Tuppy Owen-Smith

Personal information
Full name	Harold Geoffrey Owen Owen-Smith
Born	(1909-02-18)18 February 1909 Rondebosch, Cape Town, South Africa
Died	28 February 1990(1990-02-28) (aged 81) Rosebank, Cape Province, South Africa
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Legbreak
International information
National side	South Africa
Test debut (cap 126)	15 June 1929 v England
Last Test	17 August 1929 v England
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1927/28–1949/50	Western Province
1931–1933	Oxford University
1935–1937	Middlesex
Career statistics
Competition Test First-class Matches 5 101 Runs scored 252 4,059 Batting average 42.00 26.88 100s/50s 1/1 3/23 Top score 129 168* Balls bowled 156 13,445 Wickets 0 319 Bowling average – 23.22 5 wickets in innings – 20 10 wickets in match – 3 Best bowling – 7/153 Catches/stumpings 4/– 92/–
Source: Cricinfo, 7 August 2019

Harold Geoffrey Owen Owen-Smith (18 February 1909 – 28 February 1990), known as Tuppy Smith, was a South African cricketer who played Test cricket for South Africa and a rugby player who played for and captained the England rugby union team.^[1] He was born in Rondebosch, Cape Town, and died at Rosebank, also in Cape Town.

Early life

Owen-Smith was educated at Diocesan College in Rondebosch and attended the University of Cape Town. An all-round athlete, he represented his school and university in cricket and rugby amongst other sports.^[2]

Career

Owen-Smith played cricket in 5 Tests in 1929 for South Africa, all during the tour of England, and was named Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1930.^[2]

He was capped 10 times in rugby union by England from 1934 to 1937. He was captain throughout the 1937 Home Nations Championship, so he captained England three times. He is regarded as having been a fine attacking full-back and a great of the game. He also gained awards in boxing and athletics whilst at university in England. He played one match for Leicester Tigers against Waterloo F.C. in 1933.

Medical career

Owen-Smith studied medicine at Magdalen College, Oxford, on a Rhodes Scholarship and qualified as a physician at St Mary's Hospital Medical School.^[3][4] While at Oxford, he continued playing rugby and cricket for his university. After completing his degree he went back to South Africa and was a long-serving and much loved general practitioner, largely working from his home in Rondebosch.

Family

His son, Michael Owen-Smith, is a South African journalist who served as the media manager for Cricket South Africa from 2007 to 2010.^[5]