A fitting obituary has been written by Andy Wilshaw, one of the Hales stalwarts who joined Hales during the 'Steve Smith era':

 

I only knew Steve Smith for 2 and a bit years, only a fraction of his 20 years at Hales CC, and only shared a Cricket field with him around 30 times. Those expecting a story of raucous tales, Cricketing pyrotechnics or a trove of Cricketing wisdom will be disappointed, for he was a quiet, unassuming and modest man. The fact that I can recount so much about a man I only knew for a short time says so much for his deeper qualities and the rock tribute to him at the ground could not be more apt. So many of Hales' triumphs were built on his solid base - others might grab the limelight on any given day, but game after game Steve was just 'there', setting it all up or finishing it off.

 

Before I joined Hales, I popped in to watch a handful of games. Hales were always batting, which meant Steve was always batting, watched by his dutiful parents, Ken and Rita, who were basically the Hales crowd. So when I decided to join and went to nets, I fancied the challenge of bowling to the apparent batting colossus. Steve batted watchfully against my left arm floaters, not tearing into them as was the norm in the nets. Of course I blinked first, trying something different, and Steve instantly pounced and dispatched the wider ball. So it continued - I never even threatened to get him out through any indiscretion on his part, and any weakness on my part was ruthlessly punished.

 

My first season at Hales was made for Steve - we won our division, and were comfortably better than most teams. Targets of around 100 were effortless for Steve, in his customary number 3 position. He rarely had to break sweat for his usual 40-50 not out to win the game. His confidence in such conditions was supreme, and disconcerting for a lesser player like me. Having a rare bat against keen rivals Wellington - chirpy comments all round of course - I hit a brick wall after a bright start, and Steve seemed to as well. We were only chasing 103, but it seemed a million miles away as the overs wheeled by. Of course I blinked again, and perished to a mis-hit over the top. Steve carried on - surely we couldn't falter in such a modest chase, but nails were being bitten on the sidelines. Of course, Steve's patience never broke. He knew what we needed. Suddenly, a loose over, and 12 runs in 3 balls from his bat broke the Wellington resolve and the victory came quickly.

 

This was the season of the famous 243 average - it was 486, with a chance of 500, before a poor decision near the end of the innings in the last match put paid to that. Steve was never one to complain unduly, but you could tell the disappointment in his voice afterwards.

 

His bowling was in the same image as his batting. Nothing flash - it was put there, ball after ball, perfect for the end of inning slog, where the 'you miss, I hit' mantra was to the fore. 2 or 3 wickets to stop any late innings resistance was the norm. Needless to say, his fielding was the same - it is difficult to remember a fumble by Steve, and he'd throw himself around like a man half his age. When the rough-cut Grove rolled into Hales, star batsman Nick Benwell hammered a ball early on towards the hedge for a rocketing six, but the outstretched hand of Steve on the boundary clutched it from nowhere. Benwell departed for a duck, Grove slumped to 54 all out, and Steve didn't even have to bat, but had still made the key contribution. Benwell's merciless 100 against us the following year was proof of that.

 

Steve was not one of cricketing theorists - that could be left to the brain trust of Gavin Brookes or Gary Boyles, who would usually come up with some 'interesting' field placing. Instead, Steve's advice was to the point. A team mate complained that he kept getting out when he played a certain shot. "Well don't play the shot" was the simple reply.

 

No one should ever mistake his quiet exterior for a lack of inner steel. Chasing a low score, on a pig of a wicket on a wet day at neighbours Market Drayton, everyone struggled. Steve stayed around longer than everyone else, but eventually succumbed and defeat inevitably led to an inquest. I protested that their bowling was good and the pitch was bad and that "Even Steve struggled". "I didn't struggle" was his response. He was unable to accept the situation was beyond even him.

 

Steve's death shocked us all. Whilst he was nearly 50, he was the fittest guy on the team. The last time we batted together, he ran me out. Or rather, my lack of fitness ran me out. He must have assumed someone 12 years younger than him would easily manage the 3 he called for. Not quite, was the answer, although the umpiring Pete Dignum uttered the immortal words "I wasn't sure, so I gave you out". That such a healthy, clean-living and apparently stress-free guy could go in an instant was difficult to take in.

 

We all met in Hales Club that evening after his death, and debated whether to play the next day. Of course none of us knew what Steve would have thought, but I can only imagine that he wouldn't have wanted any fuss, or for us to forfeit a game, so we played on, in a strange but ultimately uplifting way. The fact I took the first catch in the post-Steve Smith era meant a lot to me.

 

Was Steve a cricketing genius? No. He could play attacking shots when needed, but he wasn't going to take a game away from the opposition like Gary Boyles, Jim Ward or Ian Broome. He wasn't going to blast through a batting line-up like Rob Swinnerton, or winkle out a side over a long spell like Gavin Brookes. Whilst he could have played at a higher leve, I suspect there would have been a ceiling a few divisions above us. But he was one of us, and more importantly he showed us what we could achieve with the same dedication and resolve as him.

 

It would be wrong to imagine Steve as a 'Mr Cricket', with little interests outside of the game. He missed a few games a season for things like air shows, or weekends with friends, and his death was immediately after his weekly 5-a-side game.

 

I only knew Steve a short time and was not particularly close to him outside of Hales CC. He was always pleasant to talk to, and there was never the attitude of 'I'm 30 times better than you', or 'I got us out of a hole last week'. He worked on the ground whenever asked to and was club treasurer, a role that I inherited. His figures on the pitch speak for themselves and hopefully these memories will help you to understand a bit more of Steve Smith beyond the numbers.

 

Rest in peace Legend!

 

 

Please feel free to leave any comments or memories that you have of Steve below.