Death occurs of last of his kind dual-international Mike 'MJK' Smith

The death has been announced of Mike Smith, better known by his initials MJK, the last dual international to play rugby and cricket for England, at the age of 92.

Leicestershire-born Smith played rugby union for Oxford University, his hometown Hinckley, and Leicester, and won a cap for England against Wales in January 1956, two years before his Test debut against New Zealand at Edgbaston.

Smith, who was better known as a right-handed batter for Oxford University, Leicestershire, Warwickshire and England, scoring 2,278 runs in a 14-year 50-Test career, and 39,832 first-class runs in 637 matches during his county career.

He holds the Warwickshire record for most runs in a single season after scoring 2,417 runs in 1959 and also served Warwickshire as chairman and as an ICC match referee.

The son of a Hinckley hosiery manufacturer was a talented fly-half; his only cap came in the 8-3 defeat against Wales at Twickenham in January 1956 in his final year at Oxford, when he partnered Northampton legend Dickie Jeeps at half-back.

But he got most of the blame for the defeat after Wales charged down his attempted drop goal and Lyn Davies ran down the other end of the pitch for the match-winning score.

And after being unable to make use of the lion’s share of the ball, he was replaced by Liverpool’s Martin Regan for the clash with Ireland the following month, while Jeeps made way for Johnny Williams of Old Millhillians.

Smith didn’t hold any bitterness and is quoted in a biography, The Last Corinthian, The Cricketing Life of MJK Smith, saying: “It was fair enough. I had a bad game.”

Smith, whose son Neil played seven one-day internationals for England, and his daughter Carole, who married Sebastian Coe, didn’t win another cap and eventually drifted out of the game after he left university and retired completely in 1960.