William Joseph Smyth
AO (8 July 1916 – 16 September 2007) was an Australian
Test cricket
Test cricket is a Forms of cricket, format of the sport of cricket, considered the game’s most prestigious and traditional form. Often referred to as the "ultimate test" of a cricketer's skill, endurance, and temperament, it is a format of i ...
umpire
An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection.
The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...
.
Life and career
Smyth was born at
Maryborough, Victoria
Maryborough () is a town in Victoria, Australia, on the Pyrenees Highway, north of Ballarat and northwest of Melbourne, in the Shire of Central Goldfields. At the 2021 census, the urban centre had a population of 7,769, while the larger Le ...
. He took up umpiring in 1947 when injury ended his fast bowling career, and umpired four
Test matches Test match in some sports refers to a sporting contest between national representative teams and may refer to:
* Test cricket
* Indoor cricket, Test match (indoor cricket)
* Test match (rugby union)
* Test match (rugby league)
* Test match (associa ...
between 1962 and 1966.
His first Test match was between
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
and
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
at
Melbourne
Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...
on 29 December 1962 to 3 January 1963, won by England by 7 wickets. Smyth's partner in this match was
Colin Egar
Colin John "Col" Egar (30 March 1928 – 4 September 2008) was an Australian Test cricket umpire.
Born in Malvern, South Australia, Egar umpired in 29 Test matches between 1960 and 1969.
First-class debut
Egar started his career as an ...
.
Smyth stood (again with Egar) in the first Test match played by
Pakistan
Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...
in Australia, at Melbourne on 4 December to 8 December 1964, a match drawn when Australia required only 78 further runs with 8 wickets in hand. This was
Ian Chappell
Ian Michael Chappell (born 26 September 1943) is a former cricketer who played for South Australia and Australia. Known as "Chappelli", he is considered as one of the greatest captains the game has seen. 's debut match.
Smyth's last Test match, also against England at Melbourne with Egar as his colleague, took place exactly three years after his first, on 30 December 1965 to 4 January 1966, resulting in a draw. He continued to umpire at
first-class level until 1972. In all he umpired 59 first-class matches between 1956 and 1972, all but one of them in Melbourne.
On retirement, Smyth became a long-term President of the
Victorian Cricket Association
Cricket Victoria (CV) is the governing body for the sport of cricket in the Australian state of Victoria. It is integrated with the Victorian Women's Cricket Association to include funding, programs, office accommodation and staff assistance.
...
Umpires' Association, adviser to the panel of VCA umpires, and lecturer on the Laws of Cricket, providing precise explanations of the complex code. He was awarded the Order of Australia in 2002 for his services to cricket.
Smyth died in Melbourne at the age of 91. At the time he was the oldest living Test match umpire.
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]
See also
*Australian Test Cricket Umpires
__NOTOC__
This is a list of umpire (cricket), cricket umpires who have officiated at least one men's Test cricket, Test match. As of June 2025, 500 umpires have officiated in a Test match. Current members of the Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, Emirate ...
*List of test umpires
__NOTOC__
This is a list of cricket umpires who have officiated at least one men's Test match. As of June 2025, 500 umpires have officiated in a Test match. Current members of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Umpires, appointed by the Internatio ...
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smyth, Bill
1916 births
2007 deaths
Australian Test cricket umpires
People from Maryborough, Victoria