Smith announces retirement

Former England batsman Ed Smith has retired from first-class cricket.

The 31-year-old, who played three Tests against South Africa in the summer of 2003, captained Middlesex for the last two seasons although a broken ankle ended his 2008 campaign in June.

Smith graduated with a double-first in history from Cambridge University despite devoting much of his time to playing cricket. He has written several books, including one on baseball.

Ed Smith reaches fifty in his first England innings, against South Africa at Trent Bridge

Buy this photo

He began his county career at Kent in 1997, a year after playing for England Under-19s against New Zealand. He joined Middlesex at the end of the 2004 season.

Smith's broken ankle ruled him out of the Crusaders' Twenty20 Cup victory last season and he was not part of the squad for the Stanford Super Series, captained by Shaun Udal.

Middlesex chairman Ian Lovett said: “Ed has always shown exceptionally high levels of energy, commitment and dedication to everything he does, and having taken over the captaincy when we were at a particularly low ebb on the field, he played a major role helping us achieve markedly improved results which culminated in us winning our first trophy for fifteen years in this year’s Twenty20 competition.

“He is a man with a wide range of talents and I am sure he will make a great success of his future career.”

Smith, who made 12,789 runs at nearly 42 in 191 first-class matches - including 34 hundreds, added: “It has been a real honour to captain Middlesex. I have been very lucky to play first-class cricket for eight years at Kent and four years at Middlesex.

“I’d like to thank all the players, coaches and supporters who have helped me enjoy the game I love.I wish Shaun Udal and the team every success in the future.”