John Abbotts Smart, who died on October 3 at Bulkington, Nuneaton, aged 88, played occasionally as an allrounder for Warwickshire from 1919 to 1930 and then became first-choice wicketkeeper until 1936. In 238 matches for the county he scored 3425 runs (av. 11.53), took 22 wickets, held 77 catches in the field and as wicketkeeper caught 317 and stumped 105. In 1932 his 79 victims constituted a county record which still stands. The son of a Wiltshire professional, Smart worked as a miner before taking up county cricket. His brother Cyril played for Warwickshire and Glamorgan and two other brothers were club professionals in Wales. In recent years his steady gait and gnarled walking-stick had been familiar sights at Edgbaston, where he was often seen with Norman Kilner and Tiger' Smith. Sadly all three died within a few months of each other. Failing health prevented any visits to Edgbaston in 1979 but Jack Smart was able to attend the Warwickshire-Hants match at Nuneaton in late July. An interesting story surrounds Smart's age. For many years Wisden gave 1894 as his year. of birth but in 1972 he revealed that he had in fact been born in 1891. He said that knocking a few years off one's age was common practice years ago to give a better chance of being engaged by a county. The most extreme case known is that of a former Worcestershire bowler who reduced his age by seven years when joining the county.
Wisden Cricket Monthly