John Darwall-Smith

John Darwall-Smith

Personal information
Full name	John Anderton Darwall-Smith
Born	12 April 1912 Marylebone, London, England
Died	22 June 1976(1976-06-22) (aged 64) Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, England
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm fast-medium
Relations	Randle Darwall-Smith (brother)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1933–1934	Oxford University
Career statistics
Competition First-class Matches 5 Runs scored 98 Batting average 12.25 100s/50s –/– Top score 36 Balls bowled 799 Wickets 13 Bowling average 30.23 5 wickets in innings – 10 wickets in match – Best bowling 4/106 Catches/stumpings 2/–
Source: Cricinfo, 4 June 2019

John Anderton Darwall-Smith (12 April 1912 – 22 June 1976) was an English first-class cricketer. Darwall-Smith played first-class cricket for Oxford University and the Free Foresters in mid-1930s, before serving in the Second World War.

Life, cricket and war service

Darwall-Smith was born at Marylebone in April 1912. He was educated at Winchester College, From Winchester he went up to Trinity College, Oxford. While at Oxford he made his debut in first-class cricket for Oxford University against the touring West Indians in 1933 at Oxford. He made three further first-class appearances for Oxford, playing two more matches in 1933 and one in 1934. He scored 83 runs and took 9 wickets in his four matches, but was unable to establish himself in the Oxford team. While at Oxford he played football for Oxford University and Corinthians. He made a final appearance in first-class cricket for the Free Foresters against Oxford University in 1937.

During the height of the Second World War, Darwall-Smith was commissioned into the King's Royal Rifle Corps as a second lieutenant in March 1941. He was mentioned in dispatches in March 1945, by which point he held the rank of captain. He died in hospital at Hemel Hempstead in June 1976. His younger brother, Randle Darwall-Smith, also played first-class cricket.

External links

• John Darwall-Smith at ESPNcricinfo