England 'great' Robin Smith scored his first overseas Test hundred at SSC

■Batted 7 1/2 hours against the likes of Muralitharan and Warnaweera

- BY SA'ADI THAWFEEQ

The Singhalese Sports Club (SSC) was the venue where Robin Smith, who died suddenly aged 62, made his first Test century overseas against the likes of spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Jayananda Warnaweera when England played a one-off Test against Sri Lanka in 1993.

Smith, the former South African-born England cricketer, was famous for being one of the world's best batsmen in an era of fearsome fast bowling. England fans knew him mainly as a brutal slayer of fast bowlers, and three of his nine Test hundreds against the mighty West Indies was testimony to that fact. But he was also a better player of spin that some imagined, averaging 63 against India, 44 against Pakistan, and scoring 128 against Sri Lanka, opening the batting against Murali and Warnay on a SSC turner.