Tom Smith (cricketer, born 1987) explained

Tom Smith
Country:England
Fullname:Thomas Michael John Smith
Birth Date:1987 8, df=yes
Birth Place:Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
Batting:Right-handed
Bowling:Slow left arm orthodox
Club1:Sussex
Year1:2006–2009
Club2:Surrey
Year2:2009
Club3:Middlesex
Year3:2010–2013
Club4:Gloucestershire (on loan)
Year4:2013
Club5:Gloucestershire
Clubnumber5:6
Columns:3
Column1:FC
Matches1:55
Runs1:1,422
Bat Avg1:22.57
100S/50S1:0/4
Top Score1:84
Deliveries1:7,469
Wickets1:82
Bowl Avg1:50.86
Fivefor1:0
Tenfor1:0
Best Bowling1:4/35
Catches/Stumpings1:17/–
Column2:LA
Matches2:112
Runs2:704
Bat Avg2:20.70
100S/50S2:0/2
Top Score2:65
Deliveries2:4,533
Wickets2:103
Bowl Avg2:38.14
Fivefor2:0
Tenfor2:0
Best Bowling2:4/26
Catches/Stumpings2:48/–
Column3:T20
Matches3:178
Runs3:391
Bat Avg3:17.77
100S/50S3:0/0
Top Score3:36
Deliveries3:3,357
Wickets3:185
Bowl Avg3:22.42
Fivefor3:3
Tenfor3:0
Best Bowling3:5/16
Catches/Stumpings3:57/–
Date:19 August
Year:2024
Source:https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/64/64283/64283.html CricketArchive

Thomas Michael John Smith (born 29 August 1987) is an English cricketer who plays for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club.

Career

He is a right-handed batsman and a left-arm spinner, whose professional career started at Sussex in 2006, where he played eight List A matches,[1] two Twenty20 matches[2] and two first-class matches[3] with modest success. However, further opportunities were limited due to the club possessing other spin options such as Mushtaq Ahmed, Ollie Rayner, Will Beer, Piyush Chawla, Saqlain Mushtaq, Rory Hamilton-Brown and Mike Yardy, and he was loaned to Surrey in 2009,[4] where he made two Pro 40 appearances,[5] helping them to a four-wicket win v Leicestershire by scoring 65 off 61 balls.

By the middle of the 2009 season, it had appeared likely Smith's future lay away from Sussex, and after Middlesex managing director of Cricket Angus Fraser watched him turn out for,[6] he signed in October for the London-based club on a contract until 2012.[7] In the same month, he was named in an England performance squad.[8] In his first season, he was restricted to four County Championship appearances by Shaun Udal's presence, but featured extensively in the two limited-overs competitions, and won the Man of the Match award for taking 5–24 v Kent at Lord's.[9] It was a similar story in 2011 – when the club signed his former team-mate Rayner on loan from Sussex in a deal which later become permanent and gave a short-term contract to Jamie Dalrymple – and 2012, as he played four Championship matches in that time but continued playing the majority of the limited-overs matches.

Smith signed a one-year contract with Middlesex for 2013,[10] and things started brightly after he was included in the team for two Championship and three Yorkshire Bank 40 matches before the end of May. However, with Rayner making himself difficult to dislodge thanks to his batting and fielding ability and improving bowling performances, and Ravi Patel emerging, Smith was loaned to Gloucestershire in a deal that was ultimately extended until the end of the season.[11] Highlights of his time there have included a YB40 hat-trick,[12] and a maiden first-class 50.[13] On 24 September 2013, as the 2013 season was finishing, Smith signed a three-year deal to take him up to the end of the 2016 season.[14]

He continues to play for Gloucestershire into the 2019 season, predominantly in limited overs matches, though in July 2019 he made his highest first-class score of 84 against Leicestershire.[15]

Career best performances

as of 11 August 2019

BattingBowling
ScoreFixtureVenueSeasonScoreFixtureVenueSeason
FC84Gloucestershire v LeicestershireBristol20194–35Gloucestershire v KentCanterbury2014
LA65Surrey Brown Caps v Leicestershire FoxesLeicester20093–26Middlesex Panthers v Derbyshire PhantomsLord's2010
T2036*Middlesex Panthers v Gloucestershire GladiatorsUxbridge20115–24Middlesex Panthers v Kent SpitfiresLord's2010

Personal life

Smith's wife Laura, with whom he had two daughters, died in 2018.[16]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cricket Archive Player Oracle . Cricket Archive. 8 September 2013.
  2. Web site: Cricket Archive Player Oracle . Cricket Archive. 8 September 2013.
  3. Web site: Cricket Archive Player Oracle . Cricket Archive. 8 September 2013.
  4. Web site: Sussex's Smith makes Surrey move . BBC . 7 September 2013.
  5. Web site: Cricket Archive Player Oracle . Cricket Archive. 8 September 2013.
  6. Web site: Smith heads to Middlesex . Bruce . Taylor . '’The Argus'’ . 8 September 2013.
  7. Web site: Middlesex confirm the signing of Tom Smith from Sussex . Middlesex County Cricket Club Official Site . 8 September 2013 . 15 October 2009 . unfit . https://web.archive.org/web/20120306012131/http://www.middlesexccc.com/news-detail.asp?NewsID=1912 . 6 March 2012 .
  8. Web site: Carberry and Moore named in Performance Squad . Cricinfo . 8 September 2013.
  9. Web site: Middlesex v Kent . Cricket Archive . 8 September 2013.
  10. Web site: Denly, Smith, Patel & Gubbins sign new contracts . Middlesex County Cricket Club . 8 September 2013.
  11. Web site: Chris Dent: Gloucestershire batsman signs new contract . BBC . 8 September 2013.
  12. Web site: Gloucestershire v Somerset . Cricket Archive . 8 September 2013.
  13. Web site: Gloucestershire v Leicestershire . Cricket Archive . 8 September 2013.
  14. Web site: Spinner Tom Smith signs long-term Gloucestershire deal . BBC Sport. 31 December 2013.
  15. Web site: Chris Dent and Tom Smith put Gloucestershire in control against Leicestershire The Cricketer. www.thecricketer.com. 2019-08-11.
  16. Web site: Tom Smith: 'I didn't want to be known as the widower'. ESPN Cricinfo. Andrew. Miller. 10 December 2020. 14 December 2023.