 Despite wearing spectacles Smith was heavy run-maker in County cricket and passed 2,000 runs a season each year from 1957 to 1962, including 3,245 runs (57.94) in 1959.Fred Trueman thought "there is probably nobody in the world who plays the off-spinner better", but Smith's fragility against fast bowling meant that he could not hold down a regular place in the Test team.It was not his only failing as 'Mike is widely remembered...as a very unreliable runner between the wickets.