36 year old Aberdeenshire wicket-keeper batsman has informed Cricket Scotland of his decision to retire from international cricket.

CricketEurope understands that an official announcement will be made later this week, but it is a further blow for the troubled Associate side, following the recent retirements of Craig Wright and John Blain.

It was clear major surgery was required on the ageing side following their failure to qualify for the 2011 World Cup, and only just managing to cling onto their One Day International status.

Smith has been a wonderful servant for his country, playing no fewer than 181 times since making his debut in 1999 against Surrey. Although considered tall for a keeper - Smith stands at 6 feet 5 inches - he showed remarkable agility for a big man, and his standing up to the quicker bowlers was a wonderful advantage for the attack.

He forged a great partnership with Craig Wright, and many of his 206 catches came off the veteran seamer. In addition to those catches, he made a further 55 stumpings, and was the epitome of consistency behind the stumps.

A powerful striker of the ball, Smith scored 3763 runs at a healthy 23.67, top scoring with 93 against Kenya in 2004. He was never to make a century for Scotland, but did record 20 half centuries.

He endured a miserable 2009 with the bat, having an instantly forgettable WCQ campaign in South Africa, and in his two appearances in the ICC World Twenty20 failed to score against both South Africa and New Zealand.

Perhaps sensing that his powers were on the wane, he has jumped before he was pushed, and another chapter in Scottish cricket is closed.