'A fearless hero for hapless England' - Robin Smith obituary

Robin Smith, who died at the age of 62, was one of the greatest fast bowlers of all time, in an era when the English national team was often considered a national laughingstock.

His signature stroke, a powerful square cut, made him a feared opponent and won him fans worldwide.

Loyal to his friends and respected by his opponents, his greatest struggles came after retirement, and his mental health issues and alcoholism off the field became apparent in his later years.

Born in Durban, South Africa, to British parents in 1963, Robin Arnold Smith rose to fame as a cricket and rugby prodigy.

He was used as a model for the illustrations in a training book written by the revered South African Test fly-half, Barry Richards, with whom he became lifelong friends.

His parents even bought the house next door, demolished it, and built a cricket pitch where Robin and his older brother, Chris, could train (complete with an old-fashioned bowling machine) and hired former Natal player Grayson Heath as their coach.

Young Smith joined the Natal team at 17, where he fetched drinks for players like Richards and another South African legend, Mike Procter. However, his early big break came thanks to his brother.

Chris Smith had played for Glamorgan's reserve team in 1979 and scored a century against Hampshire, who were so impressed that they offered him a contract as a foreign substitute for 1980, while Gordon Greenidge played for the West Indies.

With a father born in Walsall and a mother born in Edinburgh, the Smith brothers made their way into English cricket at a time when the apartheid regime in South Africa meant another international ban.

However, due to regulations, they had to complete a four-year qualification period despite their heritage. As a result, Chris was considered a "foreign player" until 1983 and Robin until 1985.