Jamie Smith said he might be “a little bit gutted in a couple of days” after he was dismissed five runs from a first Test century after an entertaining, big-hitting innings in the third Test against West Indies. In just his third appearance Smith hit 12 fours and a big six that cleared Edgbaston’s Hollies Stand as he helped England take control of the game.
“If someone had said to me at the start of the day: ‘You’ll get 95,’ I definitely would have taken it,” he said. “I’ll be a little bit gutted in a couple of days to miss out on the milestone but it’s great to put in a performance for the team. It’s nice to set that out quite early in your career, that you are someone that’s going to go out and be positive and not be afraid of the opposition.”
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Smith came to the crease with England 169 for six and still trailing by 113, but his partnerships with Joe Root (who scored 87) and then Chris Woakes (62) helped them to 376 and a lead of 94. West Indies were 33 for two at the end of the day, having whittled England’s advantage to 61.
“When I went out it was about building partnerships and trying to knock off as much of the deficit as you can,” Smith said. “We saw that once you put a bit of pressure on we were able to get on top and scoring became a little easier and more free-flowing. That’s why we ended up with a healthy lead.”
Smith was particularly successful when taking on the short ball, despite his unfamiliarity with the challenge. “In county cricket you don’t tend to get people bowling 90mph round the wicket, so it’s a new way of playing,” he said. “I’ve spoken to a few of the lads in the buildup to the series, knowing that it could be an option teams might use against us, and had a bit of preparation in the nets.
“For me it was just about backing myself. I wanted to go and be positive. I feel in a good place. I don’t feel out of my depth here, I feel ready to make an impact and show how good I am.”
Despite Smith’s success against the short ball Jayden Seales, whose three wickets took his Test tally to 50, felt his side gave up on that approach too quickly.
“I think he’s a compulsive hooker, so you’d take your chances with someone like that because you’re in the game,” he said. “On a slow pitch one could hold up, he could mistime it. I just think if we stuck at it a little bit longer and kept forcing him to do it time after time, one may have held up and he could have gotten out.
“I thought we bowled well as a group, on the right spots most of the time. We forced them to try something, to go at it and try to score runs quickly, and it paid off. Kudos to them. We gave our best effort, it just didn’t go our way.”
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