The 15th Smith to be selected for England, but the first to have written a book on baseball, Ed Smith demanded selection for the third Test against South Africa in 2003 thanks to his superb county form. A tall right-hander with a penchant for the drive, Smith picked up six centuries in as many matches for Kent, including a career-best 203 at Blackpool, to become the first batsman to pass 1000 runs for the season. It was a run of form that coincided with a severe downturn in England's fortunes following the resignation of Nasser Hussain, and if his surname was anything to go by, he was just the name to take on South Africa's prolific captain, Graeme Smith. Sure enough, Ed responded with a half-century in his maiden Test innings but managed just 23 runs in his next four outings and was dropped. In 2004 there were rumours that he had become alienated from the Kent dressing-room, and it was no surprise when he moved to Middlesex at the end of the summer. After two consistent seasons he made the natural progression to leadership as he was named captain for the 2007 season. A voracious reader and writer, he picked up a double-first in history despite devoting much of his time at Cambridge University to cricket, and opened for England Under-19s in three Tests against New Zealand in 1996.
Andrew Miller June 2006

• Middlesex's timing awry (Jun 24, 2008)
  
• Bouyant Middlesex barely break sweat (Jun 12, 2008)
  
• Middlesex members move against committee (Jun 4, 2008)
  
• The pub, not the winning (May 10, 2008)
  
• A magisterial thesis (Mar 30, 2008)
  

View the full list of 59 related articles

Apr 16, 2008 Ed Smith steps down the pitch and drives © Getty Images

Jul 4, 2007 Tyron Henderson is congratulated on the wicket of Matthew Walker © Getty Images

Jun 22, 2007 Ed Smith pulls powerfully for four © Getty Images

View the full list of 25 related images