Wicketkeeper puts rare first-day blemish behind him to score his third fifty in five Test innings
Matt Roller22-Aug-2024It can pay to have a short memory, not least for a Test match wicketkeeper. The ability to compartmentalise – or, better still, forget altogether – a missed opportunity behind the stumps is a priceless trait in any format; it is further heightened when a mistake on the first day of a match can have repercussions that stretch long into the fifth.It was not until the fourth match of Jamie Smith’s Test career that he faced that challenge. Smith was faultless with the gloves throughout England’s 3-0 whitewash against West Indies last month but missed his first chance on the opening day against Sri Lanka in Manchester: a fluffed stumping on the first afternoon.The miss did not prove especially costly, and was a difficult chance. On 65, Dhananjaya de Silva skipped down the pitch and yorked himself as Shoaib Bashir saw him coming, darting the ball in fast and flat. Smith couldn’t quite gather the ball cleanly, the ball bouncing out of his hands; Dhananjaya only added nine more runs before he was caught at leg slip.Even still, it represented the first setback of Smith’s Test career. He admitted last week that he had found the West Indies series both mentally and physically “draining” despite all three Tests ending inside four days. He cited the “added pressure” that comes with international cricket: however small it was, nobody would have been more aware of his mistake than him.That backdrop made his innings on this gloomy Thursday in Manchester even more impressive. Promoted to No. 6 in Ben Stokes’ absence, Smith walked out to bat in the 26th over with the ball reverse-swinging, which had just accounted for Joe Root. With a longer tail than usual behind him and England still 111 behind, this represented real jeopardy.But as Smith has already demonstrated, he has the temperament to deal with most challenges. He calmly flicked his first ball off his pads for four, skipped down the pitch to his 22nd to launch Prabath Jayasuriya over long-on, and swung his 95th through midwicket to move into the 70s in what proved to be the final over of the day.Smith went up and down the gears in his innings, going through occasional lulls against Jayasuriya in particular when his only focus seemed to be survival. But he picked his moments to attack, freeing his arms when Kamindu Mendis tossed up some offbreaks and slugging Asitha Fernando through the leg side when he dropped short.Related
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“We talk about being positive and aggressive, and putting teams under pressure,” Marcus Trescothick, England’s assistant coach, said. “But the skill is to identify the moments when it’s the right time. We’re trying to gather times when we can really put the foot down and drive home what we’re trying to do, but there are also times when we have to sit in.”On Friday, he will resume with the chance to underline his ability to bat with the lower order, one of the reasons which underpinned his call-up in the first place. This was already the third time out of four that he has added 50 or more in a partnership with Chris Woakes, but he now has the opportunity to prove he can marshal the tail.He has already showcased his six-hitting ability in Test cricket, clearing both the Tavern Stand at Lord’s and the Hollies Stand at Edgbaston. The temporary stand at deep midwicket at Emirates Old Trafford would be the biggest challenge of the lot, but his first task is simply to extend England’s first-innings lead, which is only 23 overnight.Smith turned 24 last month and every innings that he plays in an England shirt has felt like a tantalising look into the future, not least during his 62-run partnership with Harry Brook in Manchester on Thursday. He bats at No. 4 for Surrey and could yet find himself playing as a specialist batter: “I don’t think we’ve really discussed where he’ll end up batting,” Trescothick admitted.Therein lies the other reason why it might pay for Smith to have as short a memory as possible. His predecessor as England’s Test wicketkeeper, Ben Foakes, spent six years in and out of the side. As well as Foakes, Jonny Bairstow and Jos Buttler have found themselves playing with and without the gloves, while regularly shuffling up and down the order.Rare is the England wicketkeeper who has an extended run in a single role, as Smith has already found with this promotion to No. 6 in only his fourth Test. But crucially, his performances across his first three-and-a-half Tests – 17 catches, three half-centuries in five innings – have silenced any debate over whether he deserves the gloves – for the time being, at least.For now, his challenge is simply to stay in the moment. England’s challenges get progressively harder over the next 18 months, with series against Pakistan, New Zealand, India and Australia, but Smith has made a serene start to life as a Test cricketer.
