Originally an employee with the Cadbury confectionery firm in Birmingham, he was first engaged by Warwickshire as a professional in 1904 but played only irregularly for over half a decade owing to the presence of Lilley behind the stumps.

The following year Warwickshire achieved an astonishing triumph in the County Championship even though the abnormally dry and hot weather made it an utter fluke based around the pace bowling of Foster and Frank Field.

Smith kept wicket superbly – standing up to Foster even though he could get great pace off the extremely fast pitches – and made a remarkable advance in batting.

Warwickshire unsurprisingly declined to mid-table, but Smith maintained his form so well in 1913 with a personal high 68 dismissals that he was chosen for the South African tour.

In that season, he played a brilliant unbeaten innings of 139 out of 392 for one against Sussex and was unlucky that Jack Hobbs' presentation may have denied him a chance for Cricketer of the Year nomination by Wisden.