Former England cricketer Robin Smith has sadly died at the age of 62, an ex team-mate of his has revealed this morning.

A tearful Kevan James, who played for Hampshire with Smith in the late 1980s and early ’90s, made the ‘horrible’ announcement on Solent News this morning.

The former international batsman is thought to have passed away overnight in Australia, just a week after opening up about his struggles with depression and alcoholism in a candid interview with Daily Mail Sport.

‘Oh gosh it’s been horrible unfortunately. It was happening as I was reading out some of the sports news,’ James said. ‘He was at the time, in the 80s and 90s, England’s best batter. He averaged 43 in Test matches and he averaged over 40 when he was dropped after the mid-nineties Test series in South Africa which is quite incredible now, isn’t it, to think a batter would be dropped averaging that many.

‘He was a super player, particularly of fast bowling in an era where the West Indies had all these fast bowlers. He was one of the few England batters who stood up to them and basically gave as good as he got.’

Having grown up in Durban, South Africa, Smith played 62 tests for his adopted England between his debut in 1988 and his final game, in his native South Africa in January 1996. For sheer ferocity, his square-cut may never have been surpassed.

His unbeaten 167 in a one-day international against Australia at Edgbaston was among England’s greatest limited-overs innings.

But the England management never fully appreciated his talents, nor acknowledged his fragility. For all his gifts, Smith lacked self-belief, an affliction he carried with him until the end.

Former England cricketer Robin Smith has sadly passed away at the age of 62

The Judge, as he was known during his playing days, made 62 Test Match appearances for his country

Smith was invited by Andrew Flintoff to speak to the England Lions in Perth less than two weeks ago

Amid struggles in his personal life, he twice came close to committing suicide, and admitted in an interview last week with Daily Mail Sport that he spent 12 years drinking a bottle of vodka a day.

More recently, his partner of 17 years, Karin, had been undergoing emergency stem-cell treatment in Europe after a late diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.

But he remained upbeat, meeting old friends and team-mates during the first Ashes Test at Perth, and looking forward to watching the Brisbane game on TV at home. Now, suddenly, he is gone.