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Full name Benjamin Francis Smith
Born April 3, 1972, Corby, Northamptonshire
Current age 36 years 157 days
Major teams Central Districts,Leicestershire,Worcestershire
Nickname Sven
Batting style Right-hand bat
Bowling style Right-arm medium
Height
5 ft 9 in
Education Kibworth High School
Batting and fielding averages
Mat
Inns
NO
Runs
HS
Ave
BF
SR
100
50
4s
6s
Ct
St
First-class
311
486
53
17814
204
41.14
40
93
196
0
List A
377
363
52
9460
115
30.41
2
59
132
0
Twenty20
41
39
3
695
105
19.30
551
126.13
1
1
70
19
20
0
Bowling averages
Mat
Inns
Balls
Runs
Wkts
BBI
BBM
Ave
Econ
SR
4w
5w
10
First-class
311
653
488
4
1/5
122.00
4.48
163.2
0
0
List A
377
127
121
2
1/2
1/2
60.50
5.71
63.5
0
0
0
Twenty20
41
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Career statistics
First-class debut
1990
Last First-class
Worcestershire v Warwickshire at Worcester, Sep 2-5, 2008 scorecard
List A debut
1990
Last List A
Worcestershire v Gloucestershire at Worcester, Aug 30, 2008 scorecard
Twenty20 debut
Worcestershire v Northamptonshire at Worcester, Jun 13, 2003 scorecard
Last Twenty20
Worcestershire v Glamorgan at Worcester, Jun 27, 2008 scorecard
Profile
A short, stocky right-handed batsman, Ben Smith came up through the Leicestershire youth system to make his first-class debut in 1990 and then go on the England Under-19 tour to New Zealand that winter. He impressed immediately with the quality of his strokeplay and clean hitting, which made him equally adept at both championship and one-day cricket. His outstanding fielding is also a very positive asset in both forms of the game. He was in danger of becoming pigeonholed as a one-day specialist before he blossomed in 1996, scoring 1243 runs at 47.80, as Leicestershire won the first of two titles in three years. The limited-overs tag disappeared with solid performances in subsequent seasons. But despite being Leicestershire's vice-captain, he quit the county (which was by then in considerable turmoil) and moved to Worcestershire where he made an immediate impression, succeeding Graeme Hick as captain in 2003. He caused a stir when he stepped down as skipper - mid-match - in August 2004, saying he wanted to concentrate on his batting. At the time he resigned he was already averaging almost 59 in the Championship that year and has continued to be a consistent run-maker in the following seasons.
Martin Williamson August 2006
