story/379550.html |title=Ed Smith announces his retirement |author=Cricinfo staff |date=25 November 2008 |publisher=Cricinfo}} Retrieved on 25 November 2008.In 2012, Smith became a commentator for the BBC's Test Match Special.WEB,weblink Test Match Special returns, BBC, 30 May 2013, 14 May 2013, Adam, Mountford, He continued to play cricket as an amateur on the Authors XI team, which is composed of British authors and journalists, and contributed a chapter to the team's book The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon.BOOK, Authors Cricket Club, The Authors XI: A Season of English Cricket from Hackney to Hambledon, Bloomsbury, London, 2013, 978-1-4088-4045-0,

Literary career

Smith's first book, Playing Hard Ball, describes his interest in the game, psychology, history and mythology of American baseball and compares it to cricket. His diary of the 2003 season, On and Off the Field, was named the 2005 Wisden Book of the Year, and was shortlisted for the William Hill Sports Book of the Year and The Cricket Society Book of the Year Award in 2004.WEB,weblink BBC, Book Club – Luck: What It Means And Why It Matters by Ed Smith, 30 May 2013, WEB,weblink The Cricket Society and M.C.C. Book of the Year Award 2012, The Cricket Society, 30 May 2013, dead,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20130625191109weblink">weblink 25 June 2013, dmy-all, In Luck: What it Means and Why it Matters (2012) Smith examines the concepts of luck, fortune, destiny and fate in sport and beyond.WEB,weblink A Drink With… Ed Smith, All Out Cricket, 19 June 2013, 11 November 2014, Ed Kemp, dead,weblink" title="archive.today/20141110212359weblink">weblink 10 November 2014, dmy-all, Smith is also a regular columnist and contributed cricket book reviews for the Wisden Cricketers' Almanack and history book reviews for the Sunday Telegraph.WEB,weblink London Evening Standard, 30 May 2013, 30 May 2013, The Wisden of umpire Archer, NEWS,weblink guardian.co.uk, 30 May 2013, 7 October 2009, Former England cricketer Ed Smith joins the Times, James, Robinson, London, He wrote a weekly column for the New Statesman.WEB,weblink New Statesman, 30 March 2014, Ed Smith, In July 2016, Smith was accused of plagiarismWEB,weblink Ed Smith pulls a Melania Trump {{!, The Cricket Couch|website=thecricketcouch.com|access-date=8 September 2016}}WEB,weblink A CRICKETING VIEW: Ed Smith Pulls A Melania Trump (But Not As Well As Melania Trump), cricketingview.blogspot.co.uk, 8 September 2016, in an article he wrote for ESPNcricinfo. The article was subsequently removed from the website, with editor-in-chief Sambit Bal noting that the article "bore striking similarities to parts of a piece published in the Economist a few days prior".WEB,weblink An explanation, 8 September 2016,

Bibliography

• Smith, E.T. (2003) Playing Hard Ball. Abacus Books. {{ISBN|978-0349116662}}WEB,weblink Major League Baseball, Baseball Discovered: Who's Who – Ed Smith – Cricket Player/Author, 30 May 2013,
• Smith, Ed (2005). On and Off the Field. Penguin Books. {{ISBN|978-0141015897}}NEWS,weblink guardian.co.uk, Testing times, Nicholas, Lezard, Nicholas Lezard, 30 April 2005, 30 May 2013, London,
• Smith, Ed (2009). What Sport Tells Us About Life. Penguin Books. {{ISBN|978-0141031859}}NEWS,weblink No ifs, plenty of butts, Tim, Lewis, 30 May 2013, 23 March 2008, guardian.co.uk, London,
• Smith, Ed (2012). Luck: What it Means and Why it Matters. Bloomsbury Publishing. {{ISBN|978-1408815472}}NEWS,weblink The Daily Telegraph, 30 May 2013, 5 April 2012, Adrian, Michaels, Adrian Michaels, Luck: What it Means and Why it Matters by Ed Smith, London,
• Smith, Ed (2022). Making Decisions. William Collins. {{ISBN|978-0008530181}}

References

{{reflist}}

External links

• {{official websiteweblink}}
• {{ESPNcricinfo|id=20242}}

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